LOT 506

1954 Norton 490cc Model 30 International Registration no. POK 676 Frame no. 11 59193 Engine no. 59193 11

Sold for £14,950 inc. premium

Lot 506

1954 Norton 490cc Model 30 International

The Autumn Stafford Sale – The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show|14 October 2023, 10:30 BST|Stafford, Staffordshire County Showground

1954 Norton 490cc Model 30 International
Registration no. POK 676
Frame no. 11 59193
Engine no. 59193 11

One of the most charismatic model names in motorcycling, 'International' was first used by Norton for its top-of-the-range sports roadster in 1932. All new, the Inter's overhead-camshaft engine had been developed in the works racers over the preceding two years and retained Norton's classic 79x100mm bore/stroke dimensions. By the time production halted in 1939 the Inter was being built with a four-speed foot-change gearbox and plunger rear suspension, reappearing postwar in similar guise save for the hydraulically-damped Roadholder front fork, which replaced the pre-war girder. The Inter would remain fundamentally unchanged until 1953 when it gained the race-developed Featherbed frame, all-alloy engine and 'laid down' 'box. Expensive to make and challenged by cheaper parallel twins of comparable performance, the Inter ceased to be catalogued after 1955 but could still be obtained to special order until 1958.

A matching-numbers example, this International comes with its original logbook recording it first registered to Colmore Depot Ltd of Birmingham, who would go on to sell the Norton twice more. There are four private owners listed up to July 1962. Our vendor has owned the Inter for the last four years and has done little with it other than occasional summer runs. Accompanying paperwork includes two instruction manuals; some bills and expired MoTs; and a current V5C document.

Footnotes

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