Roadholder 370 - October 2018

13 I thought I'd share some pics of our trip to the 2018 Mallory Festival of 1,000 Bikes, where I had three sessions round the circuit on my 1975 J.P.N. Also pictured is my four-year-old son, Oliver, who, as you can see, already owns his own Norton, which he rode round the circuit ... when we went to the beer tent later! I have attended all but one of these events since they started way back when and, mallory fun Andy Murden Norton and even the much derided oil bath (or leak) primary chain cases were his. In fact, this chaincase showed a great deal about the character of the man because it could work if in good condition, clean, properly torqued and with a new rubber seal. Not the silicon gun for this engineer. The telescopic forks fitted to the late '30s Model 30M/40Ms were also his invention. His development of the International Norton for the clubman led to most special tuning parts of the works machines becoming available for the public, at least for the SOHC machines, leading to the 30/40M bikes pre- war. Post war, they were officially designated 'Manx' and sold ready-to-race, even to the near-side oil tank fillers and number plates. However, it was his direct involvement in the manufacture of the famous Rex McCandless Featherbed frame that was to match his work on the original OHC engine. He personally took the frame to that arch welding wizard, Ken Sprayson, and supervised its manufacture from 531 tubing to equip Joe Craig's works bikes, and eventually in 1953 the Manxes sold to the (limited) public. Without Edgar Franks the progress of the OHC Norton would not have achieved its rapid inception and eventual world-beating success. Nor would generations of road racers have a race-winning machine at their disposal. He was truly The Norton Engineer of the '30s to '50s. W hilst an ammeter shows the magnitude and the direction of the D.C. current flow, it gives no indication as to condition of the battery. In some cases, due to over charging, the battery could become over-charged and as a result , boiled dry. I have fitted a mini LED panel, it is a volt meter. This is fitted on a home made bracket, under-slung from the handlebar supports. The return to frame wire is terminated via the bracket's nuts and bolts, whilst the other wire is extended and terminated on the output side of the ignition switch. Thus: The LED display is 'on' when the bike is 'live'. This device can be obtained via eBay @ £4.34, post free. By manually switching on/off the bike's lighting load, the voltage to the battery can be manually controlled between 11.5 and 13.4 volts. That is good housekeeping. However, your existing 'reliable voltage control regulator' should be doing this management function for you automatically. A nice evening project. fitting a voltmeter Martin Jones