It's worth taking a look at this impressive set of records set by Ray Amm on the Norton Kneeler at the bumpy Montlhéry speed bowl back in 1953, in both 350 and 500cc trim. 137mph for ten miles, 133mph for a full hour and 120mph for 7 hours - with just 36bhp! Also, not mentioned on the page shown here, is the fact that the bike's fastest lap was at 145mph, only 2mph down on the absolute track record of the day, set by a 3litre, supercharged Alfa Romeo! It's yet another demonstration of what can be achieved with good aerodynamics, although it must have been hell on the knees and shins! It's also important to realise that the kneeler wasn't just a straight line machine – it set a new 350 class lap record on the closed public roads of the North West 200 in Northern Ireland and practised at the Isle of Man TT. PNB
Photo taken in Sammy Miller museum by PNB in 2016.