1960 Norman Nippy

 Owned by Rod

The lucky lady in the picture is not just sitting on any old Norman Nippy, but the Norman Nippy De Luxe. Not quite sure what extras are added to the normal Nippy to make it a De Luxe, perhaps the deeper valenced mudguards and a sprung seat.

This two-wheeled device was, like the Francis Barnett, purchased at the auction of Oliver Thomson's vehicles at Glamis.

It is a simple moped much like any other 50 year old moped, started by pedalling and dropping the lever that engages the engine. The drive can be disengaged to allow the rider to power the moped by human legs instead. From an age where personal transport was not particularly common and outrageously  expensive, mopeds were affordable and probably quite liberating to a mass market.

This particular bike is totally original down to every nut, bolt and bit of paint. It works just as it should with the 50cc engine capable of about 25mph. We suspect that the engine may have been purchased by Norman from a proprietary supplier, possibly in Italy, as it has all metric fasteners. It is certainly a quality engine and runs very well and reliably. It is unsprung at the rear except for the seat which makes for an interesting trip, with leading link suspension at the front.

Still if the alternative was to walk or get around on something that was fuelled by oats and needed mucked out regularly, you would definitely be happy with the Nippy to get around locally.

 

Buff logbook with ownership changes and bike details.