Newsletter

Our website :-
www.bristol.nortonownersclub.org
Facebook:- Norton Owner’s Club Bristol Branch
Issue 86:
February 2026
It’s Show-Time.
2008. Second Best Showstand.
Will Andy be holding an even bigger prize
after this year’s Show?
Issue 86:
February 2026
Contents;
Christmas Get-Togethers.
Mince Pie Night
Boxing Day Run
New Year’s Eve run to Imber
New Year’s Day 2026
Christmas Meal. Limpley Stoke.
2026 Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show Preparations.
Bristol – Lands End – John O’Groats – Bristol….Non-
Stop August 1980 **on an 850 Ex-Police Commando
Bristol Branch Tools List
The BNOC Team
Editor’s Bit.
POSTCODE COMPETITION ANSWERS.
Mince Pie Night 2025.
Our first Mince Pie Night at the Queen’s
Head. Plenty of fabulous food and drink.
Afterwards, tony Lockwood wrote;
‘Great BNOC mince pie night tonight, 26
members enjoyed mulled wine and mince
pies with a few apple pies thrown in.
Lavish raffle prizes distributed, Dave Rood
taking the knee pads
. Some very nice Christmas jumpers worn as well, next year
we will have a best festive jumper competition’.
Tony Lockwood writes; Boxing Day Run 2025
‘Weather was playing ball for us on the day but only Colin and myself met up at
the Bridge Inn. Colin on his XBR 500 Honda and me on my Ariel, Carole was
to join us at the Wishing Well on her BMW later.
We arrived just before 12 as thinking the pub won’t be open till then but in
actual fact, Kevin Webb the landlord had opened at 10.30am.
Kevin is very keen to have bikes at the pub, so much so he had a bespoke menu
for us bikers.
One thing to note Kevin was doing coffee for £2.50 but that was for the cup,
you could fill it as many times as you like, so next year one cup 10 straws😂
We were joined by the usual BNOC gang, particularly Frank Parkhouse coming
up from Wiltshire on his Harley tractor,
Andy Bawdon, Mercury, Bob Gould,
ES2, Carole, BMW F800 and Elva
Butcombe not sure if he was on a bike
though. In all throughout our stay there
was upward of 70+ bikes turned up of
various marques. Most interesting was an
ex Henry Body sprinter engined fore and
aft Douglas nailed to a sidecar. Some
interesting festive headgear was also
apparent making for a very nice festive
event.
Landlord Kevin is interested in holding bike nights so watch out for any
notifications on WhatsApp, Facebook or email’.
New Year’s Eve. Your Editor writes;
Well, it seemed like a good idea. A visit to Imber, the long-abandoned village
on Salisbury Plain on one of the few open days when visitors can soak up the
history and mystery of ‘Little Imber on the down, seven miles from any town’
as the old saying goes. Setting off from Frome for 11am rendezvous at
Warminster Services, the temperature was just, and only just, a positive number.
The road through Corsley and past Longleat was still blanketed in fog. While
waiting for the expected procession of motorbikes from Bristol I received a call
from Tony. He and Joe had set off with best intentions but misted up visors and
numb fingers meant they diverted to a pub over Warmley way somewhere. So, I
set off alone across Salisbury Plain just as I had
done so many times all those years ago
delivering telegrams. But this time I had a bike
that could do a bit more than 35mph and heated
gloves. Luxury! Once out of Warminster, the
sun broke through the fog and when I got to
Imber the place was heaving. Cyclists, walkers
and loads of motorbikes, including this chap I
met, Robin from Trowbridge on his ES2. He is
not a member of NOC but John Baker knows
him through the Bath Classic Bike Club. Imber should be open again at Easter
provided World War III hasn’t kicked off. Perhaps we can try again then.
Tony Lockwood writes. New Year’s day 2026
Weather held up for us all, some 45 or so
bikes of various marques. This venue is a
whopping 1 1/2 miles from my house so
Carole and I took the long way round, this
added 1/2mile so a healthy 4 mile round
trip for us.
This year there was no sign of the carpark
attendant from hell (bless him) so parking
was no problem. Usual faces attending,
Joe Elliot, trusty ES2, Phil Lord on his ‘not
sold yet’ Triumph Speed Twin, Andy
Bawdon, Mercury, my Ariel 350, Carole,
F800 BMW, Chris Davis BMW tin box and,
not seen for a while, Roy Harvey on his
very nice 16H. Roy got the bike in ‘many
box’s of bits’, not an original bike but Roy has rebuilt the engine and just oily ragged
the rest of it including the petrol tank as he liked the patina, looks all the better for it.
