A tale of 3 bikes – "Ed" Norton, Ole Blue, and The Duck.
 
Yesterday morning (August 30th, 2006) while stuck in traffic I got to wondering whatever happened to "Berliner Motors", a Norton/Ducati distributor based in NJ in the 60/70's.   No idea why but I made a note to google for an answer.   One thing lead to another and in bits and pieces I collected up my thoughts…
 
But first a bit of foreword… I got my 1st real bike, a '62 Norton 500 single (ES2) back in '65 while in the Air Force.  I hooked up with some local enthusiasts and quickly graduated through a series of upgrades.  The following year it was a 305 Yamaha, then onto a 500 Velocette Thruxton, with a brief time on a Triumph Bonneville.  And then along came "Ed" - my 67 Norton P11.  However the primary focus of this Vignette is on 3 particular bikes spanning a particularly wild and crazy period of my life.  The years are 1970-1984.  The bikes were "Ed" Norton, Ole Blue, and The Duck…
 
My brother Ron got back from 'Nam in the summer of '70.  Within a few months he decided he would like another bike.  I had set him up with a ride while he was in the Air Force – what started out as a 250 Yamaha Big Bear and ended up as a barely 'street legal' TD1-B road burner – but he had sold it when he shipped out to 'Nam.  We looked around and finally settled on a nice white/blue '69 Kawasaki 500 Mach III.  We started to ride together - me on the P11 Norton and Ron astride the Kawasaki triple...
 
1967 750cc Norton P11 'scrambler' – aka: Ed (Norton).
 
I bought my Norton P11 "Cheetah" from Berliner while working at a Norton/Yamaha shop in the summer of '66.  Jerry, 'the road man' for Berliner, turned me on to the fact that they had a special Norton planned for '67 and we worked out a deal wherein I got the display model from the Daytona show in the spring of '67.  Ed looked exactly like the one in the linked article mentioned below.
 
Over the years I 'improved' Ed by replacing the steal gas tank and tail light assembly with polished aluminum ones – in the end Ed was almost all polished aluminum except for the Reynolds 520 chrome molly tube frame.  I also removed all 'non essential parts' including the battery (it would kick start without it cuz it had a passive 'CD' ignition system with a battery eliminator), the horn, the ignition lock, side stand  and most anything else that, in my estimation, performed no useful function...*grinz*
 
In the spring of 1972 I replaced the '67 motor with a brand new '72 Norton 750 "Combat" version.  I then had it blueprinted, polished, and high compression 'Teflon button' pistons installed. I also replaced the Amal carbs with Mikuni's.  When finished there wasn't much that I couldn't pass.  It would wheelie effortlessly in 2nd gear.  Ed weighed 350 lbs or so 'wet' and I weighed maybe 126 *lafin*
 
Article/pic 1967 750cc Norton p11
 
 
1972 750 Kawasaki 2 stroke triple - Mach IV/H2 - aka: Ole Blue.
 
Back in '72 while I was busy tweaking the new "Combat" motor in my P11 I read about a new bike, the Kawasaki 750 Mach IV (H2),  that had straight-line performance like no other street bike before it.
 
Now I had ridden the Kawasaki 500cc Mach III many times and while awed by the power I  knew that it took a skilled feather weight rider (with very big balls) to take advantage of it.  I therefore felt very confident that I could (and did) put 'em away with the P11.
 
BTW: The technique for launching the Mach III involved running it up to 5K or so, lean over the tank with your nose in the tach, let the clutch fly and twist full grip while holding the foot shifter with your left hand.  With luck the rear tire slips a bit as the front wheel rises.    At that moment you ever so slightly feather the gas while hauling it up into 2nd.  Repeat as needed…  Caution – if ya screw-up the launch or your reflexes are slow there's a good chance you'll find yourself in the wheelie from hell.
 
The H2 was different.  It had more torque than a Sportster and pulled like a freight train well into 5th gear.  It was prone to wheelie as well but was a lot easier to control by those less skilled in the art of street racing.  In the end I proved I could best 'em with my Norton up to a point - and that point was a bit over 90 when I made the 3/4 gear shift at a shade over red line... The P11 would flatten out a bit as it hit 4th gear (top gear) while the H2 just kept on pullin'.  By this time the H2 jockey was well into 4 th but they still had 5th…  My strategy was to humiliate 'em so bad in 2nd and 3rd that they lost focus and slacked off.   But I knew in my heart that the days of the P11's dominance were numbered.
 
So in the summer of '72 I threw in the towel and bought a brand new H2.  By '73 I had sold it to Ron and bought a new Ducati 750SS.  Ron loved that H2 and did quite a bit of work to tame it - radial sport tires, tapered fork head bearings, bronze swing arm bushings, Koni shocks, clip ons, rear sets..along with the usual Dencos, Morris Mags, dual disk mod,  and ¼ fairing.  And The Duck suited me perfectly.  Together we cut a fine figure as we tore-up many a mile of the twisty byways crisscrossing NH and Vt...  Ain't nothing in this world like riding wheel to wheel at hundred or more with someone you know so well that you ride almost as one.  Gawd..those were wonderful times. *sigh*
 
Anyway here's a couple of links to the H2 Kawasaki (aka the widow maker).
 
