Too hot to handle
I am responding to the short article on Page 6 of the January/February 2020 issue of Motorcycle Classics about the Norton Fastback: “Another Fastback.” I had my own “flame-on” experience with my Fastback, similar to the author of the article. As a 17-year-old in 1975 I had built a Fastback from a basket case. I had ridden it to a spray-and-wash to clean it. After soaking it down, I popped off the points cover (mounted under the carbs) to dry out the points. I left the cover loose and took off. Sometime later a float bowl screw vibrated loose resulting in gas dripping onto the points. A buddy and I were on the bike when flames shot up from below. He jumped off and I ditched the bike only to watch it go up in total flames.
After the fire department put it out, I found that the fire had melted the carbs into a puddle on the asphalt. I scraped them up and kept them for several years. I finally put them in a shadow box (see photo) as a memento. You can see the slide springs, mounting studs and main jets in the picture.
I thought I was the only one, but after reading your article, I feel a bit of vindication …
Dave Kaufman, aka AJS Dave/Georgia
