No hill left unclimbed
Hunter House Road, Sheffield, is not a place that is synonymous with motorcycles. The street is home to umpteen students, several Green Party activists and the cause of many parking-related headaches.
Yet, in the 1900s, this steep Victorian terraced street – just up the road from where I live – was the place where a young Dan Bradbury would test the might of the early Nortons.
Known as ‘Norton Dan’ Bradbury was the Sheffield agent for Norton and a passionate competitor in hill climbs and speed events. He was the first person to be recorded at reaching 70mph on a 500cc machine, which is no mean feat given the primitive suspension on motorcycles, poor tyres and ineffective braking of machines in that period, not to mention the dire road surfaces.
George Cohen’s book ‘Flat Tank Norton’ is
