History 650cc
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hello Christ Your History on the Norton Manxman 650cc Machines ,is a Bit Wrong, Some one as put that the rev count drive cable fouls the right hand side exhaust pipe , well this does not As the Manxman Had a special Right hand Exhaust made that kinked in to miss the rev count drive cable. I have photo too prove this fact . Yours Anna J Dixon
Previously wrote:
Anna has flogged the Manxman to death with the members now she is trying to convert the Son of God!!
Hello Paul well try saying this to the Commando owners Or The New Norton Motorcycles Guys ,that they keep flogging there bikes the death, This Norton Manxman Is over 50years old and Did Not get any publicity of any kind in this Country As these machine were built for the USA market , and not sold here at all , So I am making up for all the publicity that was lost 50years ago , and if you could get you hands on one and have a ride , that you will see why , I keep no about them if any one is interested I know where there are 3 very early machines up for sale so contact me on annajeannette@btinternet.com yours AJD
Re: History 650cc
Posted by
eddie_bellamy
at
May 14. 2012
Previously wrote:
Previously wrote:
Anna has flogged the Manxman to death with the members now she is trying to convert the Son of God!!
Hello Paul well try saying this to the Commando owners Or The New Norton Motorcycles Guys ,that they keep flogging there bikes the death, This Norton Manxman Is over 50years old and Did Not get any publicity of any kind in this Country As these machine were built for the USA market , and not sold here at all , So I am making up for all the publicity that was lost 50years ago , and if you could get you hands on one and have a ride , that you will see why , I keep no about them if any one is interested I know where there are 3 very early machines up for sale so contact me on annajeannette@btinternet.com yours AJD
Surely this should be on heavy twins not website suggestions Eddie bellamy
Previously wrote:
Don't be silly Eddie. Anna posts what she likes where she likes.
Hello if you read its a web site suggestion In the History part on the Norton owners
Club web site there a part on the Norton Manxman that states the rev counter cable foulded the Exhaust pipe , This Is Not the case ,As the Manxman 650 had a Spiecal Right Exhaust Pipe that kinked inward to miss The Rev counter Drive Cable ,So The History Part Needs Changing , So get the details right , yours ajd
To be honest, if I'd been lumbered with a blue motorcycle fitted with a red seat and yippie-aye-ay handlebars, I'd regard a tacho cable touching the down pipe as the least of my problems.
Never before, in the history of old motorcycles, has so much been written about such a small production run by so few...
Anna wrote:
Hello if you read its a web site suggestion In the History part on the Norton owners
Club web site there a part on the Norton Manxman that states the rev counter cable foulded the Exhaust pipe , This Is Not the case ,As the Manxman 650 had a Spiecal Right Exhaust Pipe that kinked inward to miss The Rev counter Drive Cable ,So The History Part Needs Changing , So get the details right , yours ajd
Anna is quite right and I agree that she has posted in the most suitable section.
I enjoy reading about the Manxman; it was an important development even if production numbers were low. Much more interesting for example than discussing which oil to use! 
Cheers
Alan
A pity Anna does not write a bit more about her '54 Dominator. After all, this was the last "True Norton", before AMC took over and the name became "Badge Engineering". This should REALLY upset a lot of members! The Manxman name was coined to con our U.S. cousins into thinking they were getting something related to a Manx Norton, the U.K. market knew better and wouldn't buy it. I owned a 750 Commando, it was a great bike, and directly developed from the original Dominator twin (as I must admit, was the Manxman). The 961, however, bears as much in common to a Norton as a BMW built Mini does to the Austin/Morris version, the Badge! John.
Previously wrote:
A pity Anna does not write a bit more about her '54 Dominator. After all, this was the last "True Norton", before AMC took over and the name became "Badge Engineering". This should REALLY upset a lot of members! The Manxman name was coined to con our U.S. cousins into thinking they were getting something related to a Manx Norton, the U.K. market knew better and wouldn't buy it. I owned a 750 Commando, it was a great bike, and directly developed from the original Dominator twin (as I must admit, was the Manxman). The 961, however, bears as much in common to a Norton as a BMW built Mini does to the Austin/Morris version, the Badge! John.
