1942 (?) Norton MC - work-in=progress..........
 

Afternoon All,

The LGen Ashton Armoury Museum in Victoria, BC, Canada, has a Norton 16H MC that we are in the process of restoring to operation. We finally had her moving under her own power today for the first time in over 4 years - probably longer than that (complete with intrepid rider), but she still needs a lot of work to be done before we're ready to take her out to formal events.

We suspect it may be a 1942 model, but it also looks a bit like a "Frankenstein" model, as the repair depot may have been keeping this MC running into the 1950's, so it may not have original parts. So...........we are trying to find any history on the vehicle.

Unfortunately it seems that the Canadian records for vehicles was/is not great. We have a number of queries out but I'm hoping someone on this board may be able to help. Here is the information that we can get from the bike:

Frame #32735;

Engine #W85720;

War Registry #C4318338 (though we're not sure this is original, or painted on later as part of an earlier restoration project).

It also has a RCEME refurbish plate on the engine with the following information:

Workshop – 17 Coy;

Last Inspected – 15 OCT 56;

Engine# - (still working on getting that as it is really faded and barely legible).

Would anyone here have any idea on how we can track down some information on what unit may have been issued this MC, where, and when this bike was made/used?

Sincerely,

Chris Preston
Vehicle Curator,
LGen Ashton Armoury Museum,
Victoria, BC,
Canada