Beschreibung:

Norton jumped aboard the vertical-twin bandwagon in 1948 when it introduced the Model 7. Designed by the legendary Bert Hopwood, the new 500cc engine went into the existing ES2 plunger-frame/tele-fork cycle parts, a marriage that necessitated a redesign of Norton’s well-proven four-speed gearbox. In November 1951 Norton’s 500cc twin found a new home in the racing singles’ ‘Featherbed’ duplex frame. Initially for export only, the newcomer - titled ‘Dominator 88’ - was the first production Norton roadster to feature the lightweight, race-proven chassis. Updated year by year, the Dominator had received an alloy cylinder head, full-width hubs, welded rear subframe, alternator electrics and coil ignition by the decade’s end and - for 1960 - the narrower ‘slimline’ Featherbed frame among countless other improvements. Motor Cycle magazine clocked 92mph on an ‘88’ in 1957 and, needless to say, the handling and roadholding were found to be first class. The vendor’s deceased husband purchased his Dominator 88 in 2002 (receipt on file) and although it was MoT’d and in running order, commenced its restoration to catalogue specification. Its restoration completed in 2003, the Dommie was used most years thereafter, although miles covered post restoration total only some 1,500.There are eight old MoT certificates on file covering the period since restoration, together with four previous ones. ‘VYM 605’ falls within the 1958 model year, as evidenced by the engine and frame numbers, while the accompanying VE60 continuation log book, issued in October 1968, records the date of first registration as 9th January 1959, suggesting that it spent some time with the supplying dealer prior to its sale to the first owner. A dating certificate from the VMCC confirms the year of manufacture as 1958. Also present are an old-style Swansea V5 and current V5C. The machine also comes with a large history file containing sundry invoices; reproduction spares list and maintenance manual/instruction book; relevant magazines and articles; pre- and post-restoration photographs; parts suppliers’ lists; and restoration notes. Following gentle re-commissioning, this handsome machine should be ready to return to the road with its new owner.