Don't know if it could be called 'normal'.
Of the three Nordwests I've owned, one of them would only start like this (when it was two years old), the second one, of a similar age didn't require that routine, and perversely the current one, which is twenty four years seems to start easily when cold.
I did get used to it, if it's any consolation. There is also a handlebar mounted choke conversion that might make the whole performance a bit easier if you can't eliminate the problem.
Chris