Dave and I had a terrific ride out into the countryside to meet with Andy and learn about his really cool 1967 Norton P11 Scrambler. Seeing Oregon’s Mount Hood in the background made for a perfect backdrop for this latest ‘home visit’ video.
Hey andy thank you very much for having us both over great to see you thanks for spending a few minutes to chat about your really cool bike well you’re welcome mike what i’m showing you here today is a 1967 norton p11 sort of a hybrid specialized bike that was produced by the amc corporation in limited quantities this was norton’s solution to the desert sled
Race that was going on in southwest united states at the time i’ve owned this one about three years i buy bikes and hold them and play with them for a little while and then move on or whatever i’d like to be able to keep them all but i believe in using them i try and ride them keep them in good fettle yeah good nick yes and um and just enjoy the machinery because
When these bikes were being made i missed out on that time period i was just not quite old enough yet you know these were bikes your older brothers were riding and yes you know you saw him when a little kid is like that’s what i want to do i never appreciated how small the gas tank is on the p11 yeah they used this this gas tank is very similar to the matchless
Tank and they would put a matchless badge on these tanks as well i believe they’re two gallon maybe two and a half this bike features the matchless teledralic front ends forks front wheel the braking system retains all the matchless parts there as well as the rear hub and uh the rear spark it is also a matchless component and i haven’t seen a brake like that
Before as well that’s very interesting it’s enormous hope isn’t it they’re super soft so this 750 norton engine uh is fitted into a matchless g85 frame to lighten it up the mattress had a pretty good reputation for handling in the desert and in the dirt but the 750 norton engine produced the horsepower that they really were looking for in the day so would this
Have started off as like an atlas engine then that then became this it’s essentially an atlas engine okay when i got it it was it wasn’t running all that great i’ve replaced the carburetors on it new tires i found the proper seat for it you know i’ve done a few things to bring it up a little bit it is essentially a stock correct p11 i love it and we were just
Commenting about that bulge on the side of the tank as well for the for the badging i never i never appreciated that that was that until you get the right angle it’s hard to really notice and uh i believe i’m sort of with you mike i didn’t yeah it didn’t occur to me until i first looked at it you know after owning it for a period of time i was just looking at the
Pipes as well they’re almost like a straight throughput i don’t think that’s much of a baffle at the end of the bike is it they’re essentially straight through but this is the correct exhaust system for this machine we’re just catching you just in time right because i think you’re going to be swapping this bike out at some point in the near future yes one of my
Long time friends we’ve been motorcyclists buddies for a long long while and he has a 1958 triumph tr6 c that we’ve worked out a trade for wow and so he’s taken this one back to his collection in iowa and subsequently it’ll fit in nicely with several of the g80s and other amc products that that oh wow he’s focused on in his collection okay that’s how it called
And yeah i’m i’m a norton guy at heart and i have mixed feelings about letting this one go i figured out essentially around the time that i retired that i want to try and own several different kinds of british bikes and try them out and see for myself which ones work for me and which ones don’t and uh you can’t keep them in your collection so to be able to do
That you own them for a period of time and then you put them out in the world again i admire for being able to do that because i get i get like emotionally attached to the bikes there’s a few in the shop that i’ve had a long long while that i don’t believe they’ll leave for quite some time no it’s brilliant it’s a it’s a hoot to ride it’s light and nimble makes
Plenty of power the gear ratios are slightly different in the amc box you know you’ll notice okay it’s sort of cocked in there to be able to fit it in the frame so a little bit shorter it won’t top out like a roadster will but uh it’s quick that peg is on like a loop isn’t it i see that yep they’ve got a loop welded out here and then you know just a folding foot
Peg no rubbers on them that’s that’s how they came the rear brake lever on this side is very minimal so the attack drives very nice i like that as well that’s a nice nice look coming off the of the timing side yeah until you’re snagging on a piece of pucker brush or whatever and then okay well who needs a tachometer anyway it’s all right here really great buy
Candy well thank you we’ve enjoyed it it’s pretty it’s fascinating you don’t see them which is part of the appeal you know i’ve been awful proud to be able to own it absolutely it’s a great machine and i really struggled with it in terms of should i move it along but it’s all part of the hobby for me anyway because i like to ride them i mean the the museum pieces
In my collection tend to go away i i can’t because i want to use them play with them and of course and talking a ride in him would you mind giving it a little ride up and down uh well we’re here to see if we can get this okay and tanker soul thing started up oh yeah no this one she likes a good drink this one i figured that out zeke you’re gonna have to leave
It up that ticks over well that’s a nice idol oh this thing runs great it really does uh the guy i bought it from has 11 000 miles on it and so i bought it from a fella was part of the northern california norton owners group he found it had a broken valve spring just refreshed the head deglazed the cylinders put it back together resealed it retains all its
Original parts they’re a little pitted and the chrome and it’s complete it’s 1969 number 29 from the first very production s that they had this one’s 29th model march of 69. awesome
Transcribed from video
1967 Norton P11 Scrambler By The Mighty Garage