Slimline vs Wideline?

Atlas Commando

Atlas Commando

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At the risk of appearing like a complete dummy, how can I tell if my featherbed frame is a slimline or not? Is there a single quick measurement? I own a frame or two and would like to know what I have. Certainly not an urgent question....
 
on a wideline the top rails are straight all the way to the back a wideline is waisted in the middle near the seat area so your legs do not feel so splayed out...........not sure what year that started......
 
I just went up into my shed and measured both of my Featherbed frames, on a Wideline on the top rails the narrow part where the rear of the tank sits is 10 1/2" wide and on a Slimline the top rails where the rear of the tank sits is 7 1/2" wide.

Ashley
 
Hi
Visually the rear suspension sub-frame tubes are straight on a wide-line but are curved on a slim-line.
Regards,
Graham
 
As per @nortonmews comment - the clearest difference is visually - the rear subframe being curved on a slimline, and angular on a wideline.

Slimline:
Slimline vs Wideline?

Wideline:
Slimline vs Wideline?

1951 - introduction of the wideline featherbed on the twin dominator 88 - the rear subframe is bolt-up rather than welded
1954 - introduction of the welded wideline
1960 - introduction of the slimline featherbed

1961 - introduction of the slimline featherbed on the single cylinder (you can spot this by the flat on the right side top frame rail, as they made some room for the rocker cover)
 
Thank You for all your replies. I've wondered about this for a very long time. I have 2 slimline frames in my attic, one of which is horribly butchered and will likely be scrapped. I bought an Atlas for $250 back around 1977 that was running but a cosmetic disaster. When I lifted off the tank I saw that somebody had chopped the top rails off and welded in a single tube, and then somebody sawed that off and re-welded some top rails back in. Neither welder knew what he was doing. I probably should have thrown it away decades ago. Maybe someone is interested in the back half of a slimline?
 
@Atlas Commando If there is still a frame number on the left side web, it's worth keeping your butchered frame as you (or someone else) may want replace the frame for a new one at some point.
 
gtiller said:
@Atlas Commando If there is still a frame number on the left side web, it's worth keeping your butchered frame as you (or someone else) may want replace the frame for a new one at some point.
Click to expand...
In fact it does, and I have the province of Ontario title for it. Maybe worth something to somebody. But I do have some junk I need to finally let go, things like bent forks, bent rims, etc. My attic rafters could use a break.
 
I think it's worth pointing out that up until the slimline was introduced there were no widelines, just featherbeds.
The term wideline was introduced retrospectively to distinguish the older frames from the "new" slimlines.
Cheers
Rob
 
MY 1960 Model 50 is in a wideline frame. When the slimline was introduced in 1960, Norton used the new frame for the twins while continuing to use the old Wideline frame for the singles until they used up all of the Wideline frames. So the early 1960 ES2 and Model 50 are Widelines and the later builds are Slimlines. I have no idea of where in the serial number range the switch took place.
 

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