1960 Norton 500cc Model 30 Manx Racing Motorcycle

•Engine built by Ray Petty
•Entered by Bee-Bee Racing and ridden by Alistair Frame and Malcolm Lucas
•Present ownership since 2008

"With a history stretching back almost to the very dawn of motorcycling itself, the Norton single is without doubt the greatest of all the over-the-counter production racers." - Mick Walker, Manx Norton.

Dubbed 'Manx Grand Prix' in 1939, what would become the best-known racing motorcycle of all time had become simply 'Manx' when production resumed in 1946. Norton's over-the-counter Manx racers were much the same as their pre-war counterparts, with single-overhead-camshaft engine, 'square' cylinder head finning, upright gearbox and plunger-suspended 'garden gate' frames. Only the presence of the Roadholder telescopic front fork readily distinguished them from the '39 machines. 1949 brought the first significant change in engine specification, the Manx gaining a double-overhead-camshaft 'head like that enjoyed by the works bikes for many years, but the major development was the arrival of the Featherbed frame for 1951. The works' adoption of the McCandless-designed duplex-loop swinging-arm chassis the previous year had given the Nortons a new lease of life in Grand Prix racing, and Geoff Duke duly took both the 350 and 500cc world titles in 1951. The cycle parts remained essentially unchanged from then on apart from the adoption of a double-sided, twin-leading-shoe front brake for 1962. Manx engine development, though, continued steadily, latterly under Doug Hele's direction, until production ceased at the end of '62, among the most significant design changes being the adoption of 'square' bore and stroke dimensions for 1954 and coarser-pitch bevel teeth in 1957. Loved and admired by all that have ridden one, the Manx Norton in its many forms is a mainstay of today's classic racing scene.

The example offered here features a 1960 frame and a 1957 engine. Incorporating new original crankcases, the latter reputedly is the last engine built by famed Norton tuner Ray Petty in 1985. The Manx was owned formerly by Mike Hoskisson of Bee-Bee Racing, and was raced by Alistair Frame and Malcolm Lucas in the Manx Grand Prix (the crankcase halves are stamped 'B' and 'B'.) The late owner purchased the Norton at a UK auction in October 2008, since when it has formed part of his extensive private collection. Having been stored in controlled conditions and unused since purchase the machine will require recommissioning to a greater or lesser extent before further use and thus is sold strictly as viewed.