![]() ![]() The gearbox was built from scratch using an HD shell with increased wall thickness, and NYC Norton designed a custom manifold to run Dell Orto PHF 34s carbs as in the Axtell setup. Armed with a couple of cocktail napkin sketches, we went to work.” “Lofty goals, but hey… let’s shoot for the stars. The brief was simple: RH side foot controls like a real dirt tracker, just enough lights / electronics to pass inspection, and design inspiration from the famous Ron Wood / CR Axtell championship Norton twin-downtube flat tracker: A short time later, a Tri-C Trackmaster replica frame was delivered to our shop, and the fun really began.” ![]() “The NYC Norton shop is a sea of Commandos/Seeleys/Featherbeds, all built around superior ‘Roadholding’, so the opportunity to order off the menu was a welcome change. Initially, the customer was going to source a flat track chassis and build up the bike himself, but then he inquired whether NYC Norton would be interested in completing a full flat track-inspired street bike - yes they would! The engine boasted forged JE pistons, Carrillo rods, a Mick Hemmings PW3 cam, and a ported head with KPM Black Diamond valves and bronze guides, skimmed even further than a stock Combat for a measured 9.75:1 compression. “NYC Norton was secured to build up a ’72 Commando Combat motor with the addition of rebalanced crank for rigid mounting, a bigger cam, ported head, and all machining done to allow for a magneto in the traditional spot behind the cylinders - an elaborate mod requiring machining of the cases, fitting longer intermediate spindle, turning down the timing cover boss, and relieving the points cavity to fit the outboard cam sprocket.” The story of the stunning Norton Trackmaster you see here started several years ago with a lone engine build, a Commando Combat engine - the more highly tuned version of the 750 twin: Today, NYC Norton is a household name in the world of vintage British motorcycles. Perhaps Nortons run in the blood! Kenny went on to have some serious racing successes and turned his Norton obsession into a business. Wow! Sure, I remembered he had a bike but had no idea it was a Norton!” Kenny Cummings of NYC Norton He opened it up and there, in true 1970s Polaroid glory, were pictures of me as a child sitting on my Father’s Norton. “My father chuckled and walked out of the room, only to return a few moments later with a dusty old photo album. He was visiting his father when he mentioned that he’d bought a Norton to restore: Kenny Cummings began restoring a 1974 Norton Commando in the mid-1990s, registering the domain to document the project. A Commando-powered street tracker from NYC Norton… ![]()
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