Joe and Phil got a bit frisky before we left as good mates often do, so we left them to
it.
Our Chairman, Chris Davis writes;
BNOC Xmas meal 2026
‘The BNOC Xmas meal was a success! In previous years we usually shared
this with 2-3 other organisations with similar numbers. This year we remained
the largest group (33 participants)) only one down on the previous year. It is
good to see that we are still able to sustain numbers, as obviously economic
conditions are not good.
The food was good – although one complaint of cold veg. It was good to see lots
of familiar faces,
and everybody
had a good time.
We did have one
new face, –
Alistair from
Shepton Mallet,
who had recently
joined our club
after purchasing
Henry Dulat’s
Dommi 99.
Many thanks to Andy S, who had collected prizes for our raffle, always a
popular event.
There was the usual disco after the meal – joined by the more energetic of our
contingent, while the oldies quite content to stay in the bar.
Breakfast was an added bonus, buffet style meant unlimited supply.
I hope members will continue to support this – prices remain reasonably
competitive, the rooms are large and comfortable. It is our premier event, and
hopefully will continue as long as we can all stagger to it.
Hope to see you next year’,
Chris (Chair)
2026 Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show
Bath and West Showground. Shepton Mallett. BA4 6QN
Saturday 21st to Sunday 22nd February. Open from 9.30am.
Advance booking eticket price £16. On the gate £20. Children free.
You will find The Bristol Norton Owners Club
stand (M34) in the Showering Pavilion. Please be
sure to visit for a free cup of tea or coffee and who
knows what treats. As well as meeting the friendly
Norton Owners and admiring the bikes on display.
Ollie Williams is the mastermind behind the
display this year. We
will show examples of
Norton motorcycles from
the past one hundred
years displayed as a
memorial of these
models. Complementing
these examples will be
plaques illustrating the history of every Norton ever
marketed and a historic chronology of Norton from
inception to the present day among other themes.
We are intending to produce an entertaining display
for the general public.
Tony Lockwood writes;
The after show BCBS meal has been booked at the Farrington Inn, Farrington
Gurney, BS39 6TG for Sat 21st Feb 6-6.30pm for 20.
Currently there is 10% off meals after 6pm, beer £3.50. This offer may
finish end of Jan but may well be extended to Feb. Meal deals (x2 for
£20) still available,
only downside no liver and bacon on the menu
PLEASE can you let Tony know by Monday the 16th February at the
latest on Tel: 07905998885 tonylockwood@blueyonder.co.uk if you
would like to attend and your menu choices.
the web address for menu;
https://www.thefarringtoninn.co.uk/menus.html
Andy Sochanik passed on this great adventure story.
Bristol – Lands End – John O’Groats – Bristol….Non-Stop August 1980
**on an 850 Ex-Police Commando.
Another night in the CUTTER, our local bikers pub in Bedminster, it was also the HELLS
ANGELS local, but we all mixed well and tolerance was observed rigidly. Always a good time
in the CUTTER – we would meet up and check out all the bikes that were parked on the
pavement outside. To this day, oil stains can still be seen on York Road, Bedminster. TONY&
DEB, CHIZZLE & KIM, TOFF, KNOCKER, SPLITPIN, RHINO, WHOPPER, and others would while
the evening away in laughter and banter when the subject got around to raising money or
doing something positive to promote bikers image, which in the 70’s was not very
good….many pubs would not serve bikers in BRISTOL and we talked about improving the
situation as best we could. Someone suggested a sponsored ride, good idea we said, where
to? Primarily it was KNOCKER and me that ran with the idea, Lands End to John O’Groats,
someone offered, “nah, its been done” someone called out, what about BRISTOL – LANDS
END – JOHN O’GROATS – BRISTOL – Non Stop, now that’s a ride we agreed!
My own bike at this time was a ROYAL ENFIELD 700cc chopper, no way was that the type of
machine to use on such an epic journey. KNOCKER offered his NORTON 850cc COMMANDO,
just the job we agreed, right that’s the ride….but for what reason? Somebody mentioned the
BRISTOL MATERNITY HOSPITAL was in dire need of INCUBATORS, that sounded like a cause
we could help with.
