New project

I think what you have is a slimline frame altered to look like a wideline at the back.

There was a guy at the last two Nettley autojumbles who had nothing but Norton stuff and mostly singles incl heads and rockers. Sadly I don't recall his name but he came from Hebdon Bridge if that helps. I think Mike said he wasn't doing any more barrels or cranks for a while?

It IS a wideline frame for a single.

Look carefully at the inside edge of the right hand top rail. There is a flat pressed into the tube, this was done to allow access on model 50 and ES2 engines. It's not present on Dominator frames.

The photo of a slimline tank just sitting on the frame shows the front much lower and the back much higher than it would be on a Slimline frame.

Good luck with your project.

One of the reasons I raised the issue was that slimline frames were introduced in 1959 so a 60 wideline is unlikely. Also there were slimline singles in 1960.The back of the tank may be raised because of the frame widenning at the rear. the swing arm looks slimline too. Keep an open mind. You may need a one off tank.

Try Andy Lodge http://www.nortonownersclub.org/events/branch-events/yorkshire-hebden-bridge/yorkshire-hebden-bridge secretary of the Yorkshire branch, he may know, there's a link for his email address on the page.

dan

Trying to pass off a slimline as a wideline seems so pointless, not to mention all that skilled labour which you don't see every day. If that was done to this frame then it was a superb craftsman that did it (and I doubt it very much).

Doesn't anyone ever look at other pages on this site? In the models section it states that the slimline arrived for the ES2 and M50 singles in 1961, thus the last of the 'big' bikes to go slimline. Or should the wisdom on these pages be questioned?

You are quite right George, the singles generally received the slimline a year later but of course there will be some cross over.

My ES2 is in a 62 650 slimline and my mate made a jig to put the flat in the upper right frame rail to factory spec. My Model 50 slimline in a 1960 99 frame does not have a flat, there was no point doing this as the tappets are quite accessible as they are and even on an ES2 wideline.

The front engine mounting point gives a clue to if the frame is a twin or a single, especially on the slimlines. Then again, I cut the (Twin) second mount off my two slimline singles. The plot thickens!

The only way to be sort of sure, if you know what I mean, is by the frame number. The model prefix number will give you a clue, without looking at the parameters of the frame number.

eg 4 = ES2

13 = Model 50

14 = 99

122 = 88

18 = 650

All the above off the top of my head but no ethanol poisoning here!

The frame number will tell you what model it was from the factory ,but whether it was slimline or wideline?.Making a wideline from a slimline does seem odd,but it has been done a few times to make a Triton look more desirable ,fit the big manx tank or even imitate a Manx frame. Bit odd fitting a slimline S/Arm ,photo not clear enough.

Robert, define the difference between a wideline and a slimline swinging arm, especially in the changeover 59/61 years?