The Anthony R. East Classic Motorcycle Collection, 1955 Norton 500cc Model 7 Dominator Frame no....

The Anthony R. East Classic Motorcycle Collection 1955 Norton 500cc Model 7 Dominator Registration no. DFL 883 Frame no. K12 59709 Engine no. 59709 K12 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 chassis, 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. The Model 7 continued as a cheaper alternative to the '88', its first major revision arriving in 1953 in the form of a new swinging-arm frame. The model was dropped at the end of 1955 but the same basic cycle parts were used for a 600cc successor, the Model 77, which continued in production until the autumn of 1958. Supplied new by Burrows Bros of Peterborough (where Tony, as a boy, had a Saturday morning job cleaning the bikes in their showroom), this example of a relatively rare post-war Norton was purchased by Tony East in February 2001 from the daughter of a Mr Roy Long of Peterborough. Roy Long had been the caretaker at Tony's school Deacon's Grammar, and as student Mr Long had allowed Tony to sit on this very Norton. 'DFL 883' comes with a photocopy of its original logbook listing four owners, all in the Peterborough area, Roy Long being the last. Restored throughout by Bryan Small, the machine is offered with his invoices totalling £10,382; some old MoTs and bills; an old-style V5C document; and an original parts list and instruction book. Described by Tony as a terrific bike to ride, the odometer reading at time of cataloguing was 11 miles. Footnotes: All lots are sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Lot to be sold without reserve. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com