Description
National Motorcycle Museum
Viewing: Tues 8th July from 1pm
Wed 9th July from 9am
Auction: 9th Jul, 2025 10:00
Location: Coventry Road, Bickenhill, Solihull B92 0EJ
1929 Norton Model 18
OHV 'saddle-tank' sports model
Estimate
£9, 800 - £11, 800
Registration No: LJ 1689
Frame No: S 38546
MOT: Exempt
Rare 1929 500cc OHV sports model
In one-family ownership for 84 years
Supplied with a dating letter and a V5C
Norton was founded by James Lansdowne Norton in Birmingham in 1898 and began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines in 1902. In 1907 a Norton with a Peugeot engine won the first Isle of Man TT race beginning a long tradition of sporting excellence. Their products were always designed with an emphasis on performance and handling with the OHV Model 18, developed from the side valve 16H, becoming the sporting rider's first choice in 1920s. Top riders such as Alec Bennett and Stanley Woods enjoyed considerable success on Model 18s on the short circuits and the Isle of Man TT, initially with a standard for the time flat tank layout but being updated to a saddle-tank in 1928. The Model 18 is regarded by many as one of the best all-round sporting motorcycles of the 1920s and gained further notoriety by being the bike Che Guevara chose for his famous tour of South America in 1951.
This beautifully presented Model 18 was despatched to Craze Brothers of Boscombe in August 1929 and was first registered in 1930. It appears to have spent most of its life around the Brooklands circuit, and being supplied in sports trim with an 'S' for sport stamped frame and an Amal 15TT carb, more than likely spent time on the track. In 1944 it was purchased by the neighbours of Flying Officer Francis Collins, an RAF pilot who had been sadly killed in action in North Africa in April that year. It stayed in one family ownership for 84 years, having been at the Brooklands Museum for some years, being gradually restored until bought by the vendor in 2018, who completed the restoration to the fantastic condition it is in today. A rare chance to acquire a well-documented bike supplied with correspondence from the long-term owners, a Norton Owner's Club dating letter and a current V5C.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
