What should be plated?

I used to own an early plunger ES2 (when I was in my teens!) and I don't recall the pegs being held by chrome plated supports. In fact, I don't think I ever seen c/p supports - ever!

George

My take on Chrome is iftheitemis/was or hasbeenpolished itcan alsobeplated. Anything thatisrough cast, irregular or just ugly,should not.

1952suggests leanyearsto me,sweets on ration, soplating may notbe orderof the day till alittlelater in thedecade.

Jon

Previously ian_soady wrote:

Should the footrest hangers and rear brake pedal on my 1952 ES2 be chrome plated? Contemporary photos seem to show both plated and painted, and as I'm having other bits chromed I might as well have these done as well if that's how it left Bracebridge Street.

if you like em in chrome, Why not?

Previously George Phillips wrote:

I used to own an early plunger ES2 (when I was in my teens!) and I don't recall the pegs being held by chrome plated supports. In fact, I don't think I ever seen c/p supports - ever!

George

Yes they were plated. Only, they are all so abuseds by now that hardly any trace of the plating survives.

I have never seen chrome plated footrest hangers or brake pedal on any '40s or '50s Norton. In my experience, all were black enameled

It sticks in my mind that this is roughly the period of the Korean War chrome crisis. Chromium was in such short supply that bikes didn't have it. Various alternatives were tried. I know Vincents of that era got triple nickel plating on parts like kick start levers, and black painted wheel rims

Paul

Previously boo_cock wrote:

Previously George Phillips wrote:

I used to own an early plunger ES2 (when I was in my teens!) and I don't recall the pegs being held by chrome plated supports. In fact, I don't think I ever seen c/p supports - ever!

George

Yes they were plated. Only, they are all so abuseds by now that hardly any trace of the plating survives.

Hi Ian

I have an unrestored 1952 and1954 es2,s both have no chrome ,painted wheel rims petrol tank push rod tubes ,however my 1951 ese has loads of chrome ,i think you will find all post war roadsters had painted foot rests

Regards Roger

My father's '49 International had painted footrests and brake lever. Rims, lower fork shrouds, tank, handlebars, control levers, vertical shaft tube were chrome

My Model 88 Dominator had been given a cosmetic rebuild before I got it, so the painted footrests and brake lever can not be relied upon, but the second owner said that was correct.

Paul

Previously roger_deadman wrote:

Hi Ian

I have an unrestored 1952 and1954 es2,s both have no chrome ,painted wheel rims petrol tank push rod tubes ,however my 1951 ese has loads of chrome ,i think you will find all post war roadsters had painted foot rests

Regards Roger

Studying Roy Bacon's book, the photos of singles from '47 through '49 appear to show them plated. There is even a close-up of a footrest on page 46 which clearly shows chrome plating. A cynical view may be that, as these are all 'studio' pictures, probably used in brochures, and maybe these machines were shown at Earls Court, what was on show bikes may not necessarily have filtered through to production models.

Be that as it may, photographs of early to mid-'50's models show the parts painted. This would be most certainly because of the nickel shortage, which really bit from mid-1951 through to late 1953 or so. My bet for 1952 would be painted.

Ian

Earl's Court bikes were often given VERY fancy treatment. Any photo of one of these will be no guide at all to production-bike spec. Road test machines were frequently tarted up and made to go faster with special attention in the tuning shop.

You have to rely on what people accept as standard spec- but even this is problematic, because detail spec may change frequently, or for random reasons like parts being termporarily unavailable, or a bike may have been given a non-catalogue special specification.

Paul