“I’ve never sat on a running Norton before,” photographer Marian Sell announces proudly. He’s just finished dialing in this 750 cc Seeley Norton Commando—a process that involved multiple heat cycles, ignition timing adjustments, carb syncing sessions, cylinder head re-torques, and valve clearance resets. Now, a year after buying it as a rolling chassis, Marian’s first functioning Norton is finally complete.
“It runs like a clockwork,” he adds. “It reminds me of the Porsche 928 my grandfather owned when I was a kid, in terms of the engine sound and feel. It has a very solid pull in the mid-range too.”
The Seeley Norton couldn’t be more different from Marian’s regular daily runner—a street-legal Husqvarna FS450. But it’s not the first time he’s flirted with vintage or British machinery.…