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1959 Jubilee 250 road test

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I have just obtained an original copy of Motor Cycling, March 12, 1959 which carried the first roadtest of the new Norton Jubilee (XOH 147). It's really interesting as it praises the ulta modern styling, the performance and, would you believe, the brakes. It recorded top speed "with the needle creeping towards the 80 mph." It does say the speedo read fast and the true top speed was "in the region of 76 mph".

It had an excellent gearbox, finger light clutch, rapid acceleration off the mark, and was mechanically very quiet with a well subdued exhaust note. The steering was rock steady and it had day long cruising rate of 55-60mph.

Does anyone recognise their Jubilee from this description.? Sounds more like a CBR. Oh yes it had some faults; mainly "the warning note from the horn is by no means stentorian". The specification lists the speedo as a 80 mph speedometer. Every Jubilee I have owned had a 100mph speedo. Does anyone know when they changed the speedo?

Patrick

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Yep, their roadtest findings equate pretty much with my own experience with the Jubilee I ran between 1961 and 1963 (sold it to buy a Velo Venom, which proved a much more troublesome proposition).

 


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