MANX

The featherbed Norton Manx is one of the greatest racing motorcycles of all time. It can trace its heritage back to 1927, when Norton engineer Walter Moore designed the SOHC engine that took Alec Bennett to victory in that year’s Isle of Man TT. The first DOHC version made its debut in 1937, and between 1931 and 1954 Norton won all but two of the Senior TT races, and often filled the top three places. In 1950, Norton’s racer got a new frame designed by Rex McCandless. A double down tube steel cradle with a swing arm rear suspension, its superior handling characteristics influenced frame design for decades to come. Asked what it was like riding the new Norton, works rider Harold Daniell replied that it was so comfortable it was “just like riding on a feather bed.” The name stuck, and the Featherbed frame became synonymous with superb handling.
The featherbed Norton Manx (the Manx name was adopted in 1947) were offered for sale in 1951, but with less than 100 made each season, they only went to riders of proven ability. The DOHC 350cc Model 40 and 500cc Model 30 were hand-built by a team of less than 10 men in the racing shop of the Bracebridge Street, Birmingham, factory. Crankcases were cast from Elektron magnesium alloy, and to minimize vibration the crankshafts were made integral with the flywheels to increase rigidity. The cam box contained five shafts with five gears, which were ground, not machined, to size. Engines were always run for two hours on a dyno before being stripped and rebuilt. Featherbed singles were still the backbone of international racing as late as 1963, when nine of the top 20 places in that year’s 500cc World Championship series were taken by a Norton Manx At the end of 1950, the English national 500 cc regulations were adopted as the new Formula 3. The JA Prestwich Industries Speedway engine had dominated the category initially but the Manx was capable of producing significantly more power and became the engine of choice. Many complete motorcycles were bought in order to strip the engine for 500 cc car racing, as Norton would not sell separate engines.[12] Manx rolling chassis were frequently sold on and paired with Triumph 650 cc twin engines to create Triton cafe racers