The Harleyton
One part Harley, one part Norton, lightly shaken
March/April 2009
By Neale Bayly
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Nick Roskelley's custom-made "Harleyton" is part Harley-Davidson, part Norton.
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Nick’s Laverda RGS is running rich on the right cylinder and the problem is eluding him. So, the heads are off, and the barrels have been lifted to see if there is an obvious problem. With everything looking just as it should, the carbs are now under scrutiny, and with a scalding hot cuppa in my hand, time seems to slide to a halt as theories are raised, debated, and eliminated on a wet English afternoon in Paignton, Devon, England.
Outside the small, dimly lit garage the rain is really hammering down now, and I interrupt the conversation to ask if the Harleyton should be brought inside. “There’s 6,000 miles on the clock since I rebuilt ’er. She’s a daily driver,” says Nick, as we move on to the float levels. Gazing out at the rust on the front disc, the black exhaust soot on the right foot peg, and the road grime on the engine and wheels, I have to remind myself who owns this bike. Never one to baby or pamper his machines, Nick Roskelley has been building and thrashing interesting European motorcycles around the English lanes since I was a spotty teenager.
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Formative years
During this period in my formative motorcycle years, Nick was riding a Norton 850 Commando with a distinctly American flavor. High bars, a king and queen seat and a metal flake paint job made sure it wasn’t what the purists were riding. And on his workbench he was building a beast — a beast of a Laverda Mirage 1200 that I eventually talked him in to selling, and a beast I still own. Peering back through those grimy windows of time into his shop at the end of Winner Street nearly 30 years ago, I realize looking at the Harleyton more closely that some things never change.
Strange concoction
Just the thought of a 1942 WLC 45 cubic-inch Harley engine in a 1960 Norton Wideline Featherbed frame is enough to cause havoc in vintage motorcycle circles on both sides of the pond. Nick is very aware of the chaos and commotion he causes when he rides the Harleyton to his local bike night on the Paignton sea front. Few people are anywhere else but on the love-it or hate-it fence, and this makes him very happy. He also thrives on the fact that he hand cut and polished all the fabulous stainless steel brackets, mounts and housings with material that came out of the scrap bin. The bike was purchased for about $2,000 right before the owner was about to turn it into a chopper. Around $1,500 has been spent bringing the bike to the condition you see here.
The gas tank is from a Dominator 99 and was originally silver. Nick’s friend Nick Lovell made the “Harleyton 45” decal, which is based on an original design by artist and sign painter Dave Stevens. Talking to Nick about the Harleyton with the smell of grease and oil in the air opened a floodgate of motorcycle memories. The tank itself was hand painted in Nick’s workshop with two-pack black paint and lacquer, and a piece of discarded stainless steel was beaten pretty to fit on top.
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