This 1962 Norton ES2 was supposedly left behind unused when the first owner went off to Vietnam. Someone later found it, got it running, and sold it to the current owner who was going to use it in a Levi ad. Well, it never made it into the ad so they put it into this crate instead. It needs some work to be road worthy again, but it looks like a good start to a fun project and shipping should be no problem! Take a look here on eBay where bidding is at $3,300. Thanks goes to Jim S. for the submission.
An old “Snortin’ Norton” with a lil’ history, worth a few bucks!
~ those words ‘here on eBay where bidding is at $3,300’ scream my name. let us see where it ends. wonderful motorcycle !
thanks for listing the bike and the way you wrote it up. the seller needs to list the serial #s and tilte information plus any other information they have. based on what i take out of reading the ebay listing this bike needs to be reunited with the owner who left it behind when they went to Vietnam or their next of kin. if the seller can fill in the big gap from left behind to found it maybe my opinion would change.
Although they were obviously in the country back then the only Norton single I knew of was the Manx. These (I think) were a 350. I never saw anything else but the Atlas 750 and the Dominator 500 which was considerably older, and then, of course, the P11 series and the Commando. Nice bike!
I owned a European model twin (650) Norton Manx , it was like riding on a rail and the electrical system was a joke.
John, was it blue with a red saddle?
We used to refer to the electrics as: Lucas, Prince of Darkness. I don’t think that Lucas was all that flattered by that. British electrics could be a pain in the butt. I had 3 British bikes and an MGB and they all gave me problems until I finally learned to work with them. After that they were only horrible, instead of the physical $h!t$.
The ES2 is 500cc. It’s big brother is called “Model 19”, and is 600cc, mostly for sidecar duty.
Thanks, Stu, for pointing that out. I kind of thought that the jug looked somewhat larger than a 350 but I went with the resources I had, which (obviously) weren’t all that accurate.
Stu, The bike I was referring to was a pearl white with chrome fenders. The tank was somewhat like a 750 Atlas and it had a flat ribbed seat (stock) with nearly no padding. I traded it for a 42 flat head basket case. It would have been a real classic now so I am sorry I sold it back in 1980. I think it was a 1961 or 1962 model! Had a friend with a commando but it wouldn’t keep up. Good jawing with ya Stu!