Aluminium top tank bracket fitted to all Racing International and Plunger Manx racing frames, but narrower than the standard type made for a Manx petrol tank, these are intended for an International type petrol tank

Every now and again I like to throw in a 'Ringer' item just for fun - and this item could be described as that - a Norton item that Norton's never made! It is in fact a front tank bridge, to fit the Racing International/Manx type frame, but in this case it is shorter than standard - the width being that of a standard roadgoing Norton International tank, rather than the wider Manx type.

I had a few of these made when we had our last Manx type tank brackets made, as some years ago I was contacted by a customer who had this predicament - he was rebuilding a Manx chassis, but only had an International tank to fit on it. I am currently rebuilding a pre-war roadgoing Inter around a Racing Inter frame, so have the same problem - so will use one of these shorter bridges. All other dimensions are identical to the Manx style bracket normally fitted to the Rigid/Plunger Manx frame

Lasercut and press tooled in stainless steel, to the original Norton pattern, these tabs when used with rubber straps are just as shown in the 1948 Norton catalog to retain the rubber chinpad to the petrol tank on racing models - which had 4 clips to take a chinpad (normally either a Competition International, Manx Norton or Clubmans petrol tanks - although Inter or any other Norton tank can normally have clips soldered on.

We have made press tool jigs so these tabs are bent to fit the original Norton (pre-Featherbed) style competition petrol tanks fitted with chinpad tabs.  I use the same tabs on my own competition Norton's.

After pressing, the edges where they are clipped onto the petrol tank are lightly linished, to minimise the chance of them scratching your paint.

Four are supplied per set.  (Note: Chinpad straps and chinpad black sorbo chinpads are sold seperately in the same Petrol Tank section).

Back in stock - Sept 2023

This is a 1 metre long x 7/8" wide length of the rubber material used to make the straps that go through the Chinpad Straps (Item 0127). There is easily enough material here to make one pair of straps, with a small amount left over.

I spent some considerable time looking for the correct material before eventually I found this material from a specialist supplier, which I buy in large sheets then cut to the correct width. To make the individual straps, cut 2 suitable lengths, then feed each end through the eyes of the chinpad tabs and then double back enough material to allow each end to be glued together using a suitable contact adhesive - I use Evo Stick 501.

I allowed for an approximate 4" area of rubber on each end to be glued together, to ensure when attached to the tank they would not pull loose. The finished straps look just right with the chinpads clips and the sponge chinpad - see the photo of my own pre-war Manx that uses these straps. Price is for 1 x 1metre long length of strap material

This is a black Sorbo (hard foam\rubber like material) petrol tank chinpad, of the type seen fitted to Norton race bikes (and other makes) in many period photographs, and is ideal for fitting to Norton Racing International and Manx petrol tanks which are fitted with chinpad fittings. 

We spent a long time hunting down a supplier of the correct 'look and feel' material, which is a dense black like rubber sorbo material of approximately 30mm (just over one inch) depth. The pads are cut to a suitable length and width for Norton chinpad petrol tanks, and as a final touch after cutting - the chinpads are linished on their side to clean up the cut faces and radius each corner, to give a much better look when fitted to a tank.

These pads are (approximately): 7 1/8" long x 4 1/4" wide.

I use the same black foam chinpad and straps on my own Big Plunger Manx Norton (shown in the photo) and other Manx tanked bikes.

Note we also sell the chinpad tabs and straps in this same section. To make the individual straps, cut 2 suitable lengths, then feed each end through the eyes of the chinpad tabs and then double back enough material to allow each end to be glued together using a suitable contact adhesive - I use Evo Stick 501. I allowed for an approximate 4" area of rubber on each end to be glued together, to ensure when attached to the tank they would not pull loose. The finished straps look just right with the chinpads clips and the sponge chinpad - see the photo of my own pre-war Manx that uses these straps.

Similar to item 0127c, this black Sorbo (hard foam\rubber like material) petrol tank chinpad is tapered slightly so it wider at one end than the other. Approximate dimensions are 8" long, with the wider end being approx 6", and the slimmer end being approx 4" wide. Although I do not have an example of a tank myself, a customer with a tank asked if I could make one to these dimensions, so made a small batch at the same time. Unfortunately the unusual shape make this type more difficult to cut and shape and uses more material, hence higher price of this item

This is a slightly longer version of our black Sorbo (hard foam\rubber like material) petrol tank chinpad (Item 0127c)- which may be more suitable than our normal length (Norton) tank pad, if you have a competition bike with a long tank, or just want to give your classic bike a more 'Brooklands' look.  See item listing for more detail.

When making up our last batch of normal Norton racing tank sorbo pads (which are meant for those petrol tanks that have chinpad tabs to retain the sorbo) - we decided to make a smaller of batch of longer pads - see item photos.  We thought these may be useful for anyone contemplating a 1930's 'Brooklands' style racing bike, or even a 1960's faired race bike with long type tank - but these are slightly longer than our 0127c type - having length and width dimensions of: (nominal) 9.75" x 4.25" and are from our normal high quality 30mm (just over 1") thick sorbo foam.

Just like all our chinpads - these are linished to clean up the cut sides and radius each corner.

While our Item 0127c chinpad sorbo's are cut to a length to be the ideal fitment for Norton M30 and pre-featherbed Manx type petrol tanks, which have clips for chinpad tabs - these longer 0990 versions are more suited to a long tank where you choose your own way of affixing - i.e. two sided sticky tape, contact adhesive or whatever.  However, to give an indication of what they would look like on a real tank - one of the photographs here shows one of these longer sorbo pads loose fitted to the top of an original (roadgoing) 1937 Norton International petrol tank - the standard International tank as shown here is slightly slimmer than a pre-war Manx tank and does not have chinpad tabs

This is a short black Sorbo (hard foam\rubber like material) petrol tank chinpad, this type being shorter than our other sorbo pads - but similar to the type fitted to many 1950's-70's classic racing bikes (including many Japanese 2-stroke racers), that often had a small indent in the petrol tank suitable for a small chinpad. 

These are shorter than our 0127c type - having length and width dimensions of: (nominal) 5.5" x 4.25" and are from our normal high quality 30mm (just over 1") thick sorbo foam.

Just like all our chinpads - these are linished to clean up the cut sides and radius each corner.

As these pads have been very popular over the years, we thought we would make a small batch of these shorter type for those Classic race bikes which just need a short chinpad (to help the rider get their head under the fairing), for bikes Like Yamaha Tz's or Honda twins etc.

A pair of Dowty type sealable washers to fit 1/4 BSP Petrol Taps.  Price is for a pair of washers

These washers are a modern alternative to red fibre or copper washers for those petrol taps with 1/4BSP threads going into the petrol tank - of the type used on most Norton OHV, SV, Twins and CS1 models, as well as many other British motorcycles.

Note: in the photo on the left is a genuine Enotts style petrol tap as fitted to the Left side of many OHV/SV tanks of the 1940's.  This is identifiable because of the union at the base of the tap - which would have held an extension banjo to take fuel over to the other (drive side) fuel tap - which would have then fed the carburettor.  A domed nut was then used at the bottom, under the banjo fitting (rather than a fuel pipe to the carburettor, as on the drive side).  These taps are now quite rare - sorry, this one is not for sale.

These washers are not of the type used with the large 'Sump' type SOHC petrol tap - although we do sell the special red fibre washer for those taps - it being Item 0383

This is an exact replica of the very distinctive racing type oil tap (or 'Oilers' as they were commonly known) fitted to both Pre and Post war racing M30/Manx Norton wrapround tanks.  Normally one tap was fitted to the front of the oil tank for drip feed lubrication of the primary drive chain, and a similar oiler was fitted at the rear of the tank for drip feed onto the rear chain.  This item listing is for the front oiler type - this item having a straight pipe, as per the original item. 

