Says David: “The bike is a two previous owner 1959 ES2 500 Norton, this is a local motorcycle bought new by the late Gilbert (Gilly) Iveson from Bangor Co Down on July 3, 1959. He bought the bike from our well known Norton agent; Chambers motorcycle dealers in Belfast. Gilly motoXed, trialled and I saw him racing it at Kirkistown race circuit during the early 1960s.
“Gilly had a quite severe disability, he had very short legs therefore he always had a sidecar attached, for a period he had an Austin A30 engine running in the bike. I purchased the ES2 from a friend who had bought it from Gilly and then carried out, I am sure you will agree, a superb restoration on the bike. One of the stories I have heard so far is that the passenger had to hold Gilly on the bike while cornering.
“None other than ex-Honda works racer and 50cc world champion Ralph Bryans says that he held Gilly’s chair down a few times. If anyone can fill me in with any more stories or anecdotes, I would welcome that.”
Let us know and we’ll pass details on.