A couple of days later the pair of us went along to the BMH and asked to speak to somebody
about our plan, (we had dug a big hole for ourselves and were committed now).
A stunning woman appeared in the corridor smiling away, whatever she thought of us, God
only knows, KNOCKER was a ginger haired scruft biker with boils exploding all over his face
and a constant lisp that made him dribble, I was a long haired greasy scruffy gibbering wreck
in front of her and we would have understood if she ran away from us, we jabbered on
about our idea or plan to help the BMH, she was absolutely delighted with our idea and
showed us pictures of the incubator that would cost £1500, that was a lot of money in those
days. All fired up, we floated out of the hospital both madly in love with GERALDINE. We
would ride to the ends of the earth for her in our adolescent states.
We printed off some sponsor sheets and they were duly placed at the VIC (our second
home in Westbury on Trym). DENNIS and SHIRLEY were the landlord and landlady
of the VIC and were almost family to us (in years to come SHIRLEY would be my
daughters godmother, but that’s by the by), our other main haunt was the GRANARY
nightclub , where we would always end up on a Friday or Saturday night, the GRANARY was
a bikers paradise, rock bands Thursday/Friday/rock disco/Saturday top rock band, all the
best bands had played the GRANARY and what a club, many a night was spent in there with
THE STRANGLERS/GIRLSCHOOL/THIN LIZZIE/SCORPIONS/GINGER BAKER and plenty more,
we used to help them set up their gear on stage, it was ran by 2 brothers ROY and LES
PIERCE, LES was the owner and ROY the bouncer.
Lots of people filled in sponsor sheets and many promised this and that but we knew
it would be a struggle to pull in all the money promised. We allowed several weeks till
our ride so that we could be prepared as much as possible. KNOCKERS bike was
lovingly serviced and the night before we set off we had a new mainshaft fitted in the
gearbox by a member of our local NORTON OWNERS CLUB who had expert knowledge
of gearbox’s. Friday night 6pm arrived at the VIC
which is where we would depart from, with
dozens of people turning out on a balmy August
evening, the weather was calm and clear and the
forecast good for the next few days anyway, even
my mother was there to see us off as were
KNOCKERS parents. We were both kitted out for
an endurance trip so were ready for the off. I had
a one shot camera to take pics of key places en
route, and we were off. KNOCKER taking first
position and me as pillion.
Out of BRISTOL and onto the M5 where we would head for Lands End. There we would need
to change the oil in the NORTONS gearbox because that was the advice given to us by our
gearbox expert who’s name escapes me nowadays, (the gearbox never gave any trouble at
all). We duly did this with the pint of oil that I had concealed in my pocket, Lands End was
reached just before 10pm after a picture or two, we saddled up and rode off again, swapping
positions…it was KNOCKERS turn to be pillion. The pillion passenger had the job of nudging
the rider awake when he dropped off to sleep and this happened several times.
We are now blasting up the M5 over the Gordano bridge now, the lights of BRISTOL were
blazing as we roared by the same spot we had left several hours earlier. The bike was superb,
never missing a beat and we could not have been on a better machine, It gobbled up the
miles as if it was the primary mission in its life to get us on our way and home again.
KNOCKERS COMMANDO, was an ex police INTERSTATE with lots of miles on the clock, it was
the perfect bike to use.
On up the M5 through BIRMINGHAM, on, on, on, then just before CARLISLE we pulled into a
Services to fill up with petrol, we had a fairly big tank on the INTERSTATE much bigger than
the COMMANDO ROADSTER. We took this opportunity to try and get some rest as we had
been riding for 18 hours or so by now. We spotted 2 policemen in a “Jam Sandwich car” and
headed towards them, I swear they looked at us and sped off with what looked like terror on
their faces. We looked at each other and said “NO WAY” simultaneously. Come on, KNOCKER
said, lets bash on, so we did.
On up into SCOTLAND now and signs for GLASGOW loomed in the distance, the
COMMANDO had a roadside check and apart from tightening the rear chain we were good
to go. Another night ride through Scottish towns that we had never heard of before, all the
rally’s we attended were never this far north, so this was unknown territory to both of us.
TOFF would have known where we were because he rode all over the BRITISH ISLES on his
HONDA GOLD WING 1000cc. Into GLASGOW and we were not impressed by the place, we
were glad to exit this city and enter into what looked like another country.
