Old photo

[thehollowmen]

1913 Indian Single Cylinder with straight bars?

The exhast on the right hand side is in the right place, and the round bit where the half-crescent kick start is supposed to be ... well that explains his foot position. he's got it on the peddles.

EDIT : Checked out the norton flat tanker from the 1920s? The square lip on the bottom of the frount mudgaurd is right, as is the text, the angle of the chain and.. well.. I'm putting my money on that. And if you dodge the photo right, you see the frount sproket on the primary drive is exposed.

[eliot-ness]

An update on the registration plate. Almost certainly NZ rego 1926/27
NZ used a hyphen between letters and numbers that year. The only bikes I can find without front brakes are speedway bikes. Maybe he fitted lights and guards to ride to grass track or beach race meetings

[Ixion]

But in those days in NZ you got a new rego number each year. So that would indicate that the photo was taken 1926-7, but the bike could have been several years old then. Norton were running chain drive and no front brake for some models in 1920 and maybe 1921. And the magneto on the Norton singles was in the right place (course, so were lots of others)

The script could be the curley N of Norton.

[Riff Raff]

Found this pic of a 1927 DOT 350cc racer. the frame looks remarkably similar.

[thehollowmen]

Found this pic of a 1927 DOT 350cc racer. the frame looks remarkably similar.

Most motorcycles do.

The exhaust and magneto aren't in the right place.

[T.W.R]

But in those days in NZ you got a new rego number each year. So that would indicate that the photo was taken 1926-7, but the bike could have been several years old then. Norton were running chain drive and no front brake for some models in 1920 and maybe 1921. And the magneto on the Norton singles was in the right place (course, so were lots of others)

The script could be the curley N of Norton.

The fuel tank is too deep & cylindrical for a Norton of that era & almost all of the Nortons then had a silver tank with the 2step pinstripe. the 1921 Norton had exhaust exiting on the left & a fully enclosed chain guard too.

I'm leaning towards a early 20s Calthorpe with a 350 JAP engine

[hazard02]

Here's my very amateur attempt at using photoshop to fix the photo up a bit.
Probably doesnt make it any easier to ID the bike though..

[jazbug5]

I think that's pretty good, actually: fiendishly hard to fix up, this one!

I had a quick go as well to see if I could get anywhere...

[crashe]

I have looked throu my "Classic British Bikes" book..

Damned hard to figure it out as the dude's leg is covering up the main part of the bike.

Been looking at the hand levers and also the headlight to give me the main clue. Also that thing on the bike frame is another clue to look at...

But cant find a thing that matches all those 3 clues up...

[kensuem]

Firstly,thanks to all those who supported me,and thanks for all the ideas.I have also been browsing through all the classic bike pics I could find,but have ended up being more confused than ever.I think I have found the answer and then find that other points dont match up..I should have said in the first place thatthe photo was in Kent in the UK.{dad died in 1958 and I came to NZ in 1970}.I sent the photo to Classic Bike mag and to a vintage bike site in the UK,but no one can identify it.
Took my Suzuki 250gn for its 1000klm service in Paeroa on Friday,and came home through the Old Tauranga Road,what a great road,with all those bends I could have been back in the lanes of Kent,on my Constellatoin or the Shooting Star I used to own.{although I ride a Suzuki now,I still think real bikes have the gear change on the right side!}

[98tls]

i myself spent a bit of time on the net trying to identify it but no luck...even posted it up on another website but no luck...bit of a mystery eh.

[Motu]

So it was Bwitish,I got that bit right anyway.

[eliot-ness]

Well, at least you know where it was registered so you are half way there. Can't figure out the hyphen though. Anyway on to the next stage. The bike was registered 1924 or after in Maidstone Kent. UK. Records still exist so you should be able to check for a small fee.
The address is West Kent Archives Office.
County Hall
Maidstone. Kent.
This information was taken from the BSA Owners Club Site on the web
Keep on trying. Good luck

[pritch]

I have looked at this several times, and the picture isn't that clear, but from what you can see of the tank badge it looks to me as if it could be the A and J of an AJS badge.

[kensuem]

Have just found a picture of a Norton 16h which seems to match on many points.Picture was on a Uk site, vintagebike.co.uk.Although taken from the other side,the headlamp ,forks etc appear the same.Also the lack of a front brake.I have long thought the logo on the tank was the N of Norton.
Other pics of 1928 16h,s show a front brake,could it have been optional?