So that would tie in with him selling Kawasaki Paddock Wood and retiring then. That was 1993. He also had his Suzuki TR750 and his Triumph triple there amongst others. He actually got heavily in to sailing when he retired, getting his skippers license.
Coming together slowly. Just waiting for the engine cases to come back from the polisher and the paintwork to be finished. Iâve totally rebuilt the front end, refurbished and repainted the radiator and grille, replaced the head gasket and stripped and cleaned the carbs. Also replaced all the bolts etc with new original parts or stainless. Then it will get cleaned and covered up until the sun comes out!
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I absolutely love doing that stuff! 
Its great fun isnât it. I can spend hours in the workshop, until I have to remind my wife that sheâs still got a husband. 
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Very nice. I particularly like the look of the BMW. 
Thanks for that love the power of the Boxer engine
Yes theyâve got a bit of character about them.
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My Norton Commando that I bought new in 1972 and still going strong. I also have a 1955 Norton ES2 and a 1983 BMW R100.
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Wow that is gorgeous! Looks to be in beautiful condition. Obviously been very well looked after over the years. Are they Lester wheels fitted?
My Dad bought an ES2 brand new in around 1951. He said he paid ÂŁ200 for it, which was plenty at the time. One I snapped at Curborough a few months back
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Stunning!
They are Campbray wheels. Very similar to Lesters in style. Made by a guy who ran Campbell engineering in the 70âs as he had a Commando. Sadly the wheel making project bankrupted him.
Yes I remember Campbray now you say it. Do you still have the original spoke wheels or did you specify these from new?
Still have original wheels. They were never an official option. An aftermarket add on.
Well they do suit the bike and, judging by both your Nortons, you certainly know how to look after them. Theyâre a credit to you!
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Impressive! My (now) brother in lawâs younger brother had a red 1976 GT. We went up to Arran (me pillion) when I was 18 for a weeks camping & fishing. The evening midges were horrendous! An older acquaintance actually had a Mini and carried all the camping & fishing gear & food (I have no idea how it all fitted in). We set off in convoy, but Colin only drove at 50mph on the motorway so the Suzukiâs plugs tended to foul up periodically as two strokes do if they are not thrashed from time to time. So every now and then, down 2 or 3 gears and full throttle overtake for a few miles to clear the plugs & then slow down to wait for the green Mini to appear in the distance. Real tortoise & hare stuff!
It rained on the morning when we packed up and left and rained every single minute of the journey home (about 6 hours) Some of the motorway services had just installed those new fangled warm air hand dryers so when we stopped for a break, we would wring out our gloves and put them over the nozzle to try to warm them up and dry them out a bit. I donât think I have ever been so wet before or since, fully clothed!
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Oh that all brings back âwonderfulâ memories! 
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In 1975 a bunch of us went to Mallory Park to watch the racing. We were all on two strokes, but there was never any chance of the plugs fouling. 
Anyway, it was a reasonably nice day so none of us had any wet weather gear on, and we set off from London. After about ten miles it started raining, (only a shower we thought) but it didnât stop until we got to the circuit. The sun came out, and we were sitting on crash helmets (wet grass) with our jackets, boots etc spread all around trying to dry them out. The racing finished and we set off for homeâŚ.yep, it started pi**ing down again and didnât stop for the rest of the day, it was dark and cold by the time we got home.
To say i was wringing wet is almost an understatement! I was 100% soakedâŚ.right down to my underpants. The pockets in my jacket were full of water that wouldnât drain away, and my feet were so wrinkled they wouldnât have looked out of place on a 90 year old.
I had never been so wet before or since fully clothed either.
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