Roadholder 364 - April 2018

6 NOC spares scheme annual stock - taking Noreen Stainwright I dare say that when members want spare parts for their Classic Norton bikes, they never give a thought to the detail of who operates the Spares Scheme, how it operates or where from. We all take the online and phone ordering systems of the big multi-national companies, with their vast computerised and robot-infested distribution centres, for granted. Well, the NOC Spares Scheme is a very different system! To start with, it is managed and operated by three volunteers from the Bournemouth Branch, all of whom have full time jobs. Branch Chairman, Neil Shoosmith, is the Spares Administrator and he is ably assisted by Gerry Senior, who is currently standing in for Ian Somerville. These are the boys who deal with queries, picking and packing, without a single robot in sight. Branch Secretary, Ally Gillingham, is the 'gofer' and usually deals with the postal dispatch of the spares, both for UK and overseas members. It may surprise you to know that there are over 31,000 individual spares held under more than 2,500 parts numbers, and all have to be accounted for with an annual stock-take. As you can appreciate, these are a valuable asset for the Club, and great care must be taken to check and verify the holdings on an annual basis to ensure that the stock holding tallies with what has been sold and purchased during the year. These spares cover most Norton models over a wide range of years and consist of original Norton spares, re-manufactured parts to original Norton drawings, and parts from well known commercial suppliers, like Lucas and Brembo. The larger parts, like petrol tanks, cylinder Geoff, Gerry, Jim and Richard trying to stay cheerful Noreen and Paul in the naughty corner Neil, Nipper and Paul hiding round a corner