Update October 2023:  We completed the last batch of these in June 2023 - many were pre-ordered, and the remainder of the batch have now sold out again, sorry.  However, I will be producing another small batch in the next 6 months - possiblly for Spring 2024, so order as normal here if you wish to reserve one - we may require a small deposit. (note - these are beautifully cast and machined, but due to the substantial increases in casting and machining costs recently - it is highly unlikely we will get more manufactured once the current stocks have ran out)

Background:  these taps are now very hard to come by and normally quite worn and knocked about.  As a starting point, as always I took an original oil tap and replicated all parts as closely as possible to the original.  Patterns were made for casting the bronze body then all the ancillary parts (including the distinctive dial shaft which is actually quite difficult to reproduce due to the unusual notchings on the underside) were reproduced in brass by main main UK based CNC manufacturer.  The dial face is lasercut from stainless steel and the design is etched into it with excactly the same pattern as the original.  Likewise as the finishing touch, there is an adjustable needle pointer (again - identical to original) which can be adjusted to indicate the favoured position when the tap is turned on.  With all machining operations completed, final task was to have all parts dull nickel plated (a difficult operation to get done these days in the modern world of Health and Safety!), to give the original satin nickel finish of the original.

This (front) facing oiler is fitted with a straight outlet pipe, ready to take the correct 1/8" bore pipe to the primary chain.  For the rear oiler, these were fitted with a curved pipe to turn the pipe round onto the rear chain - if you want a rear oiler, then see the similar listing for Item 0571.

Sorry these are not cheap (although cheaper than some recent originals sold on Ebay!), but the price reflects the many parts (the main body required casting patterns and replicates the original exactly) and numerous machining/manufacturing operations required - which is of a very high quality, added to the high cost of small volume production runs.  They do look nice though and are pretty much indistinguishable from a 'new old stock' original. 

This is an exact replica of the very distinctive racing type oil tap (or 'Oilers' as they were commonly known) fitted to both Pre and Post war racing M30/Manx Norton wrapround tanks.  Normally one tap was fitted to the front of the oil tank for drip feed lubrication of the primary drive chain, and a similar oiler was fitted at the rear of the tank for drip feed onto the rear chain.  This item listing is for the rear oiler type - this item having a curved pipe, to redirect the pipe onto the rear chain, as per the original item.  Price is Each.

Update October 2023:  We completed the last batch of these in June 2023 - many were pre-ordered, and the remainder of the batch have now sold out again, sorry.  However, I will be producing another small batch in the next 6 months - possiblly for Spring 2024, so order as normal here if you wish to reserve one - we may require a small deposit. (note - these are beautifully cast and machined, but due to the substantial increases in casting and machining costs recently - it is highly unlikely we will get more manufactured once the current stocks have ran out)

Background:  these taps are now very hard to come by and normally quite worn and knocked about.  As a starting point, as always I took an original oil tap and replicated all parts as closely as possible to the original.  Patterns were made for casting the bronze body then all the ancillary parts (including the distinctive dial shaft which is actually quite difficult to reproduce due to the unusual notchings on the underside) were reproduced in brass by main main UK based CNC manufacturer.  The dial face is lasercut from stainless steel and the design is etched into it with excactly the same pattern as the original.  Likewise as the finishing touch, there is an adjustable needle pointer (again - identical to original) which can be adjusted to indicate the favoured position when the tap is turned on.  With all machining operations completed, final task was to have all parts dull nickel plated (a difficult operation to get done these days in the modern world of Health and Safety!), to give the original satin nickel finish of the original.

This (rear) facing oiler is fitted with a curved outlet pipe, ready to take the correct 1/8" bore pipe to the rear chain.  For the front oiler, these were fitted with a straight pipe - if you want a front oiler, then see the similar listing for Item 0570.

Sorry these are not cheap (although cheaper than some recent originals sold on Ebay!), but the price reflects the many parts (the main body required casting patterns and replicates the original exactly) and numerous machining/manufacturing operations required - which is of a very high quality, added to the high cost of small volume production runs.  They do look nice though and are pretty much indistinguishable from a 'new old stock' original.