Harleyton: Half Harley, Half Norton

By Neale Bayly
Published on February 4, 2009
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by Neale Bayly
Nick Roskelley's custom-made "Harleyton" is part Harley-Davidson, part Norton.

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.

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.

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