North Frames Roll On

NORTH FRAMES ROLL ON

DICK MANN TOOK THE 1971 Daytona 200 on a BSA with a Rob North frame. Now you can take a North frame home.

North had an independent bike shop in England, when, in the late 1960s, Triumph racing engineers asked him to build a frame for the team to test. They liked what they saw and commissioned eight frames for the 1970 season. Riders on North-framed bikes placed second and third in that year’s 200. and an-other eight frames were commissioned for 1971. A few others were built along the way. North reckons he made about 20 frames for Triumph.

There weren’t going to be any others, but North says people are stealing his name. “I really hadn’t planned to do this,” he says, “Several people were building bikes and calling them Rob North specials and things like that, so I decided to start building them again.”

North is building rolling chassis in his San Diego, California, area shop ( 1747 Broadway, Unit B, Chula Vista, CA 91911; 619/575-9488). They are, he says, exact replicas of the old chassis. He’s building streetbikes, but said the new creations could be raced in vintage classes.

“I've completed a rolling chassis, for which I charged $9500,” he says. “If someone wants a frame, I’ll do that too.”

North says he makes his bikes using draw ings he was given by colleagues at the Triumph factory. “When I made frames for Triumph, they brought in a draftsman,” North says. “He made draw ings and I was given a set, so the frames and such that I’m doing now are the same as the ones I was doing 23 years ago.”

North isn't making engines, but he has contacts with former factory craftsmen who are building the engines that powered Mann and machine into victory lane. -Robert Hough