After talking to Jem at the classic mechanics show he suggested that
I should write down my Norton racing story.
I started off going racing to help other riders as a sort of
mechanic then I decided to have a go at classic racing. I had a
Norton commando in a featherbed frame as a road bike. I have had my
Norton since 1982. It started off as a Triton, I bought in bits,
then a few years later I fitted my 850 commando engine, I decided to
go racing with the 750 engine, oh and the frame got changed too at
some point, and now it has the 850 back in ready for the next season
of Irish road racing.
My first race at Aintree a few weeks after the 89TT, that particular
TT week sticks in my mind because I met the legendary Stanley Woods
(he was staying in the same hotel) I cant tell you who won what race
that year. I do remember me finally plucking up the nerve to tell him
of my plans to go racing. He said he had some advice for me, I
expected the same old story about taking it easy etc like every one
else had been giving me but what Stanley said was;
"If the front brake is on and the wheel isn't about to lock up you
aren't trying hard enough"
After serving my apprenticeship doing the club-racing thing. I was
persuaded to go to Ireland to watch the Skerries road race. It was at
the near by Killalane circuit that I did my first Irish road race.
Nothing can prepare you for the Road racing scene in Ireland. It's
real racing on the kind of roads I use every day (twisty and narrow).
I have raced at as many Irish road races as I have been allowed to
some of the tracks are no longer considered safe enough to race on,
but don't let me get started on that one!
After a couple of years racing in Ireland I realised that I had the
licence to compete at the Manx.
I ended up doing my first Manx on a Yamaha fzr 600. I would
rather be on a Norton but using a modern bike would give me more time
to learn the track. The plan to use the commando failed before
getting to the island, the more I watched my mates struggling to keep
their old bikes going the more I realised how hard the Isle of man is
on bikes. I had enough on my plate working, out which way the road
went, without then staying up all night playing with spanners.
After getting back from the Isle of Man I phoned Norton up to ask
what they thought of my plan of converting a road going rotary
Commander or Interpol in to a race bike. Richard Negus the service
manager said that the engine would be ok, but the gearbox would
probably blow up.
He said he did have a F1 rolling chassis and engine that I could buy!
The 2nd F1 they made used for testing and lending out to journalist's
etc used by the factory race team to dyno test engines. I could only
dream of buying a f1and said it would be out of my price bracket. A
whole F1 cost around £13000 at the time they would hold it for me if
I sent a deposit so a deal was done for a lot less than £13000. After
a few more visits to Shenstone I ended up with a rolling chassis with
a rebuilt engine all I had to do was make everything else.

Kev Pierce of Pierce Tuning lives 10 miles from my house which is
just as well because I spent most of the spring of 1993 going there.
Kev did a fantastic job; I know that without his help it would have
taken God knows how long and cost 10 times as much.

The first test was at Oulton Park on an open test day June 1993.
Norton rotary race bike for the first time. It went like stink and
was the best handling thing I had ever ridden.
The first and what turned out to be the only short circuit race I
have done on the F1 was at Ty croes.
I can't remember where I finished probably last but who cares I was
on cloud nine. Just time to fit in an Irish road or 2 before the Manx
so off to Skerries and Fore road races to see how it went on a real
roads.
The 1993 Manx GP was my second Manx and I was still tying to remember
which way the road goes all in all practice went ok apart from having
to weld up the exhaust a few times.
Race day came soon enough and I completed the 4 laps with no major
moments finishing in 51 place
I have returned to the Island every year since and I am constantly
getting told that my bike sounds fantastic going through wherever (I
wish I got a pound each time)
The F1 has done around 7 thousand miles of racing on the road and
has finished every race it started. Once in 1997 it let me down in
practice kept getting to around the Sulby area near a pub and it
would go on to one, I can recommend the sulby glen hotel if you got
to break down in the Isle of Man. In the end it was a black box
problem but we didn't get it sorted in time to make the start line .
I have had some interesting sponsors over the years some have given
their time some have given parts some even parted with cash:
Kev Pierce, Graham Willshaw, Ron While, Val Saxon, John Williams,
local bike clubs, Cronfa coffa Robin Jack, The Norton Rotary
Enthusiasts club, the various road race clubs in Ireland and last but
not least Death cigarettes who were fun to be with!