This 1953 Norton “Manx” is another barn find. This motorcycle was actively campaigned in AFM racing in the sixties and early seventies and is not an original Manx. The 1953, long stroke, Manx 500cc engine is in a highly modified 1953 International featherbed frame. The gearbox is a 5-speed Albion and the bike came complete with an ancient, heavy, fiberglass fairing and fiberglass fuel/oil tank. There were also interesting period racing bits, however. These included John Tickle front and rear brakes, clip-ons and fenders. (John Tickle acquired the remaining Manx inventory in 1969 and produced a variety of his own custom parts and bikes.)
We would have had to start from scratch to make the bike a “real” Manx. Even then, it would only have been assembled from reproduction parts and have no real history.
Since our ultimate goal was to race the motorcycle, the decision was made to restore it to period – as “last raced” in 1971 in the spirit of the Norton Manx. It required many changes. The old broken fairing and leaking fiberglass tank were discarded. The frame was repaired and a new chrome moly subframe was fabricated. The majority of the machine work, fabrication and assembly was provided by Banke Performance. Alloy fuel and oil tanks as well as many NOS Manx parts were sourced from England, Autralia and New Zealand.

This motorcycle has been sold to a private collector in Australia