Lots of open countryside and it seemed as if we were making good time now, we pulled into
a Hotel carpark and could see a sign for MCKEWANS BEER that’s us we said and entered the
bar and ordered a couple of pints of MCKEWANS HEAVY, lovely stuff. We had drawn some
interest from a couple of locals and we were asked in a strong SCOTTISH accent what we
were there for. We explained our reasons for being there and made a couple of friends even
if it was for a short while.
After checking we were on course we bade farewell and fired up the COMMANDO and
headed north again, on, on, on, I would drift off to sleep and a TERRIFIED KNOCKER would
jab me in the ribs to shock me awake. I had already done this for him a few times and we
were getting tired by now (this was getting serious). We came across a bus shelter in a quiet
spot on a main road and decided to try to get some rest, it was impossible, as tired as we
were-we must have been pumped up with adrenalin or something but rest was not going to
happen. Later we would try to sleep in a GRAVEYARD, but yet again we could not relax – so it
was on, on, on, now we were on the A9 blasting past LOCH NESS, that made a big impression
on us. We both muttered that no way would we like to break down on this road. If it was not
for the tarmac and white lines you could be on another planet, there was not another soul
around, in fact we did not see another vehicle for about an hour, how’s that for eerie.
Its about 9.30 on Saturday night now and we see signs for JOHN O’GROATS. We pull up at a
garage in the middle of nowhere just as the owner was locking up, luckily he opened up
again for us and asked where we were going – we related our story and he told us that his
was the last garage for 80 miles and he advised us to top right up with petrol but looking at
our tank he didn’t think we would make it back to him without taking another 2 gallons of
fuel. We had not considered that there was so much distance between garages in the
highlands of SCOTLAND, thankful for his advice and extra petrol we set off again, very tired
and with treacherous roads to contend with we battled on against our falling morale. We
seemed to be climbing, climbing, climbing, for what seemed like hours, then we rounded a
bend and there it was, JOHN O’GROATS!
Not much there. Just a sign post and the choppy sea to let you know it was the end of the
world, (that’s what it seemed like). We took a couple of pictures with the camera, which was
only a cheap one given to us by my girlfriend WENDY. How I wished I was in the GRANARY
now with all the lads and lasses – but here we were KNOCKER and me.
We shivered and searched our pockets for a crushed Mars bar or in KNOCKERS case
a Wagon Wheel, he lived on them. Back on the bike and now we knew we were going
HOME, yippee!
The NORTON had really excelled itself this trip, we blasted on down the winding roads that
earlier had looked so daunting to us on the way up, dawn was breaking as we rounded a
sharp bend and CALAMITY! The front wheel hit a patch of ice, yes ICE, it was bloody AUGUST
and we had came off on BLACK ICE in the road, we dragged the bike upright and checked we
were both in one piece, yes KNOCKER was ok and I seemed to be alright, the bike was worse
off though we had a full fairing on this COMMANDO and had to rip off the damaged parts
which did not leave much left, worse was the petrol cans KNOCKER had been carrying on the
back were now rolling down the steep banks of the cliff edge, lost! We hoped that we could
make it down to the garage we had stopped at the previous night.
KNOCKER was in despair, his beloved bike had been injured, up to now this magnificent
machine had looked after us like nothing ever had. This looked bad, and KNOCKER threw his
arms up in the air and shouted ”that’s it, lets pack it in”, he really was at a low ebb now. Only
years later did I find out that my mate KNOCKER, this real character, this force of nature
….had been born with a hole in his HEART, he never mentioned it to me or many other
people to my knowledge, and here we were on a challenge that would test an athlete,
“we’re almost home, man”, I tried to make light of our situation, after some shouting and
things said that two2 mates should never have to say to each other we studied the bike and
were relieved to see not too much damage,
Only thing to do was carry on, the bike fired up first kick and with knocker back at the
handlebars we set off down the road, we would just have to trust that there was enough fuel
in the tank to see us through, my thoughts went back a couple of years to a rally we were on
our way to in Devon, KNOCKER was riding his fairly new NORTON DOMINATOR 650cc, we
were at the bottom of Porlock Hill near Barnstable, this being a I in 9 ratio hill where many
mechanical mishaps had occurred, we used to joke that a garage at the bottom of the hill
would do well selling BRAKES and a garage at the top would do well for CLUTCHES, well in
KNOCKER’s case it was his Crankshaft that had broken in half, this was to give him his
nickname of KNOCKER, that’s exactly what that bike did was KNOCK, KNOCK, but it kept
running… obviously no drive but still kept running, his nickname up to then had been (wait
for it)…Carbuncle, honestly that’s what people called him up to this point, and what is
amazing to me as well was a fellow biker pulled up as we were investigating Carbuncles
knock to declare that in his rucksack he had a spare crankshaft for that very bike, hows that
for providence!
