How good does that Norton look!!!,especially with the all black leathers and tinted visor,i remember them from when i was young and they were racing in the British Championship,gorgeous bikes,bring them back!!
this was my favorite track, i used to proddie race at snetterton in 1986-87-88, with bemsee club on an rg500 gamma a gsxr750g and a gsxr1100g, my best lap time was 1min.11sec. on the 1100, these guys are doing 1min six, unbeliavable. top blokes.
remember these heady days even as a 6 yr old. me and my dad were fans of spray on the jps norton. i never realised at the time just how rapid the norton was. essentially a shed built special compared to the might of the japanese. thanks to brian crighton.
je me souviens de ces deux Norton,dans une vhs du tourist trophy,qui étaient pilotées par Trevor Nation,et Robert Dunlop (frére de Joey) superbe !!!!!!!
Well, they did have a point. Rotary engines are well known to produce more power per CC than a piston engine. It's easy to see that in the corners they were similar but in the straights they just had WAY more punch. At the time they probably didn't quite know what to do with the rotaries to class them appropriately.
fishbmw - I have this whole race on VHS and it is Ray Stringer as Trevor Nation was out with a badly broken hand and was watching from the sidelines - what you don't see is that the guy who has a massive slide does it again and they stop the race from the resulting crash and then when they re-start it again the Nortons did the business on the first lap again lol......
They used the tested and approved method of filling the engine with oil to determine its capacity rating. All manufacturers agreed that was the way to do it. But the Japanese manufacturers DID get pissed about not being able to match the speed and power. That's not bitterness it's a fact. They threatened to pull out, easier to lose one manufacturer than lots. Course Norton could've tried GP but were also faced with a brick wall and bullshit. It's all history now, but you gotta wonder what the racing landscape would look like now had they been able to compete. Ofcourse that also assumes the management bickering and in fighting wouldn't have derailed it....
thing is how do you classify it? its 633cc but goes like a 1000cc, the japanese didnt find it too funny on 4 wheels when the french banned the 787b in 93 mainly because their 905 was unreliable.
most effective way of kerbing the rotary power would be to limit its rpm by 2-3000rpm since it will make the majority of its power high in the powerband.
I was his best man at his wedding. I was also his drinking partner come mechanic at most race meetings, he won the the 1300cc proddie championship that year on a GSXR1100J with the Retford club. Good memories from back then.
steve chambers...top class clubman...absolute crime he didnt get a top ride.... the days are long gone when a clubman could get a bike, tune it an put ohlins on and put it up the top teams...that is a shame, its what racing is all about...and we brits love the underdog.....
I remember watching JPS Nortons on TV, they always seemed to annihilate everything on the straights and lose it on the corners, although judging from this race my memories are hazy.
Agreed,much the same as riding a two stroke,but the problem has always been getting a big four stroke into a corner without backing it in and going off line,so it has always been a bit of a compromise I suppose!
Looked through a few old programmes and I raced gainst Brett Wood at Snetterton in Aug 89',1300 proddie class,I was on a CBR6 and he was on a 1100 Suzuki.Not sure of results.Know him?
If only Norton had kept developing it and they had the money!Saying that the FIM would have banned it as it kept beating the Japanese,bitter and twisted?
the norton 558 was awsome. its problem was no engine braking , imagine going in to a corner in neutral thats why the 4/ were better in to the corners and under braking
Mate i was 9 years old when this was run, i remember these days well, obviously at that age you find it hilarious that Jim Whitham was sponsored by "Durex"...oh well.....good times...
I asked the manager simmonds in '92 at brands what happened to Steve Spray,and his reply was that he'd lost it! As to what he was getting at (as a 28 year old),and to this day i have no idea,but what i do know is fat simmonds was not a man to trust!
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How good does that Norton look!!!,especially with the all black leathers and tinted visor,i remember them from when i was young and they were racing in the British Championship,gorgeous bikes,bring them back!!
this was my favorite track, i used to proddie race at snetterton in 1986-87-88, with bemsee club on an rg500 gamma a gsxr750g and a gsxr1100g, my best lap time was
1min.11sec. on the 1100, these guys are doing 1min six, unbeliavable. top blokes.
remember these heady days even as a 6 yr old. me and my dad were fans of spray on the jps norton. i never realised at the time just how rapid the norton was. essentially a shed built special compared to the might of the japanese. thanks to brian crighton.
je me souviens de ces deux Norton,dans une vhs du tourist trophy,qui étaient pilotées par Trevor Nation,et Robert Dunlop (frére de Joey) superbe !!!!!!!
