West Briton (Falmouth, Penryn, Helston, The Lizard)
Norman’s beloved Norton Big 4 still motoring after 60 years of exploring
AMOTORBIKE enthusiast is still riding around on the same vintage bike which took him on lengthy roadtrips across the UK decades ago – with his three boys stuffed in the sidecar.
Norman Lister, 86, has been the proud owner of a 1928 Norton Big 4 for 60 years and, at 96 years old, the bike is still going strong – although it isn’t exactly ageing like a fine wine.
Extensive work over the years has kept it in running order and meant the former architect – who lived in Feock, near Truro, for 20 years – and the classic motorcycle have literally aged together.
The father of three first fell in love with riding when he worked for the Voluntary Service Overseas charity in Uganda in east Africa, using his first motorcycle to get from A to B.
Since then, he says, the hobby has brought him nothing but joy.
Norman moved with his family to Cornwall in 1995, becoming a mem- ber of the local Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC).
The enthusiasts would go on runs of up to 120 miles a day. It might not seem like much but for a motorcycle almost a century old, with a rigid frame and girder forks, that’s an impressive feat: “That’s about as much as you can manage on a machine of that vintage,” he said.
“It was a good club because you’d stick together in a convoy system where, when you come to a junction, the lead rider stops to make sure everybody turns right and watch out for any stragglers.”
Norman admits he was a straggler himself – but his trusty Norton’s sidecar meant he could be the hero when someone ran out of fuel or oil en route, as he could carry extra.
He bought the motorcycle in 1963 – when it was already 35 years old – after discovering it in his neighbour’s bike stable.
Built in various models between 1907 and 1954, the Big 4 (so called because it was rated at four taxable horsepower) was propelled by a 633cc single-cylinder side-valve engine and, with plenty of low-end torque, was a popular choice as a sidecar machine.
It once took Norman and his family around Scotland, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Cornwall, and then back to his native London.
“You could fit all three little boys in the sidecar,” he recalls, and sharing those moments with his boys reminded him watching his own father ride a Scott Flying Squirrel when Norman himself was a boy.
“That’s why I became interested,” he told insurer Bikesure’s blog Forever Bikes. “I got the bug from him.”
While living in Feock Norman met Sam Lovegrove, of TV’s Junk And Disorderly and Shed And Buried fame, who helped restore the bike and its sidecar – though it still has its share of problems.
“It nearly always leaves a puddle of oil wherever you go, which is not very popular,” said Norman, who retired to Norfolk a decade ago, “but the joy of it is that it’s entirely nondigital.
“I’ve never thought about selling it because I was enjoying it. Even if I lost my marbles and couldn’t ride it, would I get rid of it? Not readily, because I love it.”