We now had renewed purpose, surely the worst was over and we really needed to motor on
now, we had both had enough and were desperate to get home, on down, down, down, the
frost covered roads disappeared in a blur, we just glimpsed an RAC van turning down a side
road and I remembered my visit to their headquarters in Whiteladies Road in BRISTOL to get
support for this ride, they were great and I came away with lots of cards and paperwork to
cover our trip for the weekend As it turned out we did not need it up to now, and after what
seemed like an eternity we finally arrived back at the garage.
We were happy to see the owner seemingly waiting for us, we related our tale of the past
few hours as we filled up with petrol for the umpteenth time, we had started out with £100
and had made a big dent in that money by now, we bade farewell to this outpost on the
edge of nowhere and fired up the COMMANDO yet again, home James, or rather KNOCKER.
Retracing our route we blast on back through SCOTLAND – we seem to be past being tired
now and all we want is to get home. We again go through the dangerous routine of the rider
nodding off and pillion passenger shocking the other back to life. We have some real scary
moments and curse ourselves every time it happens. We try singing or shouting to keep
each other awake – the quiet moments are the dangerous times to avoid. The A9 looms
ahead again and neither of us speak but each knows what the other is thinking… please,
please, do not break down here, it could be MARS for all we knew. If it was not for the cats
eyes on the road that’s where we could be.
Back, back, back, signs for ENGLAND eventually start to appear…we had been riding since
Friday night now and apart from adjusting the rear chain of the COMMANDO several times,
the bike had not missed a beat, a real LEGEND of a bike in my eyes. KNOCKER had bought it
after the bike had seen service as a Police Traffic motorcycle and had lots of miles on the
clock already. Its starting to get dark again and we have now seen a couple of sunsets and
sunrises without any sleep or rest. Luckily no rain on this trip had been a real bonus, there’s
nothing worse than being soaked through and not being able to dry out anywhere.
We know we can look forward to a welcome at the Vic. Next time we stop at a motorway
services for petrol, we will ring the pub and let them know our estimated arrival time, Christ,
I thought what if its past midnight or something like that, we had not thought about the
return journey in much detail, it was all about “getting there” to us. We pulled into Services
just north of BIRMINGHAM and raced for a phone box, no mobiles in those days. It was now
9pm and we worked out that we could make “last orders” at the pub, Shirley answered the
phone and KNOCKER said “we’re an hour or so away, see you in a bit”, We could hear
cheering in the background so there might be somebody to see us back home! We topped
up with petrol and set off for HOME – that COMMANDO did 120mph all the way back to
BRISTOL.
We entered Westbury on Trym and as we pulled up outside the pub, the WHOLE PUB spilled
out into Choc Lane, that’s the name of the lane outside the Vic. We were mobbed as a great
cheer went up – we were swept into the pub and DENNIS the landlord poured us each a pint
of 6x – he knew what we liked, KNOCKER was hustled into a corner and me into another, I
blurted out something that has always haunted me to this day “KNOCKER wanted to pack it
in”, he never heard but that stuck in my mind years later because that man was a HER0 in my
book. We were treated like royalty for the next few hours with SHIRLEY plonking down a
great cooked meal in front of us and boy did we eat that fast. The back slapping continued
from all directions even from other locals in the pub who barely knew us. DENNIS and
SHIRLEY had done us proud and we had clocked in at 10 pm, so our RIDE had taken 54 hours
and we had clocked up 1830 miles, wow it was beginning to sink in what we had done. Now
the hard part, but that’s another story!
