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MAN AND MACHINE
The dominator!
PRINCE FREDERICK
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Bought second-hand, this 1962 Norton Dominator 88 is however second to no other bike
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This 1962 Norton Dominator 88 was special to Vijayakumar, because he had bought it second-hand! His other classic bikes had had three, five or more owners before him. So, he was filled with dread when his son Haroon asked for the Norton’s key.
The father was prepared to hand over the bike, but on a condition.
Haroon had to strip it down and reassemble it. His reasoning: Having put it together, Haroon would be specially attached to the bike and never have to rely on a mechanic to know what’s wrong with it. Vijayakumar’s plan worked. Haroon is hooked on the Norton. And, as he explains its mechanism to me, I realise he can’t be prey to any unscrupulous mechanic.
As the bike was in great condition when he received it, Haroon did not have to improve it. Oh yes, he went in for a bit of plating work, but that’s just about it. His father had maintained the Norton with great care, even to the point of paranoia. He switched to an after-market fuel-tank lid (from PJ, France), one with a lock and a key!
After he bought this Norton in 1969 from Singapore, Vijayakumar replaced the handlebar, taillight, exhausts, horns and carburettor with those intended for other machines. The handlebar levers are from a Norton Dominator 88 SS, a sportier version of the Dominator 88. Haroon’s bike belongs to a group of Nortons, known as ‘slimline’ because of less width between the rider’s knees – to achieve this, the upper portion of the frame was angled inwards. The other Nortons were known as ‘wideline’.
Haroon claims this twin-cylinder, 500cc (ohv) Norton Dominator has been kept original. When his attention is drawn to the substitute parts, he argues, “Of a minor nature, the changes can even be justified. Low-sounding, the original horns were ineffectual in traffic. Most of the time, I prefer a Mikuni (carburettor) to the original Amal for performance. And I think the modifications have not significantly changed this Norton’s character.”
As if in defence of Haroon’s argument, a by-stander (Roy Fernandes, who once owned a Dominator 88 Wideline), pays Haroon a compliment: “Very well-maintained!”
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