Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

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Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

17th photos

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Honest craft: Ulrich Axler from Lubeck is a shoemaker, …

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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The Norton 16 H from 1936.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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"driving pleasure".

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
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Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Empathy: The Norton usually comes at first step.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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The problem has now been resolved.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Not a museum piece: the side-controlled 500 series single with dry sump lubrication liked to wrap itself in a little oil mist …

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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And pride in ownership outside of shoemaking.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Proud of ownership in the shoemaker’s break room.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Self-made extraction system like on the engine test bench – for adhesive vapors instead of exhaust gases.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Ulrich Axler with his daily bread.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Norton 16 H..

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Just in case: one "English people" in the tool box under the nameplate.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
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Norton 16 H..

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Norton 16 H..

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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… not only takes care of old shoes, but also of the Norton 16 H from 1936.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Blacksmith

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Almost 80 years old, but still more than just an ornament.

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

Magic of honesty

Content of

A traditional shoemaker lives his dream of honest craftsmanship in Lubeck. With his English lady, the Norton 16 H from 1936 as an everyday oldie.

M.a friend Peter gave me the hot tip: “Ulrich is a master shoemaker, he has an old pre-war Norton in his shop that he drives regularly.” Okay Peter, interest aroused. Two days later we will meet at Brandenbaumer Landstrasse 69 in Lubeck. The otherwise picturesque world heritage city looks very modest here. An arterial road from the Hanseatic city that ran straight to the heavily shielded border in GDR times. There are beach chairs in front of the red brick building, the coast is close by. “Shoemaker Ulrich Axler” is written over the door.

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Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H

Ulrich Axler and his Norton 16 H
Magic of honesty

Admire Norton 16 H from 1936.

Almost 80 years old, 14 hp, side-controlled


Blacksmith

Ulrich Axler loves his Norton – even if it is almost 30 years older than him.

The almost 80-year-old Norton 16 H exudes a dignified calm in this environment, surrounded by Norton advertising signs and the original operating instructions in English. The H stood for “Home market”, Norton’s home market. The 16 H was Norton’s most frequent and longest series, produced from 1911 to 1954: around 100,000 units alone went to the British military as the WD 16 H (“War Department”) from 1936 onwards. It tied up a lot of production capacity, but also poured a lot of money into the notoriously empty Norton coffers. “This model was en masse in olive green during the war,” reports Ulrich, “because it was good-natured and indestructible. Afterwards, many copies continued to be converted in a civilian way. “

He loves his 14 hp, side-steered 500 cc. “All 16 H models had a 79 mm bore and a 100 millimeter stroke.” Rust is not a foreign word on the venerable lady, nor is oil mist. It is just not an exhibit, it has an honest patina. “The way it is here, I also drive it, with approval and TÜV.” And with the brake on the left and footshift on the right, including first gear up. “I got used to it quickly.”

After all, it already has a modern twistgrip, ignition adjustment on the left on the handlebars, air supply on the right. Smiths speedometer and ammeter work. What does Ulrich like about his Norton 16 H? “This is all understandable, incredibly simple technology.”

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Blacksmith

"Comprehensible, incredibly simple technology" – therefore Ulrich does all the maintenance himself.

Ulrich does all the maintenance himself on the Norton 16 H: “Overhaul the brakes, new chain, the usual. Setting the ignition is a breeze. To take the head down, for example to change the head gasket, all you have to do is loosen nine screws. Then you can adjust the valves at your leisure. ”Once he had to remove the gear unit because there was a crack in the housing. In this way he was able to control the actually flawless gears.

“The 16 H is a simple and inexpensive means of transportation. It runs great, with good throttle response. For its era, the Norton 16 H runs like the devil; you just have to dare to downshift, to give the old goat spurs. ”It is elongated and flat,“ the low center of gravity is the be-all and end-all for good driving behavior ”. The supply of spare parts is also ensured, “almost everything is still there, some of it original on brown waxed paper”. A roof-shaped piston complete with rings only costs around 100 euros. The craftsman had the cylinder with its 40 mm oversized piston grinded.