After a good nights sleep I had several things to do concerning our trip, first there was
a phone call to my house from the BRISTOL EVENING POST. They had been aware of our
efforts to raise money for the BMH (Bristol Maternity Hospital) and over the phone I related
in as few a words as I could because it was LIVE on the radio from our house, all the
neighbours were impressed as I told of the miles we covered and how the NORTON was
superb for our purposes. I finished off by saying we were collecting everything promised to
us and please dig deep for our cause. The next thing was to visit the RAC who had offered us
their support in the case of a breakdown or accident. Luckily we did not need them after all
but I managed to squeeze a tenner out of the person I returned the paperwork to, hows
that?!
Next stop was for KNOCKER and me to visit our GERALDINE at the BMH. She was over the
moon that we had completed our ride and was so appreciative of our cause, and of course
we would do it all over again for this lady. We floated out and headed for the CUTTER, they
were sponsoring us and also many regulars to the pub, it was SHIRLEY at the VICTORIA that
was our main supporter in the finance side of this. Everything we collected was passed to
her to look after for us, she and DENNIS had been like a second set of parents to the both of
us and in years to come SHIRLEY would be GODMOTHER to my daughter LISA but that’s
another story. We always knew it would be a struggle to get in all the money promised, a lot
of money was promised from the GRANARY nightclub and most people were bikers who did
not have money to burn, we had organised band nights to raise funds and disco’s for the
same purpose, the money trickled in and then KNOCKER complained that his bike was in
serious need of repair work and he wanted the money to come out of the money raised so
far, I was against this as it had already been a struggle to get so far with collecting, “pay next
week” was the favourite saying for a lot of people and “next week” never seemed to come.
SHIRLEY let me know that KNOCKER was insisting that he had some of the collected money
to do his bike and she had to refuse him. We remained firm in this situation and KNOCKER
took it badly, but we muddled through. I now wish we had organised another disco or
something to help him out, but that did not happen. After several weeks the final money’s
were presented to GERALDINE at the BMH and the sum was £750. we were aiming for
£1500, so we were disappointed but the Hospital was delighted and they would buy 2 new
Sykes pumps, and something else. Also they would have a brass plaque made with our
names on and put on the wall of the hospital, (fame at last).
With that over I turned my attention to getting recognition for KNOCKERS bike, in the form
of the GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS, but they would not print our times in their book
because they would not like others racing up and down the country trying to beat our
record. All I wanted was the COMMANDO to enjoy some praise – but it would not come from
them.
Mike Perret (Keener) Dec 2025
mikeperrett@rocketmail.com
Note: For those that knew him.
Knocker = Andrew Williams (RIP)
Younger brother of Elver = Richard Williams.
Editor’s comment. Thanks for this. I recall that a couple of fellers from my old
local pub, The Green dragon at Alderbury near Salisbury did a similar feat in a
weekend at around the same time.
BRISTOL BRANCH TOOLS LIST
1. 2×2 piston ring clamps 16. chain link extractor
2. commando clutch puller 17. set of combination spanners whit
3. sump bung spanner 18. 3/8″ to 1/2″ adaptor
4. commando engine sprocket puller 19. 3/16″ whit socket
5. commando clutch plate lock ring 20. 1/4” whit socket
6. crank oil pump gear puller 21. 5/16″ whit socket
7. valve spring compressor 22. 2 x 2″ long 3/8″ drive extensions
8. timing light 23. 1 x long extension 3/8″ drive
9. torque wrench 24. oil filter strap
10. sump / gearbox socket 25. 3/8″ wobbly drive
11. hydraulic bearings puller 26. timing gear puller
12. valve seat cutter 27. clutch centre puller
13. valve rocker spindle puller 28. clutch lock ring socket
14. exhaust c spanner 29. clutch c spanner
15. TDC gauge 30. engine strip video
31. gearbox strip video 32. Rear shock spring compressor
33. Wheel building jig
We also have DVD’s of Commando Engine and Gearbox rebuilds.
Keith Boulton is our man looking after the tools if you need to loan any of the above please
contact Keith either via,
email: kebnorton@hotmail.co.uk
or Phone 07875243520
………………………………………………..
Ultrasonic carb cleaning, Bead, Soda and Alumina grit blasting, Gas welding, MIG & TIG
welding, NDT, Wheel building, Lath/Milling work, Spark plug Heli Coil inserts (+ other
sizes available) and polishing.
Please contact me for further details: – Tony Lockwood 0117 9492097 or mobile 07905
998885.
Branch members! are you having a problem with your old Norton’s?
Give me a call: – Keith Boulton or 07875243520
Engine rebuilds, gearbox rebuild, forks rebuilt etc.