When those Norton's stayed in one piece they were so fast.
superb memories
Fantastic memories, a golden revival in british motorcycles, sadly missed today
If I remember correctly didn’t the norton get a 500gp wildcard entry
Well, they did have a point. Rotary engines are well known to produce more power per CC than a piston engine. It's easy to see that in the corners they were similar but in the straights they just had WAY more punch.
At the time they probably didn't quite know what to do with the rotaries to class them appropriately.
0:40 brutal!!
fishbmw - I have this whole race on VHS and it is Ray Stringer as Trevor Nation was out with a badly broken hand and was watching from the sidelines - what you don't see is that the guy who has a massive slide does it again and they stop the race from the resulting crash and then when they re-start it again the Nortons did the business on the first lap again lol......
They used the tested and approved method of filling the engine with oil to determine its capacity rating. All manufacturers agreed that was the way to do it.
But the Japanese manufacturers DID get pissed about not being able to match the speed and power. That's not bitterness it's a fact. They threatened to pull out, easier to lose one manufacturer than lots.
Course Norton could've tried GP but were also faced with a brick wall and bullshit.
It's all history now, but you gotta wonder what the racing landscape would look like now had they been able to compete.
Ofcourse that also assumes the management bickering and in fighting wouldn't have derailed it....
thing is how do you classify it? its 633cc but goes like a 1000cc, the japanese didnt find it too funny on 4 wheels when the french banned the 787b in 93 mainly because their 905 was unreliable.
You classify it according to capacity is my opinion. Or you change the rules and reclassify everyone on top speed...or bhp
most effective way of kerbing the rotary power would be to limit its rpm by 2-3000rpm since it will make the majority of its power high in the powerband.
I was his best man at his wedding. I was also his drinking partner come mechanic at most race meetings, he won the the 1300cc proddie championship that year on a GSXR1100J with the Retford club. Good memories from back then.
une musique bien famillière !!!!
The Japanese manufacturers weren't happy with these machines. Beautiful works of art. And bloody fast
steve chambers...top class clubman...absolute crime he didnt get a top ride.... the days are long gone when a clubman could get a bike, tune it an put ohlins on and put it up the top teams...that is a shame, its what racing is all about...and we brits love the underdog.....
I remember watching JPS Nortons on TV, they always seemed to annihilate everything on the straights and lose it on the corners, although judging from this race my memories are hazy.
Yeah got some more Norton footage,will post more action from this era as time permits.
Anything in particular?
Agreed,much the same as riding a two stroke,but the problem has always been getting a big four stroke into a corner without backing it in and going off line,so it has always been a bit of a compromise I suppose!
If that was nowdays they would all get jump start penalties
Looked through a few old programmes and I raced gainst Brett Wood at Snetterton in Aug 89',1300 proddie class,I was on a CBR6 and he was on a 1100 Suzuki.Not sure of results.Know him?
haha Durex pulled out.
or you could say they withdrew .....
The Durex-sponsored bike broke...
*snickers*
If only Norton had kept developing it and they had the money!Saying that the FIM would have banned it as it kept beating the Japanese,bitter and twisted?
the norton 558 was awsome. its problem was no engine braking , imagine going in to a corner in neutral thats why the 4/ were better in to the corners and under braking
I was not aware of that at all, many thanks.
Mate i was 9 years old when this was run, i remember these days well, obviously at that age you find it hilarious that Jim Whitham was sponsored by "Durex"...oh well.....good times...
Who is commentating besides Keith Huewan?
did you ever race against a guy called Brett Wood and Mark White in the 1300 proddie class?
Shame on you Norton management for fucking the company up, fantastic sounds, i was there.
Norton power!!
3rd 4th 5th and 6th thay are more
interested in them than THE NORTONS...
@deepmelody1991 It's number was 69 too.
I asked the manager simmonds in '92 at brands what happened to Steve Spray,and his reply was that he'd lost it! As to what he was getting at (as a 28 year old),and to this day i have no idea,but what i do know is fat simmonds was not a man to trust!
Les made in Black 🙋✨☝️🇮🇲, manx....
bit young to have been there arnt you?
The commentator sounds like he's swallowed a motorbike