I was under the impression that the Manxman was unavailable in the UK on initial launch in which case "shouldn't" should read "couldn't". I agree about your badge engineering comments. Too many companies have used prior Marque goodwill to sell products.
Previously wrote:
A pity Anna does not write a bit more about her '54 Dominator. After all, this was the last "True Norton", before AMC took over and the name became "Badge Engineering". This should REALLY upset a lot of members! The Manxman name was coined to con our U.S. cousins into thinking they were getting something related to a Manx Norton, the U.K. market knew better and wouldn't buy it. I owned a 750 Commando, it was a great bike, and directly developed from the original Dominator twin (as I must admit, was the Manxman). The 961, however, bears as much in common to a Norton as a BMW built Mini does to the Austin/Morris version, the Badge! John.
Hello John. Ah.. well now ..the 1954 Dominator was built under the AMC Board. They bailed out Norton in 1953 after a big boardroom bust up with Gilbert Smith (MD), Arthur Sugar (FD) and Joe Craig. This was over the Norton-BRM four cylinder project!
The Norton Manxman was the only machine that the designer Bert Hopwood oversaw from the drawing board to the workshop floor. He never oversaw the Model 7 to production - the biggest part of the design of the Model 7 was down to Jack Moore BSc (Eng). In 1953 the featherbed Dominator Model 88 did the Daytona beach race with some success. Well I hope this interests you, and one more thing to add - The Norton Manxman was like a "wolf in sheep's clothing", I have a friend in Sweden that has had 120mph on the Norton Manxman- and I have the photos! Racing against a 650SS, the Manxman left the SS well behind.
Re: History 650cc
Posted by
benjamin_gradler
at
June 07. 2012
The Manxman did have a inward kink to the right-hand exhaust pipe so the tach cable would go past easier, and the tach was a standard fitment on the American Manxman, but was an extra-cost option for the 1962 650ss. The Manxman had a non-lighted tach, but the 650ss had a light in the tach when fitted. There are a lot of photographs of my original-paint Manxman here and there on the WWW, showing it's original exhaust system off.
There is no reason at all why one of the early Manxman 650s would
be any faster than the 650ss at all, the engines were identical. Same
head, cam, carbs and pistons etc.. The Manxman had different mufflers,
but they were very restrictive having a straight pipe going in with a
solid cap welded on the end which you could see if you looked in the end
of the muffler. The only escape for the exhaust flow was through
louvers on the sides of the internal pipe. One of the first things I did
to the stock mufflers on my Manxman was to stick a pointed piece of
pipe into the front end of the muffler, hit it with a hammer and make
them straight through. They were still very quiet because they were so
heavy and thick, soaked up a lot of noise. The later 650ss bikes put out
by AMC had better tuned exhaust pipes with a much needed smaller
diameter, and the last 650ss bikes got full 30mm Amal concentric carbs
with no sleeves in them, so I would put my money on one of those to
outrun the early Manxman and 650ss that Bracebridge Street put out.
The horsepower ratings and compression ratio differences in books
and advertising between the 650 Manxman and the first Bracebridge Street
650ss bikes was just that, advertising. Differences in performance were
due to maintenance, tuning expertise of the owner and assembly-line
luck of the fitted engine components.
The Manxman was not that low in production either. I believe the first 650ss bikes had engine shop numbers around 500, so that means there were almost 500 650 Norton engines built and installed before 650ss production began, and they were all called "Manxman" by the factory no matter what color they were or what continent they were sold on.
Previously wrote:
The Manxman did have a inward kink to the right-hand exhaust pipe so the tach cable would go past easier, and the tach was a standard fitment on the American Manxman, but was an extra-cost option for the 1962 650ss. The Manxman had a non-lighted tach, but the 650ss had a light in the tach when fitted. There are a lot of photographs of my original-paint Manxman here and there on the WWW, showing it's original exhaust system off.
