LES EMERY
It is with the deepest regret that we are writing to inform you of the passing of Les Emery.
Les had a passion for motorbikes right from an early age and bought his first big motorbike, a Matchless, as a teenager. But Les’s real passion was for Nortons and a year later, his fiancé Sue, bought him his first Norton, a Dominator Deluxe. Shortly after getting his Norton, Les joined the Norton Owners Club and quickly expanded his knowledge of all Nortons. As a member of the Norton Owners Club, Les became heavily involved within the committee, undertaking roles such as Membership Secretary and Spares Advisor. The latter of these roles lead to Les and Sue opening Fair Spares in 1980, to supply Norton spares to the world, this lead to Les leaving his job as a tool setter at Lucas to dedicate himself to keeping Nortons on the road full time.
Les has been at the forefront of many of the improvements made to increase safety and reliability for the Norton over the years, such as the belt drive, disc brake and starter motor innovations. He was even appointed by Haynes to edit their manual for the Norton Dominator.
Les gave so much to the Norton world and had operated a free technical help line for an hour each day for over 40 years.
Les was truly one of the time served experts in the Norton world and his presence will be truly missed.
