Photo: stuff.co.nz
John Pateman is a New Zealand-based bike enthusiast and motorcycles have always been a part of his life. After attending the Isle of Man TT races in 2007, he returned home and started working on his father's abandoned 1928 Norton Model 18. Believe it or not, John Pateman and his Norton have won the PPG Concours Cup for the Best Presented Bike this month, in Whangarei, NZ.
John's father rode the bike back in the 1930s, and had eventually sold it. One of John's uncles got the bike and returned it to the race track during the 1940s and after being done with all the racing, he simply laid it to sit. Both John and his uncle were convinced the bike was worth close to nothing and it' s a real wonder the bike did not end up in a scrapyard.
In 2007 John Pateman went to see the Isle of Man TT and there he discovered the true history of the Norton bikes and learned about the significance of the old, battered Model 18 back home. It took John more than 4 years building and searching for parts to restore the 1928 Norton to "as close as I could get it", as himself declares.
Owner and rider of a 2006 Triumph Rocket, John Pateman is currently working on restoring several more bikes, among which we'd mention a 1969 Triumph Bonneville and a 1974 Triumph Trident. It looks like the isle of Man TT magic is still strong!
In 2007 John Pateman went to see the Isle of Man TT and there he discovered the true history of the Norton bikes and learned about the significance of the old, battered Model 18 back home. It took John more than 4 years building and searching for parts to restore the 1928 Norton to "as close as I could get it", as himself declares.
Owner and rider of a 2006 Triumph Rocket, John Pateman is currently working on restoring several more bikes, among which we'd mention a 1969 Triumph Bonneville and a 1974 Triumph Trident. It looks like the isle of Man TT magic is still strong!
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