Larry Klein passed away on March 9, 2015 at the age of 71. Born to Lawrence R. and Elsie R. Klein in Lansing, Michigan, Larry enjoyed a lifelong passion for motorcycles (particularly of the Italian variety), literature (of every variety), and civil rights advocacy. He was widely respected as a Moto Guzzi expert, sharing his massive knowledge openly. In 1972, Larry opened GT Motors in Lansing, Michigan with Michael Gorman and Arlen Thrasher. In 1977 both had left the business, leaving Larry to run GT Motors as a solo venture, providing motorcycle repair and parts service. In recent years, Larry shifted his focus from motorcycle repair to motorcycle literature – setting up his van-tent at shows around the country - and he collaborated with several celebrated authors to publish new titles.

"I've visited Larry at his ramshackle shop many times. I'm going to miss having dinner with him at his favorite Vietnamese restaurant (it was Thai, LaMai's), his cannoli (from Roma Bakery, Lansing) at the Michigan Rally, his amazing ability to memorize part numbers for virtually any Guzzi, describing every problem to watch for when wrenching on my own bikes, having obscure parts when I needed them, and his great sense of humor. He lived his life his way and I admired him for it." wildguzzi.com

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FOR THE NORTON:

Conceived by Bert Hopwood the Model 7 incorporated several lessons learned from his involvement with other twin cylinder designs; i.e. with BSA at Small Heath, and Triumph at Meriden. Hopwood's Norton twin reputedly ran cooler than its 500cc rivals and, while unable to match the higher rpm of Edward Turner's Tiger 100, Dominators in general definitely "churned more power low-down", together with quite reasonable handling. The new 500cc engine went into the existing ES2 plunger-frame/tele-fork cycle parts, a marriage that necessitated a redesign of Norton's well-proven four-speed gearbox. The Model 7's first major revision arrived late in 1953 in the form of a new swinging-arm frame. The model was dropped at the end of 1955 but the same basic cycle parts were used for a 600cc successor, the Model 77, while the 500cc engine continued in the Featherbed-framed Dominator.

This example of an ES2 plunger-frame model, rare because it was made for little more than one year, is in most reasonable condition appearing to be complete, mostly original, and ready for necessary re-commissioning. Ground up restoration, of course, remains an option perhaps although it is hardly warranted. This bikes' history is unknown, it least before it came into Larry Klein's possession many years ago and was immediately put into dry storage.