RACER TEST
P88
NORTON MANX 500 DAYTONA
gine too overwhelming to be enjoyable. But the engine on that
bike sported a deeply finned Alfin
barrel, indicating it had probably
been used for Formula 3 car racing and then rebuilt for reinstallation in the original Norton frame
by a less skilled hand than Cohen's.
The difference is very noticeable, and I was impressed how
smooth and beautifully balanced
the Klamfoth Norton's engine felt
to ride, even if it's low-running
and lusty rather than a high-revver, as you might expect a twincam engine to be. You must keep
it running above 3500 rpm for a
clean drive - just fingering the
light-action clutch lever a little
when needed to coax it back into
the power band, to the sound of
a healthy crack from that large
open megaphone.
I had to use bottom gear three
times per lap at Mallory Park, a
short, tight track for which the
bike was seriously over-geared
with Klamfoth's original Daytona
gearing still fitted for use on the
fast Goodwood circuit, even
with the slightly lower 5500 rpm
agreed rev ceiling (George gears
it to use 6000 rpm at Goodwood). The engine felt so smooth
and responsive, it was seemingly
longing to rev higher.
In spite of this, though, there
The 1952 Daytona-winning Norton
(left) featured a bigger gas tank,
different seat and revised handlebar and footpeg locations. The
Norton on the right is the bike
that Bill Mathews finished second
on at Daytona in 1948.
was still an acceptably wide power band and quite torquey acceleration by the standards of the era
– the lighter 500cc Norton would
have out-accelerated the bigger,
heavier 750cc American V-twins
at Daytona, only to be out-sped
along the straights. With little vibration apparent to the rider, it
must have made a wonderful ride
for a two-hour-plus race, especially with so much of that entail-
