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Back in April 2006 I acquired a very very shabby trailer load of bits of 16H
parts submerged in drums of diesel along with a bent frame and a couple of very
poor wheels. I really only got the stuff because it was Norton. It was all a
mess. Dirty, greasy, covered in diesel, bent, broken with nothing in one piece
and nothing having any real relationship to anything else. I was wondering why I
even bothered to make the guy an offer. It took a long time to clean and sort.
By November that year I had a few bits cleaned up enough to make a conversation
piece for display at the HVNOC Norton Day at Speers Point. Frame and rear wheel,
gearbox case with an empty set of 1936 OHV cases, cylinder and head. .mmmmm,
amongst all this filthy stuff was a few bits of a '36 / '37 OHV motor. At Norton
Day I stuck a sign on the bike asking for the missing bits for the OHV motor.
A 16h tank came up on eBay, I threw a bid on it and won it. I scored an oil tank
at a swap meet. A couple of other bits at swaps. New 16h zorst valves, clutch
bits, brake bits. Soon I was getting a few cycle bits together, enough to start
making it look like a bike.
I was getting no where with the OHV engine bits. Typical story. People laughed
when I asked them if they had bits, those that had them either wanted an
unrealistic fortune for busted no good bits, or wouldn't part with the good
bits. I pushed the OHV motor aside and took another look at the dirty broken 16h
bits. Put this with that and found this and something else and realised I had
pretty well enough to build a motor.
Took the aluminium bits, cases, covers, gearbox shell etc. in to Jack Jones who waved his water blaster over them. Jonesy called me a couple of days later to come pick them up. He had them wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in a box like a baby. They looked brand new. You'd never bother with grit blasting again!!! This was inspirational stuff.
I had the engine and gearbox all together, and at Norton Day 2007 I put up an engine display including the freshly assembled 16h motor. At home the frame was painted and I was working on straightening out the wheels. The thing was really starting to look like a bike. I even splashed out and got a few trinkets nickel plated. I made up all new engine case studs and assorted nuts and bolts etc. went into a tin to be zinc coated.
Golbourn swap turned up a few more bits including a nice new set of repro mudguards made in Melbourne. A seat, a headlight and a couple of other bits. Couldn't wait to get home.
With the HVNOC's second attempt at the Unapproachable Rally coming up in May
2008 I was starting to get serious and had a real goal. I was making a stranger
of myself to the family, coming home from work and going straight to the shed.
This was a total ground up assembly. Couldn't call it a basket case as there was
never enough to fit in a basket in the first place. This was a grab from all
over. Swap meets, eBay, nose to the ground sniffing bits out, help from club
members & mates, you name it, trying to get bits together for one of the all
time simplest motorcycles.
Four weeks before the rally on the third kick the motor came to life for the
first time in who knows how long!!!! It was a moving experience, but I still
needed more bits. Burnt the midnight oil again and again, till finally the
weekend before the rally I was able to put a plate on the back of the bike and
took it on it's first run, a lap of Lake Macquarie. Did a very brief road
shakedown and made a few adjustments. By the time the bike was unloaded at
Nundle it had done maybe 100miles.
Sitting here now, writing this, one day after the rally weekend, I'm still
smiling and can still hardly believe that another Norton has been resurrected.
The Friday before the weekend, after work and I still had a couple of last minute things to do to the bike. Loaded up the wife 'n' kids in the ute, 16H on trailer along with the Model 18 as reserve and we left home just on dark. Four and a half hours later we pulled into frosty Nundle and pretty well straight into the cot in a warm cabin at the caravan park.
Next morning, the Autumn like day dawned beautiful and crisp with a light frost over all and sundry. Pulled the tarp off the trailer and unloaded the 16H. Double checked the vitals and second kick it came to life. That muffled dud dud dud dud as it idled nicely. Pulled the clobber on, almost forgot to wave to the wife n kids as I got under way with childish excitement, off over to line up with the rest of the crew in anticipation of the days ride ahead.
I'd been riding a 1946 Model 18 for the past few years so many people didn't
give the 16h a second glance, not recognising the 16h for what it was, thinking
I was on the Model 18. There were a few surprised expressions when they saw the
nickel plated side valve springs jumping up and down and having it slowly dawn
on them that something was different.
The clunkers left before the main group of modern Nortons, so we were off,
ES2's, Dominators, Model 7, the 16H, rigid Red Hunter, an AJS and Trish on the
'34 BSA 250, roaring and bellowing and waggling up the road. We were into it.
Cruising along nice and steadily I was able to pace myself with Niels ES2 from
Taree.
The 16h is slower than it's OHV brother, but it's a confidence inspiring bike. I kept thinking of the Motor Cycle Diaries and Che and his mate riding two up around South America and believing they could easily do it on a bike like this. I've got the 16h geared up, so it can whack along a bit, it handles it easily. I don't have a speedo, so I asked Niel how fast we'd been going over different sections and we'd easily been doing 50 -55 m.p.h. The thing was running beautifully and just loved to lope along.
Overall I'm very pleased with the 16h, bike ran like a top, Rally Weekend was tops, ride was excellent, people were great, weather was perfect...... can life get any better. Will we do it again................. you betcha we will.............!!!!!!!!!!!!
BP
carn thu 16 aitches
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