The Manx Norton By Henry Astor

I was up at El Mirage last year and ran across a friend Bill Anderson who has been running a Norton bike on the dry lakes for some time. I was really taken by the design, especially the simplicity of the chassis. Turns out the chassis for the Manx was a ground breaking design invented by the McAndless brothers in 1950. The frame provided high speed stability and was dubbed the “featherbed” by Isle of Man racer Harold Daniels who was so taken by it’s balance and smoothness.

We should also pay tribute to Pole Leo Kusmicki who joined Norton after the war. Leo was considered one of the foremost experts on internal combustion engines in Poland. After been “discovered” doing menial jobs at Norton, he was set to work re-designing the 350 engine. Incredibly he managed to boost the power to 36bhp at 8000 rpm from 28bhp at 7200 rpm.

The Manx became the most popular racing bike the world over. It’s steady handling and power as well as stamina meant many racers on the Continental Circus could race it week in and week out and earn a decent living.

I’ve been told by Bill Anderson that when you’re hugging the big 25 litre TT tank, there’s no other bike that holds its line like a Manx.