Within a few kilometers, two piston jams occurred “with terrible mechanical noises. But that couldn’t be so in quick succession ”. The solution to the riddle? “During assembly, I accidentally covered a hole with the seal. It uses them to get oil from the cylinder base to the running surfaces of the piston. ”Problem recognized, danger averted. In the long run.

“Otherwise the Norton 16 H never let me down, it is fully suitable for everyday use.” The two drove around 9,000 kilometers in 20 years. Ulrich once bought it for 3500 marks from an English specialist near Lubeck: “I always saw people chugging through the village on English mopeds and immediately knew: something like this suits me, with a sound like a Lanz Bulldog.”

"The Norton 16 H always starts

To prove it, he kicks her, crashes up and down the street. However, the blue oil mist in the exhaust annoyed him a little. At the end of 2014 he found an identical replacement engine in Saxony via an internet advertisement, “same year of construction, 1936!” It was delivered for 400 euros on a wooden pallet, “only had 10 oversized pistons, still showed the honing marks in the cylinder”. In the winter, Ulrich sanded the valves and gave the carburetor new seals, slides and nozzles. “Now everything is tip-top again.”

He likes “honest metal”. Only in stores, where leather is his favorite material. Apart from his animal skin samples to toad leather and drawers full of snaps and buckles. The father of the family looks after bees at home and is a hobby beekeeper. Tradition and craft. Father and grandfather were already master shoemakers, good repairs at fair prices were a matter of honor.

Ulrich learned in his father’s company in Siegburg, then he attended the master’s school in Osnabruck. He installed an extraction system for adhesive vapors in his company, as is known from engine test benches. He learned to work on two-wheelers at an early age, and at 14 he owned a three-speed Hercules. “I put new piston rings in there, but after that it ran rather worse,” Ulrich honestly admits.

He mourns his Lambretta TV 175

At the age of 18 he bought a brand new Yamaha XT 500 for 4800 Marks. With it he raced through the Eifel and Bergisches Land (“I still really learned to ride a motorcycle”) until it was stolen in Holland. His penchant for old vehicles started early. Ulrich still mourns his Lambretta TV 175 from the end of the 50s. “That was a really great Italian scooter, but in 1999 I stupidly sold it. Today it is a rare, extremely sought-after model. ”In contrast, the East German swallow, which he once bought for 250 euros, was really common. Where does his enthusiasm for everything old come from? “It’s always been like that, I’m a traditionalist.” Ulrich also favors character types when it comes to cars. He already had an Opel Rekord Olympia when he was 20: “It was my year of birth, 1961, with flags on the side of the C-pillar.” His dream is a Volvo P 1800 S. He currently has a huge Ami sled, a 1964 Chrysler New Yorker The fat key data of the V8: 6.8 liter displacement, 340 SAE PS. A 2.2-ton truck with drum brakes that works completely without electronics, “but has real power from below”.

In 2012, his old Norton 16 H got real competition: Ulrich discovered his love for his younger Italian lover, a Moto Guzzi V 35 Imola. “In its original condition with 27 hp – that’s enough for the ride with my buddies on a Yamaha SR 500 on country roads.” On Thursdays they drive together to the beach when the weather is good. “It’s a lot of fun to cruise down small streets with the old boxes – whether with Norton or Guzzi. Then you drink a beer together and drive back comfortably. “

The V 35 belonged to a customer who “always wore a smart one-piece leather suit”. Her husband was an “old school Guzzi specialist”. But the lady left the motorcycle for health reasons. At first Ulrich thought the motorcycle was too small for him. But it fit. Original 30,000 kilometers wasn’t much, the condition was okay: “At first the Guzzi didn’t work, but because of small things: charge the battery, clean the carburetor, that’s it.” Ulrich became the Guzzi owner. He still has the V2 of a Moto Guzzi V 65 ready for potential additional performance in the future. Ulrich has been making music with ambition for 15 years, playing the electric bass in the band “Bluesm @ il”. After all, this is also about honest craftsmanship and enthusiasm for the authentic.

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