Roadholder 370 - October 2018

12 50, which was an innovation for Nortons who, with the exception of the CJ and Model 40 International OHC, had concentrated on senior machines and the larger capacity classes. Perhaps his greatest achievement, and one that was almost denied to him, was the work that he did for the non-works riders in developing first the International and then the Manx. It is a common fallacy that Joe Craig developed the clubman's Manx, but in reality, Craig concentrated on improving the works OHC motors, and recruiting the team of works riders to bring in the gold, whereas Franks had that rare gift in the motorcycle business, of working as a production and development engineer, concentrating on the non-works models. His character can be summed up, not only through reading his careful paragraphs on maintaining and repairing all Norton models, but from his thoughts and advice on preparing the International and Manxes for racing. His philosophy was simple: cleanliness and patience. In his words, nothing should be considered too much trouble to ensure that every detail of the machine was as near perfect as possible, and that hours spent on judiciously lightening all reciprocating parts would not be wasted. Manufacturers could only spend so much time on this within cost constraints. Franks had a rare quality in the motorcycle hierarchy: he was an excellent production engineer who could work well with designers, draughtsmen, riders and bosses. He also had foresight, an essential gift in the times of the Wall Street crash, and the slump. Whilst most manufacturers were downsizing to cater for the impoverished market, with 150 cc machines to capture the new tax class, he joined Joe Craig and Arthur Carroll in their greatest test - to design and build a totally new senior Norton to win races and cater for the rich. At the same time he bought out a novelty, well almost, for Norton: a junior or 350cc range starting with the OHC CJ, Model 40 and finally the 40M. He also designed the 350cc Model 50. Not content with this, he realised that to compete on price, Norton needed to be more self-sufficient. Norton girders replaced the Webb and Druid forks, brakes were F or those of you lucky enough to own a pre-war Norton, the name of Edgar M. Franks will be familiar, not least because of the detailed guide that he wrote on all Norton models from 1932 to 1949. Although this work ran to a fourth edition in 1954 it would be P. L. Garratt, the repair manager at Nortons, who would continue this masterpiece from 1949 to 1962. Edgar Franks was the well qualified, and gifted, technical manager at Norton Motors Ltd. from the late 1920s until he retired in about 1954. He oversaw the Carroll/ Craig SOHC Norton from its inception as a 490cc CSI and 349cc CJ in 1929, through the International Models 30 and 40 to emerge after the war as the famous 30M and 40M DOHC Manx machines. He could also claim to have designed the 350cc pushrod Model edgar m. franks AMIMechE Father of the Manx Norton Bill Southcombe Series T 1946. Now why would a company be offering such items if the actual engines had not already been built? Well we know that the Model 7, after a large hiccup, eventually got into production, that production of the Series T engine was planned for 1948 but got pipped at the post by the Model 7, and I believe that the shaft-drive 350cc engine was shelved for around 15 years and then large sections revived for use in the Navigator. See below: