It looks like contract C9681, 1792 bikes supplied but it's complicated as the frame and census numbers were in various batches. No doubt Rik will be along later with his record books Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Thanks Ron
any help appreciated
John B
north Yorkshire

Hello John,

Frame number given may not be military.
Its not in my listing which is fairly extensive.
Did you try the NOC for dating?
If civilian they should be able to find it quickly.

If it really is military it is of an unknown (to me) contract.

Engine number may give better indication of year of built.
Can you give the engine number?

Cheers,

Rob

wdnorton.nl

email (option): wd16h@telfort.nl

I'm a little reluctant to try dating and corroborating WD Norton frames without a clear and original 'W' prefix frame number unless I've seen photos of the frame and possibly the number.

It seems clear that later-war (perhaps from 1941 onwards) spare frames (10% with most WD contracts) left the factory unstamped. Those machines which stayed in service after the war almost always seem to have had new frames and the REME workshops hardly ever stamped the 'W' which leads to frequent confusion with pre-war production. These details were often taken over into the military records and repeated on the first log books. The confusion often goes back to the 1950s at least.

This is not too much of a problem if the frame can be examined as civvy frames have very different geometry and the casting lugs help us to tell pre-war frames from late production.

Is it possible to supply photos of at least the front fuel tank mount viewed from the rear and the drive side pillion footrest location ? A photo of the frame number would be helpful too.

Hi Rik

Thank's for the advice and info, will get back onto Chris the owner of the bike and try to obtain
photo's, also to clarify if there is a "W" prefixing the number, also if any what other info he has.
All to be done by snail mail !!
Will get back to you as and when I have the info.
Many thanks for the advice.
John B
North Yorkshire