Norton Motorcycle Company

In 1907 a Norton with Peugot engine, ridden by Rem Fowler, won the twin-cylinder class in the first Isle of Man TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s.

It was also stated that he had been experimenting with aluminium pistons, and that Norton had produced a book of driving hints which also contained details of their Military and Empire models.

Few Norton WD models appear in the For Sale column of The Motor Cycle after the war, suggesting they were shipped abroad, apparently one order going to the Russian Army [1][permanent dead link‍].

The 1913–1917 Red Book[16] listing UK Motor, Marine and Aircraft production shows Norton dropped from a full range in 1916, to only the Military Big Four in 1917.

Norton resumed deliveries of civilian motorcycles in April 1919 with models aimed at motorcyclists who enjoyed the reliability and performance offered by long-stroke single-cylinder engines with separate gearboxes.

A major addition in 1949 was the twin cylinder Model 7, known as the Norton Dominator, a pushrod 500 cc twin-cylinder machine designed by Bert Hopwood.

Its chassis was derived from the ES2 single, with telescopic front and plunger rear suspension, and an updated version of the gearbox known as the "lay-down" box.

In the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, the first year of the world championship, Norton made only fifth place and AJS won.

The racing successes were transferred to the street through cafe racers, some of which would use the featherbed frame with an engine from another manufacturer to make a hybrid machine with the best of both worlds.

It used a dry sump 499 cc single-cylinder motor, with two valves operated by bevel drive, shaft driven twin overhead camshafts.

By 20 April 1962 for the American market as they demanded more power,[clarification needed] but the increases to the vertical twin engine's capacity caused a vibration problem at 5500 rpm.

This model produced 51 bhp (38 kW) at 6,250 rpm but the stated power does not give a true picture of the engine performance because increased torque seemed to make up for the reduced horsepower.

[28] The Commando was offered in several different styles: the standard street model, a pseudo-scrambler with upswept pipes and the Interstate, packaged as a tourer.

1973 saw the start of development on a new machine with a monocoque pressed steel frame, that also included a 500 cc twin, stepped piston engine[29] called the 'Wulf'.

However, as the Norton Villiers Triumph company was again in serious financial problems, development of the 'Wulf' was dropped in favour of the rotary Wankel type engine inherited from BSA.

In 1975 the range was down to just two models: the electric start Mark 3 Interstate and the Roadster, but then the UK Government asked for a repayment of its loan and refused export credits, further damaging the company's ability to sell abroad.

However, Poore announced in December 1979 that the launch of the bike was delayed indefinitely due to the political situation surrounding the Triumph cooperative.

The chassis, designed by Ron Williams and made by Harris Products, was based on Yamaha's Delta box stamped panels.

However, in spite of many innovative solutions from Chris Mehew, the team's was unable to improve the reliability of the engine to a commercially saleable level.

In his TV Series on British industry, Sir John Harvey-Jones commented that the company was governed more by heart than head, and the racing team were the only ones worth saving.

[47][48] Head of Wildrose Ventures Nelson Skalbania reformed the company as Norton Motors (1993) Ltd., putting his daughter Rosanda in place as General Manager at the Shenstone site.

This proved controversial as the museums had assumed the loans had been made on a permanent basis, and former Chief Executive David MacDonald stated "Without doubt anything which existed before 1984 does not belong to the present company.

[55] The new model line-up was presented at an investors meeting in London's Dorchester Hotel in December 1997 including prototypes of the 750 cc (46 cu in) four-cylinder Manx and the Nemesis.

[60] Further development of the 952 led to the 961 and prototypes of the 961 were well received by the motorcycling press in 2006,[61] but Norton Motorsports were unable to raise the finance to put the bike into production.

The machine, a single-seat roadster styled after the earlier Commando models, has a claimed rear-wheel power output of 80 hp (60 kW), giving a top speed of over 130 mph (210 km/h).

[70] In August 2011 UK minister Vince Cable announced that the Government was underwriting a £7.5 million bank loan to Norton, to promote secure cash flow for their export sales.

[78] In late 2021, TVS announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility at Monkspath, Solihull, to be staffed initially by 100+ workers to produce luxury hand-crafted motorcycles.

[87] In December 2020, new Norton motorcycles rolled off the production line after nearly 12 months of inactivity, with interim CEO John Russell announcing “The first bikes to be built will be 40 Commandos.

It's a bike people love.”[88] In June 2021, TVS announced the appointment of Dr Robert Hentschel as chief executive officer (CEO) of Norton Motorcycles.

Dr Robert Hentschel joined Norton from Valmet Automotive Holding GmbH & Co KG, where he served as managing director since 2017.

1907 Norton
A British Army Norton and sidecar in Belgium, May 1940
Norton Big Four (1952 model)
1967 Norton Atlas
1973 850 Commando
1978 Commando Interstate Mk3
Norton Commando 961 Sport in 2009