Garden Gate Inter 500cc
A few years back, I was told a pre-war Norton Inter with Girder forks and rigid frame were being offered for sale. When I arrived at the sellers garage, I discovered that he had a change of heart and wouldn't let go of that bike, but had a few others he might sell.
My eyes immediately turned to the Norton Manx, but this had been sold already, much to my dismay. The next bike I saw though was this 1949 Norton 500cc International. This bike was built up from a roadgoing Inter years ago and featured original Manx fuel and oil tanks. The owner, maryland's Bob McKeever was in his late 80's at the time, and had raced a similiar Inter on the beach in the famed Daytona 200 when he was a young man.
I'd never ridden one, but I knew that the 'Garden Gate' frames were prone to cracking as well as wobbling according to books I'd read. The bike that followed it would be the McCandless brother designed 'Featherbed' Manx, a revolution in twin loop frame design and the machine that would point the way forward for the next fifty years in handling quality. Well, if I couldn't have a Manx, this might be the best starting point to understand what the transition would have been like for riders like Geoff Duke, Artie Bell, and others who campaigned the machines for factory in the early post war years on the Isle of Man and in Europe. In America, racers like Dick Klamfoth proved the worth of the Garden Gate Nortons by winning the Dayotna 200 three times on one.
So a deal was made and for the next several years I got a chance to see what true vintage bike racing was like as I put the Inter up against machines like 750 sidevalve Indians and hand-shift Harleys that were on the track at the same time as our 500cc foot-shift machines. What a blast ! I felt like I was in a dogfight with other WWII era machines. The sound emanating from the open megaphone was fantastic and addictive.
Despite the age of the bike, I never had any real mechanical issues and it proved to be realiable and competitive. But the more I raced it, the more I was sure I was going to have to step up and try a Featherbed Manx. Since no one was about to loan one to me for a test, I'd have to find my own bike. And so, the Inter was put up for sale and found a new owner who still races the bike in AHRMA Class C. I do wish I'd been able to hold on to the old girl, but the time had come for change.
That's Bob McKeever about 50 years after his Norton adventure in the Daytona 200 mile beach race.
Love that big Mega !
My eyes immediately turned to the Norton Manx, but this had been sold already, much to my dismay. The next bike I saw though was this 1949 Norton 500cc International. This bike was built up from a roadgoing Inter years ago and featured original Manx fuel and oil tanks. The owner, maryland's Bob McKeever was in his late 80's at the time, and had raced a similiar Inter on the beach in the famed Daytona 200 when he was a young man.
I'd never ridden one, but I knew that the 'Garden Gate' frames were prone to cracking as well as wobbling according to books I'd read. The bike that followed it would be the McCandless brother designed 'Featherbed' Manx, a revolution in twin loop frame design and the machine that would point the way forward for the next fifty years in handling quality. Well, if I couldn't have a Manx, this might be the best starting point to understand what the transition would have been like for riders like Geoff Duke, Artie Bell, and others who campaigned the machines for factory in the early post war years on the Isle of Man and in Europe. In America, racers like Dick Klamfoth proved the worth of the Garden Gate Nortons by winning the Dayotna 200 three times on one.
So a deal was made and for the next several years I got a chance to see what true vintage bike racing was like as I put the Inter up against machines like 750 sidevalve Indians and hand-shift Harleys that were on the track at the same time as our 500cc foot-shift machines. What a blast ! I felt like I was in a dogfight with other WWII era machines. The sound emanating from the open megaphone was fantastic and addictive.
Despite the age of the bike, I never had any real mechanical issues and it proved to be realiable and competitive. But the more I raced it, the more I was sure I was going to have to step up and try a Featherbed Manx. Since no one was about to loan one to me for a test, I'd have to find my own bike. And so, the Inter was put up for sale and found a new owner who still races the bike in AHRMA Class C. I do wish I'd been able to hold on to the old girl, but the time had come for change.
Congratulations from Mr. Daytona, AMA Hall of Fame legend, Dick Klamfoth. What a thrill to meet the man himself. Imagine racing a Norton like this in the sand at speeds of over 100 mph !
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