One of the lesser-known models in the Norton line-up was the P11/Ranger. It all started by California distributor Bob Blair, who put an Atlas 750cc engine in a Matchless G85CS frame because desert racing was all the rage in the Southwest US. That evolved into the “Project 11”, which became the P11 when officially released by Norton in 1967. A year later the model had evolved into the P11A, called the Ranger, and it became road legal.
By ’69, desert racing was being dominated by much lighter two-strokers and the Commando had started to take off – the P11/Ranger was killed off. According to marque expert Anthony Curzon, just 495 of these Rangers were sold (all outside of England). For more information on the P11 (the predecessor to the Ranger), check out this “Classic Iron” profile on Motocross Action Magazine.
This example was restored by Leo Goff (a noted model expert who set some multiple drag racing records with a modified Ranger) and it has just 372 miles on it since the work was done. The carbs were rebuilt recently and the bike features Boyer electronic ignition. The seller notes that due to the use of high compression pistons in the rebuild, “it takes a strong leg to start the beast.” Find this Ranger for sale in Utica, Michigan with an unmet opening bid of $13,500