Do the engine (and frame) numbers have a 'W' prefix ? This will indicate that they were delivered under a wartime military contract and that they saw service use.
W22602 was part of an RAF contract. Probably delivered during the second part of 1940.
There don't seem to have been any Norton engines numbered 22000. In 1924 , they jumped from 13999 to 24000. This is probably because they realised that they had used 14000 before the Great War.
This is the inside cover from the factory record book for 1924.
The most likely situation with your engine is that it was a replacement engine and the 'W' was not stamped. This seems to have happened quite a lot with military rebuilds.
Thanks a lot for the effort and time you have showered for my request. This is of great information and learning of how the military bikes would have under possible transformations during war or anytime of it's usage.
Posting the picture of the bike and the engine number.
https://ibb.co/99zjWLS
https://ibb.co/6nqQKNy
Once again thank you Rik and everyone here for helping out.
It's difficult to see from the photo as it is quite low-resolution and the angle is a little oblique. The number font doesn't look like I'd expect to see on a 1940 WD16H. The '79x100' stamps though do look original. Are there any signs that the engine number has been removed and re-stamped ? I'm also surprised that there is no government inspection stamp.
This is W22074 showing the font that I'd expect and inspection mark M^179 which I'd expect at this point in 1940 although M^318 was used until not long before and there may have been an overlap.
Thanks a lot for the inputs, very informative about government Stamps ^179.
As far as I see I don't know if the number is removed or re-stamped. I had a word with the previous owner about the model. He gave a idea that this belongs to 1938 year.
But am also not sure about this Engine number:22602 .
Also why the Inspection stamp ^179 is missing.
It is very clear from the picture you have shared Rik.
Are there chances that this engine number could be re-stamped...
As far as I know, all pre-war Norton frames, military and civilian, had sidecar lugs integrated in the frame.
Racing models may have been an exception but I am not into those.
As far as I can see it is likely an ex military bike.
On my website (www.wdnorton.nl) you can read why it is not possible to find any individual machines history.
As they were built for a purpose it is very likely yours is also used by the military.
For early built machines it is basically without doubt.
Machines built late 1944 and 1945 may not have been actually used in the war anymore.
Can you give a picture of the frame number of your bike to make sure what it is?
The slightly odd engine number may have been an AS prefixed one indicating it to be a replacement engine but they "forgot" the to apply the "AS".
It fits in late AS numbers.
This would be from contract C7353 and was produced during the earlier part of 1941. It would have displayed WD number C4401938. This is the nearest number that I have on file.
Hello Muthu. This War Office contract was for 17000 machines to replace the losses in France earlier in 1940. The serial numbers ran from C4386027 to C4403026 and the individual numbers have no significance.
I have no doubt that a machine delivered during 1941 would have been 'used in the war' but it's impossible to say in what capacity. All we can say for certain is that it was sent from the Norton factory to the huge Royal Army Ordnance Corps depot at Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, from where it could have been sent anywhere in the world, as needed.
Some from this contract stayed in the UK. Very many were sent to the Middle East as large numbers of troops were being sent there. Although there seems to be little photographic evidence, it's quite possible that some were sent to the Far East too.
I have photographs of about 100 identifiable serials from this contract...out of 17000 so it's only a tiny proportion.