twowheeler
two wheels are best
Roger Barker raced GP and other bikes in the 1950s. He was part of the Aussie contingent who went to Europe, bought old trucks/buses, loaded them with race bikes and spent the season driving all over Europe entering as many events as possible.
Don Cox's terrific book "Circus Life" details these riders' experiences.
I recently learned that Roger Barker was my Uncle Roger's uncle, after whom he was named.
Roger Barker was killed in a 1957 East German race. A bio - http://www.motorsportretro.com/2010/05/roger-barker-the-man-who-charmed-a-town/
https://flic.kr/p/Utqvuw
In 1957 Roger campaigned two bikes, both Nortons - a 350cc and a 500cc. The 350cc has disappeared, but through extensive detective work by another branch of the family, his 500cc bike has been tracked down.
All that was needed on my part was to join a couple of dots then contact the current owner, Ian, who lives in Southampton, England, to try to arrange a visit.
Despite being in the midst of chemo , Ian was more than happy to let me see the bike . It's as original as possible except for the dustbin fairing.
https://flic.kr/p/Wmye2r
https://flic.kr/p/Vh8ht1
https://flic.kr/p/VXV3pE
https://flic.kr/p/VXTLFC
https://flic.kr/p/Wig2v3
Ian still rides it in charity-race type events from time to time -
https://flic.kr/p/WijaNj
Roger's bikes were shipped back to Britain after the accident. Nothing then is known until 1961 when the 500cc reemerged from, it's thought, the back of either a dealer's or the factory's shed. Here's its bill of sale (9 days before I was born btw) -
https://flic.kr/p/WuDTTb
Owner Ian is a life-long Norton tragic, buying his first Norton as a teenager - a Dominator, which he still has, along with many others besides. His shed is an Aladdin's cave of Nortons. He machines his own parts when they're unavailable.
His favourite bike is his first Dominator and his least favourite is a Norton Rotary. The Rotary is physically massive - it wouldn't be much smaller than an original Goldwing - but the main issue is that, besides hair-raising fuel economy, its rotary engine takes ages to warm up and very quickly cools down. So the first few miles of any ride consists of bad-temperedness, pig-rooting, etc, then all is good until the next set of traffic lights. 1/2 a minute of idling is all it takes for it to cool off, then the whole process starts again !
https://flic.kr/p/VXYYBm
https://flic.kr/p/VXRFBJ
https://flic.kr/p/WihnfS
https://flic.kr/p/Vh6z1d
https://flic.kr/p/WmxUe6
https://flic.kr/p/WuCsMG
Unfortunately the quality of my photos aren't great, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity to see the bike.
Roger Barker raced the 1957 Isle of Man TT. He finished 10th in the Senior (500cc) at an average speed of 90.79mph, and was a DNF in the Junior (350cc).
When I was on the IOM a couple of weeks later I scoured its museums for memorabilia, but they're like hen's teeth for that period -
https://flic.kr/p/WynEsF
Don Cox's terrific book "Circus Life" details these riders' experiences.
I recently learned that Roger Barker was my Uncle Roger's uncle, after whom he was named.
Roger Barker was killed in a 1957 East German race. A bio - http://www.motorsportretro.com/2010/05/roger-barker-the-man-who-charmed-a-town/
https://flic.kr/p/Utqvuw
In 1957 Roger campaigned two bikes, both Nortons - a 350cc and a 500cc. The 350cc has disappeared, but through extensive detective work by another branch of the family, his 500cc bike has been tracked down.
All that was needed on my part was to join a couple of dots then contact the current owner, Ian, who lives in Southampton, England, to try to arrange a visit.
Despite being in the midst of chemo , Ian was more than happy to let me see the bike . It's as original as possible except for the dustbin fairing.
https://flic.kr/p/Wmye2r
https://flic.kr/p/Vh8ht1
https://flic.kr/p/VXV3pE
https://flic.kr/p/VXTLFC
https://flic.kr/p/Wig2v3
Ian still rides it in charity-race type events from time to time -
https://flic.kr/p/WijaNj
Roger's bikes were shipped back to Britain after the accident. Nothing then is known until 1961 when the 500cc reemerged from, it's thought, the back of either a dealer's or the factory's shed. Here's its bill of sale (9 days before I was born btw) -
https://flic.kr/p/WuDTTb
Owner Ian is a life-long Norton tragic, buying his first Norton as a teenager - a Dominator, which he still has, along with many others besides. His shed is an Aladdin's cave of Nortons. He machines his own parts when they're unavailable.
His favourite bike is his first Dominator and his least favourite is a Norton Rotary. The Rotary is physically massive - it wouldn't be much smaller than an original Goldwing - but the main issue is that, besides hair-raising fuel economy, its rotary engine takes ages to warm up and very quickly cools down. So the first few miles of any ride consists of bad-temperedness, pig-rooting, etc, then all is good until the next set of traffic lights. 1/2 a minute of idling is all it takes for it to cool off, then the whole process starts again !
https://flic.kr/p/VXYYBm
https://flic.kr/p/VXRFBJ
https://flic.kr/p/WihnfS
https://flic.kr/p/Vh6z1d
https://flic.kr/p/WmxUe6
https://flic.kr/p/WuCsMG
Unfortunately the quality of my photos aren't great, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity to see the bike.
Roger Barker raced the 1957 Isle of Man TT. He finished 10th in the Senior (500cc) at an average speed of 90.79mph, and was a DNF in the Junior (350cc).
When I was on the IOM a couple of weeks later I scoured its museums for memorabilia, but they're like hen's teeth for that period -
https://flic.kr/p/WynEsF
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