?I’ve never sat on a running Norton before,? photographer Marian Sell announces proudly. He’s just finished dialing in this 750 cc Seeley Norton Commando?a process that involved multiple heat cycles, ignition timing adjustments, carb syncing sessions, cylinder head re-torques, and valve clearance resets. Now, a year after buying it as a rolling chassis, Marian’s first functioning Norton is finally complete.
?It runs like clockwork,? he adds. ?It reminds me of the Porsche 928 my grandfather owned when I was a kid, in terms of the engine sound and feel. It has a very solid pull in the mid-range too.?

The Seeley Norton couldn’t be more different from Marian’s regular daily runner?a street-legal Husqvarna FS450. But it’s not the first time he’s flirted with vintage or British machinery. He’s been fiddling with bikes since he was a kid?and he once bought a mid-30s Norton with the intention of restoring it. ?When I was 16 years old, I started tuning my Vespas and Lambrettas in Germany, because my friends and I were very competitive,? he tells us. ?Whatever mechanical skills I have now came from the world of Italian scooters.?

?In 2014 I went to the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man, and for the first time I saw a non-scooter motorcycle that I really appreciated; a 1936 Norton International 30. A few months later I bought one in Canada, in a completely disassembled state, thinking ‘I can just wing it.’ But a few ye...