Paul Wolf Magneto and Dynamo repairs. Clutch and Throttle Cables made to order, Welding
and Brazing. Tel; 0117 9836702.
Cables. Just as a reminder we, the Bristol branch, have a small stock of popular cables for
various models. The stock is currently held by Keith Boulton, If you are stuck with a broken
cable give him a call.
The BNOC Team.
Chairman/Website manager Chris Davis Tel: 07900170446
cdavis9968@aol.com
Secretary Tony Lockwood Tel:
07905998885
tonylockwood@blueyonder.co.uk
Treasurer Andy Sochanik Tel: 07765957362
andysoch@gmail.com
Membership Secretary Bob Gould Tel:
07438 679460
bnocmembership@posteo.uk
Runs Man Russ Marchant Tel: 07855
943849
drtj@sky.com
Magazine Editor
Alan Byrom Tel: 07768 453 925
alanbyrom.ab@gmail.com
Regalia Paul Thomas Tel: 07901 821656
phthomas1200@talktalk.net
Tools Keith Boulton
Phone 07875243520
A couple of useful friendly companies. If you would like to publicise
someone you’ve had a good experience with please send details to
Editor. alanbyrom.ab@gmail.com
The BNOC cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of this
information or for your dealings with these suppliers.
Our website :- www.bristol.nortonownersclub.org
Facebook:- Norton Owner’s Club Bristol Branch
Editor’s Bit.
Welcome to the first BNOC Newsletter of 2026. I
never know whether to put this bit at the start of the
newsletter or at the end.
First of all, confession time. I don’t have a Norton
Owners Club Calendar on my wall this year.
Instead, I bought this Classic Bike calendar at the
garden centre. It was a fiver just the same, but the
big attraction was the ‘August’ picture of a GPO D1
Bantam which I shall enjoy during those long, hot,
lazy days of summer. Also, I did enjoy this January
picture of a rather lovely slimline Featherbed
Norton ES2? Anyone know this bike?
Thanks Tony and Chris for catching me up with the
festive season events I didn’t make this year. As a club we have a lot of great
things going on to enjoy. I particularly
enjoyed the Mince Pie Night at the Queen’s
Head. Also, the warm welcome I received at
Bruton when Father Christmas was given a
lift through the streets on Bill Amberg’s
combination. There were some fabulous cars
in the procession along with a Penny
Farthing bicycle from Frome. Maybe for
Christmas 2026 we can have a few more
Nortons taking part.
The big guns were out on Salisbury Plain on
the last day of 2025.
Here’s to lots of great BNOC activities
in 2026. All the best.
Alan Byrom
Newsletter Editor.
POSTCODE COMPETITION ANSWERS.
I wonder if anyone read to the end of the last newsletter and came across the
Postcode Competition that I set to amuse you over the Festive Period. . I never
received a single entry so I consumed all the Christmas Champagne hamper
prizes myself. Maybe it was too difficult. If you have been puzzling over the
answers, here they are, in no particular order. However, If you
found this one too easy, next time I’ll set it with WHAT THREE
WORDS.
5. This was one of the first places to be given a postcode using the modern
system.
Norwich Cathedral
65 The Close
Norwich
NR1 4DH
7.
Santa’s Grotto
Reindeerland
XM4 5HQ
(XMASHQ)
I expect Royal Mail paid some advertising agency a fortune for that little gem.
2.
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
London’s postal districts originated in
1857-58 and incorporated into the
Modern postcode system later.
4.
The Norton Motorcycle Co. Ltd.
Unit 500, Solar Park
Highlands Road
Shirley
Solihull
B90 4SH
3.
The Blackpool Tower
Promenade.
Blackpool
FY1 4BJ
9.
Ardross Castle
Alness
Ross-shire
IV17 0YE
Location for filming of
The Traitors.
1.
Stonehenge
Salisbury
SP4 7DE
8.
Queen’s Head
29 Lower Hanham Road
Hanham
Bristol
BS15 8QP
Find your way here any Wednesday evening from 8pm to meet members of
Bristol Norton Owners Club.
10.
Seymour Arms
30 Friary Close
Witham Friary
Frome
Somerset
BA11 5HF
Recognise anyone?
6.
Imber, Wilts
Evacuated in 1943 to
make way for military
training. So, not included
in postcode system.
The village
should be
open for
visitors at
Easter.