There is no reason at all why one of the early Manxman 650s would be any faster than the 650ss at all, the engines were identical. Same head, cam, carbs and pistons etc.. The Manxman had different mufflers, but they were very restrictive having a straight pipe going in with a solid cap welded on the end which you could see if you looked in the end of the muffler. The only escape for the exhaust flow was through louvers on the sides of the internal pipe. One of the first things I did to the stock mufflers on my Manxman was to stick a pointed piece of pipe into the front end of the muffler, hit it with a hammer and make them straight through. They were still very quiet because they were so heavy and thick, soaked up a lot of noise. The later 650ss bikes put out by AMC had better tuned exhaust pipes with a much needed smaller diameter, and the last 650ss bikes got full 30mm Amal concentric carbs with no sleeves in them, so I would put my money on one of those to outrun the early Manxman and 650ss that Bracebridge Street put out.
The horsepower ratings and compression ratio differences in books and advertising between the 650 Manxman and the first Bracebridge Street 650ss bikes was just that, advertising. Differences in performance were due to maintenance, tuning expertise of the owner and assembly-line luck of the fitted engine components.
The Manxman was not that low in production either. I believe the first 650ss bikes had engine shop numbers around 500, so that means there were almost 500 650 Norton engines built and installed before 650ss production began, and they were all called "Manxman" by the factory no matter what color they were or what continent they were sold on.
Hello Ben This is all very interesting Please tell us more We are all ears or eye as is were . if you like to email me at annajeannette@btinternet.com Yours AJD
Previously wrote:
To be honest, if I'd been lumbered with a blue motorcycle fitted with a red seat and yippie-aye-ay handlebars, I'd regard a tacho cable touching the down pipe as the least of my problems.
Never before, in the history of old motorcycles, has so much been written about such a small production run by so few..
Hello Richard Well The Norton Manxman 650 .As a right to be written about but It was A big development of Norton motorcycles at that time . And since this web page it for fully paid up long standing members like me . I think I at lest can write something about this iconic motorcycle and you have judged the machine on its yipe hi hand bars As you call them You have not ridden one yet So how can you judge something just because its as USA style Hand bars . and the colour .I happen to like the machine it self I happen to like It very nice to ride and a very comfortable riding position even at high speed . And there was Not much at all written about these machines until I started To write about them on this forum so blame Me for this OK Yours Anna J Dixon
"Hello Richard Well The Norton Manxman 650 .As a right to be written about but It was A big development of Norton motorcycles at that time . And since this web page it for fully paid up long standing members like me . I think I at lest can write something about this iconic motorcycle and you have judged the machine on its yipe hi hand bars As you call them You have not ridden one yet So how can you judge something just because its as USA style Hand bars . and the colour .I happen to like the machine it self I happen to like It very nice to ride and a very comfortable riding position even at high speed . And there was Not much at all written about these machines until I started To write about them on this forum so blame Me for this OK Yours Anna J Dixon"
I had, perhaps rather naïvely, assumed that a sense of humour and the ability to not take oneself too seriously was a prerequisite to long-term Norton ownership. Apparently I was wrong.
I maintain that the aspect of tacho cable routing is a minor one to a dirt-under-the-fingernails enthusiast. Although not my choice for riding, it's not that I've got anything against 'yippee-aye-ay'....Rowdy Yates, Rawhide, Top Entertainment !
Re: History 650cc
Posted by
benjamin_gradler
at
June 08. 2012
Anything that helps improve the accuracy of the website articles is a good thing, in this case Anna brought up a legitimate point. And as far as the American spec 650 Manxman goes, despite it's unconventional styling, it is an important milestone in Norton history that shows the influence and money that the US Berliner Corporation had in sales and marketing of Norton motorcycles....
Thank you Benjamin for those kind & encouraging words, its all so clear now.
I either missed a comment on my earlier reading , or it was missing, as I seem to be able to view about twice the comments now, as I did earlier in the week???????
So I guess this thread is really about a website correction, rather than a website suggestion. Close enough for me
Skip Brolund
