This used the all-iron Dominator 500 cc twin engine, with an oil pressure gauge in the ES2 style but flat-bottomed petrol tank.

[5] The 88 suffered from oil leaks from the primary chain case but it was the outdated and inefficient Norton works that resulted in quality control problems for the 200 Model 88's produced each week.

First built from 7 November 1960 to September 1961, these machines were a Limited Edition for the USA only, in custom-cruiser style - with high handlebars, all polychromatic blue paint and bright red seat with white piping round the edge.

The SS stood for Sport Special and the 600 cc models were discontinued to concentrate on production of the 650SS, which quickly earned a reputation as the "best of the Dommies".

Engineer Doug Hele had joined the Norton factory in 1956 under parent company AMC – instead of combining the two race shops, the AJS/Matchless facility was closed to Grand Prix development, and Hele was briefed to secretly develop an engine intended to ultimately compete at Daytona under AMA race regulations, requiring machines to be based on production roadster designs with a compression ratio no greater than 8.5:1, and using a kick starter mechanism.

The highly developed 500 cc Dominator engine intended as a successor produced 55 bhp (41 kW) and revved to 8,000 rpm.

The overall weight was 35 lb (16 kg) less than the Manx,[2] when mounted in a special lightweight-frame (dubbed lowboy), creating the factory "Domiracer".

[7] In the 1961 Isle of Man TT Tom Phillis took the bike to third place and lapped at over 100 mph (161 km/h), a first for a pushrod engine and a first for any twin.