Property of a deceased's estate, 1928 Norton 498cc Model 18

• Desirable Vintage-era 'flat-tanker'
• Present ownership since 1980
• An older restoration
• Good history file

Like the majority of their contemporaries, Norton relied on the sidevalve engine until the 1920s when the existing and well-tried 490cc unit was used as the basis for the firm's first overhead-valve design. Newly introduced for 1923, Norton's Model 18 OHV sports roadster quickly established a reputation for both speed and reliability when a standard engine assembled from parts was used to set a host of records, including a new 12 hours mark. The Model 18 retained its essentially Vintage characteristics until 1931 when the range was extensively redesigned, dry-sump lubrication and rear-mounted magneto being standardised, the most obvious external alteration in its appearance before then being the adoption of a 'saddle' tank for 1929. There were numerous improvements made to the engine throughout the 1930s, including enclosure of the valve gear, while Norton's own four-speed foot-change gearbox replaced the old Sturmey Archer in 1935. Production of an essentially unchanged 1939 model resumed after WW2.

Like the majority of their contemporaries, Norton relied on the sidevalve engine until the 1920s, when the existing and well-tried 490cc unit was used as the basis for the firm's first overhead-valve design. Penned by James Lansdowne Norton himself and first seen in prototype form in 1922, the overhead-valve Norton made little impact in that year's Senior TT, though at Brooklands D R O'Donovan raised the world 500cc kilometre record to over 89mph using the new motor. A road-going version - the Model 18 - was catalogued for 1923, quickly establishing a reputation for both speed and reliability when a standard engine assembled from parts was used to set a host of records, including a new 12 hours mark. Alec Bennett won the Senior TT for Norton in 1924 and, demonstrating that racing really did improve the breed, the Model 18 gaining Webb forks and better brakes for 1925 as a direct result of the works team's experiences.

The Model 18 retained its essentially Vintage characteristics until 1931 when the range was extensively redesigned, dry-sump lubrication and rear-mounted magneto being standardised. The most obvious external alteration in its appearance before then had been the adoption of a 'saddle' tank for 1929. There were numerous improvements made to the engine throughout the 1930s, including enclosure of the valve gear, while Norton's own four-speed foot-change gearbox replaced the old Sturmey Archer in 1935. Production of an essentially unchanged 1939 model resumed after WW2 and then for 1947 the Model 18 was up-dated with Roadholder telescopic forks in common with the rest of the Norton range. Production ceased in 1954.

Formerly attached to a sidecar, this Vintage-era Model 18 was registered to the late owner on 18th May 1980. An older restoration, the machine comes with a good history file containing an old-style buff continuation logbook (issued 1962); a photocopied manual; and old V5/V5C documents. It should be noted that these registration documents record the engine number as '38114'.