Lot details
Registration No: KSL 433
Frame No: T.B.A.
Engine No: E429655
cc: 490
MOT Expiry Date: Aug 2005

From start-up in 1902, Norton quickly earned a reputation for producing rapid racing bikes as well as roadsters whose owners found them to be strong and reliable. The Birmingham marque won their first of many TT race victories on the Isle of Man. The Brooklands-based racer and tuner Dan `The Wizard' Donovan developed the 490cc Norton single to produce the Brooklands Special, which, as the Norton BS, became the world's first production racing bike, sold with a certificate confirming that it had done over 75mph at the Surrey racing circuit.
In the early 1920s, Norton converted their single-cylinder motor to overhead valve operation for their Model 18 roadster. Another major technical milestone in Norton's illustrious history was the 1927-introduced overhead camshaft of the CSI, which was immediately victorious in racing in the hands of Stanley Woods and gained many sales on the road when offered in sports roadster form.
Consigned here from a Lancashire collection is a 1950-made and road-going Norton ES2 in silver and black. The 490cc single-cylinder engined machine is currently taxed and tested, the latest disc valid until the end of July and the MOT certificate until August.