NOTE: This was our first “go public” announcement of what we were conjuring up. It was submitted for publication in the New England Norton Owners Association (NONA) November, 2025 newsletter.
Many of you who have been to our shop have seen the “Team Skippy” T500 Suzuki race bike.
Campaigned by Peter Booth (rider) and Ken Lavallee (builder) they have done very well in several classes over the years at the United States Classic Racing Association (USCRA) events. While I’ve done my share of track days on our vintage bikes, I had never been to one of their races. That changed last August and two things happened. I was instantly hooked for starters, but realized there were no British bikes being campaigned. Zero, zip, nada! What?
Well, folks, that is going to change. We have some very talented young riders and, under Peter’s tutelage, we are going to build and campaign a Commando and several other lightweight machines. Our Team Motto: “Start, Finish, Improve.” We have no plans to win anything, but we have the means and know how to put together solid, reliable machines that will represent our brand.
Karl and Ash at Andover Norton are all in with support and we are angling to get them here for Bike Week next year, to see a race, and hopefully set up vendor space with New England Norton Owners (NENO). Our team is intended to dovetail with the Tech Internship program in our Guild.
Now we are looking for suitable donor bikes and/or bits to start the build. Our favorite price is free of course, but we do have some funds. Regardless, we will have a NENO logo prominently displayed. So, what’s in your garage?
Game on gang.