First – a for sale posting for $23,000 (they have turned into a very desirable collectible superbike).  "Ole Blue" started life looking just like this. For Sale Listing
 
Second – A Brief history of the Kawasaki Mach III and IV here at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum: Article Link
 
"The 750cc Mach IV, or H2 as it was known abroad, took two-stroke performance to an entirely new level. Nicknamed "the widowmaker" by terrified riders, the H2 was an insanely fast motorcycle at the time."   And they go on to say… "No one would deny that the Mach was the fastest thing on the road.  All the bad press about its ill-handling, though, only heightened the Mach's appeal.  It was the hairiest monster in the asphalt jungle, and you were either brave or crazy to take it to its limits ."
 
1973 750cc Ducati Sport – aka: The Duck.
 
By now I was in my late 20's and at the 'top of my game' .  I had a reputation for riding most anything if it was the best there was in the 'twisties'.  Clip-ons, rear-sets, solo seat - nothing fazed me.  Hell I would ride on the frame if it gave me an edge.  The Duck gave me that edge.  It was very smooth (90 degree twins are like that) and was fairly long in the wheel base - nonetheless it was good to get off and stretch after 100 miles.  I soon learned that clip-ons are controls and not handles cuz the slightest unintentional nudge of the bars can (and will) put you on your ass.  So you kinda scrunch down, hang loose and let your thighs and the wind do the work.
 
It's was a hellava bike.  Ducati's have real personality - not that the others didn't - but they have a feel to 'em that translates into a 'relationship'.  Some objects have a feel that goes beyond their intended purpose.  Some 'tools' are fun to use just cuz they fit your hand.  Ducatti's have that feel.  They also tend to be maintenance hogs.  But like most things that you love you tend to overlook such short comings.  Case in point:  The early 750 S was a real eye opener in it's day when it came to handling (and performance).  However quality control was a bit lax.  As I recall Cycle World received a test mount that had a fly embedded in the gelcoat on the gas tank.  The decals also washed off in the car wash.  They would have crucified anyone else but their love for the bike helped them pass off these defects as 'character'.  I had to agree - mine had no fly in the gelcoat but the decals washed off just the same.  They gave me a new set which I stashed away in a dresser drawer cuz I liked it better with without 'em *grinz*.
 
I continued to ride The Duck come hell or high watter until 1980 when Ron got married and moved away to Vermont.  By now the 750 S had made its mark on history and was on the way to becomming a valuable classic.  Fine examples of early 'round case' 'bevelheads' pull down close to $15K these days. 
Pix and specs here: Ducati SS Info Link
 
Fast forward a couple of years to 1984.
 
I wasn't riding much anymore - it seems that I had lost interest in my passion.  Ron died in August while riding Ole Blue up in Vermont, and besides drinking was taking up most of my time.  I inherited the mangled remains of Ole Blue and stashed it in the barn.  Shortly thereafter I picked up a '73 H2  for parts.  The idea was to get Ole Blue back on the road…  The 'parts bike' proved to be a completely serviceable mount and so in the summer of '85 I had 4 bikes registered – Ed, The Duck, my XLX sporty, and 'the parts bike'.  I would like to tell ya that it was a hellava summer but the truth be known I rarely ventured further on them than to the corner store to get another bottle of wine or to a neighbors house to drink it.  I had picked up a new Harley Sportster XLX (another future classic) back in '82.  With the 'sporty', and the P11 on hand, The Duck didn't get ridden all that often.  At some point the front cylinder froze up due to moisture seeping in through the velocity stacks.  Eventually the bikes sat forgotten and folorn tucked away in various cornors of the barn.
 
In '89 we moved from the 'old house' with the storage barn to a new contemporary with a 2 car garage under.  Storage was tight and some of the bikes needed to go.  An old friend I hadn't seen in years showed up one day outta the blue and we had a couple of beers and shot the shit.  I ended up giving him The Duck cuz I knew he would get it running again – which he did.
 
Epilogue…
 
Yeah, I had lost heart (and my soul) somewhere along the way.  I eventually gave Old Blue and the parts bike to my friend Al.  He pieced together Old Blue and I got to take it out for one last ride.  I sold the sporty to pay the bills.  And as I mentioned before I gave The Duck to Murray who fixed it up good as new.  I let Ed go last year.
 
I've been sober going on 14 years now and life is good.  However every so often I find myself adrift amongst my memories and my dreams.   I see myself on another bike – nothing fancy or pretentious.  Something with personality…  Bullet proof and quirky as hell...   Something along the lines of a Yamaha V-Max *grinz*  

1984 V-MAX ~~ NOW SOLD