RACER TEST
P90
NORTON MANX 500 DAYTONA
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ing the engine being held wide
open at top speed.
However, the Klamfoth bike
isn't entirely as Dick raced it to
the third in his hat trick of Daytona wins, partly because it had
already been modified when Cohen bought it, and also because
he made one other big change.
"It came with the later Featherbed Manx type seat already on it,
1. The oil tank filler neck was
moved to the left side – closest to
the pits on the old Daytona Beach
course.
2. The view Klamfoth enjoyed…
except he was looking at the
beaches of Daytona.
3. The long-stroke 499cc DOHC
engine was the first-generation
"double-knocker" motor. It makes
45 horsepower at 5750 rpm.
4. The bike uses an eight-inch
twin leading-shoe drum brake.
as well as the Ace 'bars I've left
fitted to it," says Cohen "Whereas it should rightly have the wider
cow-horn handlebars and the
flat saddle, both of which I have
at home as spares for the '48
Mathews bike. But I've raised the
compression ratio to 12:1 instead
of the 8:1 they were allowed to
run at Daytona – or 7:1 on the
postwar pool petrol in England and I've fitted a close-ratio gearbox to full Manx specification,
with a belt primary drive hidden
behind the vented primary cover.
I've still got the original Daytona
'box with the kickstarter on the
shelves, though."
The fuel tank, by the way, is
larger than 'normal' Garden Gate
Manxes of the period, with a taller shape as well as a left-side oil
tank filler neck that was on the
side closest to the pits on the
Beach Course. Also the primary
chain is fully enclosed, with an
oil-bath cover to keep the sand
out and prolong chain life, complete with the Beart mod entailing
three small fins brazed on to the
pressure plate of the clutch to act
as a fan and help cool the chain.
Normally on a Manx this ran dry
and in the open air. The change
worked and chain failure was
never a problem on the Daytona
Nortons.
The combination of the lower
GP-style seat and original quite
high Daytona footpegs means
that you sit much lower than originally, which felt more cramped
than my old original bike did
with its well-sprung flat seat and
a bum-pad atop the rear fender.
