Real Classic December 2022

I am delighted to reveal that in my life I have consistently failed to follow my own advice - even when that advice was sound and usually sensible, too. Many - if not most - of the questions I'm asked have to do with motorcycles, which is probably not entirely a surprise, to be honest. And probably paramount and indeed most sensible among that advice has been that no one should ever buy a bike without seeing it, riding it, and discovering whether they like it or not before parting with actual money. This is particularly sensible advice when considering the purchase of a machine which is almost a half-century old. Photos are all very well, of course, but they can be very misleading. I usually add a caveat: buying from…

‘Better looking, more powerful, more comfortable than ever.’ That was Norton's claim for their much-improved Dominator 99 when it took centre stage at Earl's Court in the autumn of 1959. They were bang-on with the latter pair of propositions which proved to be absolutely true, but the opening claim is rather more subjective. Our feature bike, for instance, hardly rushed to find its first owner: it was despatched from the factory to Godfrey Motorcycles in East London in the spring of 1960, but it then sat in the showroom for two years before someone actually bought it. That simple snippet of history accurately represents the overall fate of the Deluxe Dominators. They were presented to the public with a flurry of positive promotion but were delisted in less than three…

I am delighted to reveal that in my life I have consistently failed to follow my own advice - even when that advice was sound and usually sensible, too. Many - if not most - of the questions I'm asked have to do with motorcycles, which is probably not entirely a surprise, to be honest. And probably paramount and indeed most sensible among that advice has been that no one should ever buy a bike without seeing it, riding it, and discovering whether they like it or not before parting with actual money. This is particularly sensible advice when considering the purchase of a machine which is almost a half-century old. Photos are all very well, of course, but they can be very misleading. I usually add a caveat: buying…

RealClassic NORTON 99 DELUXE ‘Better looking, more powerful, more comfortable than ever.’ That was Norton's claim for their much-improved Dominator 99 when it took centre stage at Earl's Court in the autumn of 1959. They were bang-on with the latter pair of propositions which proved to be absolutely true, but the opening claim is rather more subjective. Our feature bike, for instance, hardly rushed to find its first owner: it was despatched from the factory to Godfrey Motorcycles in East London in the spring of 1960, but it then sat in the showroom for two years before someone actually bought it. That simple snippet of history accurately represents the overall fate of the Deluxe Dominators. They were presented to the public with a flurry of positive promotion but were delisted in…

If you're thinking of buying a similar Norton twin, here's some sage advice from marque expert Les Emery of Norton specialist Norvil Motorcycles. ‘Run the engine until it's good and hot. Stop it. It should then start first kick with the throttle half open.’ Then when you're out on the open road; ‘make sure it handles better than any bike you've ever ridden. It should! If it doesn't then don't buy it.’ You may also want to check that a prospective purchase has a stout sidestand. Dommi centrestands have a relatively narrow span, which makes them less than superlatively stable, so a pukka prop stand is a must-have accessory. Once you've got your new P&J home, Les Emery recommends that you ‘fit Avon Roadrider tyres for extra grip.’ And how much might…

1949 to 1956: Model 7 (29bhp) built 1951 to 1966: Model 88 (29 to 36bhp) built 1951: short Roadholders fitted to all featherbeds 1954: eight-inch brake introduced, welded rear frame loop 1955: alloy cylinder head, Monobloc carb, full width hubs 1956 to 1958: Model 77 (31 bhp) built 1956 to 1962: Model 99 (31 to 36bhp) built 1956: AMC gearbox introduced, new camshaft, new silencers 1958 to 1960: non-featherbed Nomad scrambler built for export only 1958: coil ignition and alternator introduced 1960: slimline frame introduced; compression ratio increased 1960 to 1961:650 Manxman built for export only 1960 to 1968: Atlas (49 to 55bhp) built 1961: compression increased again on 88 and 99 1962 to 1968: twin-carb 650 SS (49bhp) built 1963: production moves to Plumstead 1964:12-Volt electrics introduced 1965: drive chain increased to 3/8th inch 1966: Amal concentric carbs introduced 1968 to 1970: single-carb Mercury 650 built…