Back when AMC owned Norton and Matchless, the latter sold a bike called the G85CS, which was competitive in European motocross. The US west coast distributor sold several but thought they were a little slow for the ‘scramble’ racing that was happening in America, before MX took off. After requesting that AMC put a more powerful Norton Atlas engine in the Matchless frame (and then being told it wasn’t going to happen), the distributor, a man named Bob Blair had his mechanic build what he wanted over three weeks. The result was then adopted by AMC to become the Norton P11.
Unfortunately, the P11 was almost immediately outdated as lightweight two-strokers started showing up in the US. Still, it was a championship desert racer for a couple of years, and an interesting footnote in Norton history as the only true scrambler they built. Just over 500 P11’s were built, and almost all of them were sold in the states. For more information on this Norton desert racer, check out this profile from MotocrossActionMag.
This specific example (VIN: P11/124543) has 13,000 miles and enjoyed an older restoration. It’s been just serviced and is claimed to run like a top. It has Boyer electronic ignition, a new battery, and new modern tires. The seller notes that it’s “not perfect but it is pretty close”, though he does go on to say that the only slight flaws is that the handlebars are slightly tweaked…
Find this Norton P11 for sale in Milford, New Jersey with bidding up to $8,000 and the reserve not yet met or a BIN of $11,995