G50 – NYC Norton ™

Racing 2014
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Racing 2014

Racing 2014

For years our closest race on the AHRMA calendar was Grattan, MI, clocking in at 750 miles from NYC. So when the announcement came in last year that we would be racing in New Jersey we couldn't believe what we heard. The notion of being able to load up and get to a track in 2 hours (125 miles), spend a weekend chasing the racing jones, and make it home to our own beds by Sunday evening was such an alien concept. Because the track is centrally located to NYC, Philly, Baltimore, DC, the organizers have worked hard to target the eastern seaboard motorcycle world (not just racers) and make it a cornerstone event smack-dab in the middle of our racing season, picking up where Mid Ohio left off. There are vendors, a swap meet, bike shows, bands, etc. and each year it grows in stature. Plus, the Thunderbolt track [...]

Norton2024-02-25T17:56:32-05:00December 31st, 2014|commando, G50, nycNorton, racing|

Racing 2014
Gallery
Racing 2014

Racing 2014

Charging down Thunder Alley at Road America at top speed has to be one of the greatest experiences one can ever have on a motorcycle. Doing it on a revving British Single or Twin is even better. This 4.05 mile long course has everything for the bikes the NYC Norton team races – very fast sections, some wavy twisties, and tight little moments. It is without question a top-3 favorite track for all of us. We loaded up the Sprinter and began the drive to the land of cheese curds and brats - Wisconsin! Road America, Elkart Lake, WI, June 06, 2014: This year we brought 4 bikes – Helmut’s G50, Kenny’s G50, Jon’s Atlas, and Magyar’s NRE (again, Kenny riding the NRE on loan while new pistons were being manufactured for his Seeley Norton). Kenny was to run the NRE in Formula 750 and his G50 in 500 Premier. [...]

Norton2024-02-25T17:56:33-05:00December 30th, 2014|commando, G50, nycNorton, racing|

Racing 2014
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Racing 2014

Racing 2014

The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association, or AHRMA, has lumped a lot of their racing weekends into back-to-back events. There are mixed feelings about this as 50% believe it's impossible to take that much time off from work, and the other 50% like the fact they can get more bang for their travel buck. For our East Coast-based racing operation, the back-to-backs weekends of Willow Springs and Sonoma Raceway in Southern and Northern California, respectively, made for easy planning and logistics. So the Sprinter was loaded with a Seeley 750, A Norton Atlas, and a Seeley G50, topped off with diesel, and away we went. Willow Springs Raceway, Rosemond, CA, April 25, 2014 We'd all heard so much about how Willow is a locals track, it's fast, it's hot, it's cold, and it's windy, then it's really windy, all of which became perfectly clear very quickly. We arrived Thursday [...]

Norton2024-02-25T17:56:33-05:00December 29th, 2014|commando, G50, nycNorton, racing|

Racing 2014
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Racing 2014

Racing 2014

Over the last few years NYC Norton has grown quite a bit as a thriving business rebuilding classics and a successful racing team. In 2013 we completed a Seeley G50 build for our client Helmut Niederer and delivered it to him at Barber. Knowing little about Helmut's racing skills (other than rumors he'd taken Kevin Schwantz's racing school at least 30 times), our mission for the weekend was simply to help him get started with his new possession. By the end of the Barber event Helmut's lap times put him within the top 5 riders of the 500 Premier class. We were pleasantly surprised and knew we had a good one here. After Kenny returned from his sojourn to Australia in January, a meeting was held and the 2014 season became perfectly clear - Jon Thorndike, Helmut, and Kenny would do all 10 rounds of AHRMA in the US. [...]

Norton2024-02-25T17:56:33-05:00December 26th, 2014|builds, commando, G50, nycNorton, racing|

Phillip Island 2014
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Phillip Island 2014

Phillip Island 2014

On Thursday, January 16, 2014, former TT Racer and tuner of some of the fastest classic bikes Maurice Candy, Dave Roper, and I, met in Terminal 4 at JFK to begin our long journey to Phillip Island, Australia, to take part in the 21st annual Island Classic. The Australian Motorcycle News (AMCN) had invited a group of Yanks to participate, providing transportation via two 40' containers full of bikes departing from both the West and East Coast of the USA. As seen in a previous post, I loaded up my Seeley G50 back in November and the container had now arrived safely at the track, awaiting our arrival for unloading. The three of us flew to LAX and had a short layover. Here we met up with Don Lange, an old friend from Seattle, who has been accompanying our racing crew around the USA for the last season, filming for [...]

Norton2024-02-25T17:56:34-05:00January 31st, 2014|G50, nycNorton, racing|

Pack It Up
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Pack It Up

Pack It Up

We've been tardy at posting one of the biggest announcements in our racing times... the invitation to compete in the Island Classic at Phillip Island, Australia, January 24-26, 2014. The Australians have graciously extended their hand to a select few Americans, inviting them to compete in this huge event, and we are most flattered to have been included. There are 2 groups of American racers heading over; a West Coast group headed up by Dave Crussel, and an East Coast group, arranged by Bob Coy (USCRA). Our little sub-group - Dave Roper, Maurice Candy, our filmmaker friend Don Lange (who will be capturing the whole event - more on that in another post later), and me (Kenny Cummings) - will be departing from New York, flying into Sydney, doing a bit of sight-seeing, then meandering our way down to Phillip Island. The Aussies are a tough lot - competitive and [...]

Norton2024-02-25T17:56:34-05:00January 4th, 2014|G50, nycNorton, racing|