86-509: The Norton International or Cammy Norton is a Norton Motors Ltd overhead cam (OHC) motorcycle built between 1931 and 1957. More than a TT replica sports roadster, the OHC Model 30, was 500 cc and the OHC Model 40 was 350 cc. During the 1930s it could be ordered from the Norton factory with all manner of racing parts fitted. Such factory bikes won many Isle of Man TT races during
172-475: A front-wheel drive (fwd) 2+2 car powered by a turbo version of the water cooled Norton wankel engine known as Project Nora. After negotiations with Norton it became apparent that the engine was not sufficiently developed for use. Development of the water cooled engine continued and a water cooled prototype, the P51, was built in 1984. In a joint venture with German Norton importer Joachim "Joe" Seifert, Norton set up
258-448: A unit construction race-prepared Triumph engine , unlike the earlier models having a separate engine and gearbox . The new configuration won the 1970 Barcelona 24-hour race , reprising Degens' 1965 win. After this success, French motorcycle dealer Japauto commissioned Degens to build a bespoke race-frame for the still-new Honda CB750 four-cylinder engine that had been specially enlarged for racing to 900 cc. This machine won
344-677: A Lowboy frame kits sold to the general public. After the Dunstall organisation closed in the early 1980s, other specialists offered the Lowboy frame. Having earlier installed the Dominator twin-cylinder engine of 500 cc and 600 cc , in 1959 Norton put the old single cylinder Model 50 (350 cc) and the ES2 (500 cc) into the Featherbed frame to rationalise production. Using grade A mild steel,
430-494: 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. In April 1907 the Norton Manufacturing Co. moved to a larger factory at Deritend Bridge, Floodgate Street, Birmingham. The first Norton engines were made in 1907, with production models available from 1908. These were the 3.5 hp (490 cc) and
516-460: A Triumph engine/Norton rolling chassis in 1961 when working for former racer and motorcycle race shop owner Geoff Monty , using a racing Manx Norton with a blown engine. The bike was sold before it was finished, and realising there was a potential business, in 1963 Degens bought into Dresda Autos , a small scooter shop in South London together with business partner Richard 'Dickie' Boon, keeping
602-498: A book of driving hints which also contained details of their Military and Empire models. In May 1918, Norton stated in one of their adverts that 'The ministry are taking the whole of our present output, but we have a waiting list'; this advert also uses the "Unapproachable Norton" phrase. 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
688-522: A dozen or less of these final models are reputed to have been produced. Norton Motorcycle Company The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motorcycles. ) is a brand of motorcycles headquartered in Solihull , West Midlands, (originally based in Birmingham ), England . For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles were owned by North American financiers. Currently it
774-631: A family of three similar smaller-capacity twin cylinder machines: first the Norton Jubilee 250 and then the Navigator 350 and the Electra 400 , which had an electric starter. These models were Norton's first use of unit construction . The engine was an entirely new design by Bert Hopwood and the frame and running gear were from the Francis-Barnett range, also owned by AMC. In 1966 AMC became insolvent and
860-420: A low-cost chassis and an engine with long-term reliability. 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. They quickly realized that an engine generating 1,100 °C exhaust temperatures
946-419: A mistaken belief that this would strengthen the bottom-end to cope with the higher power-output. Instead the resultant crank-bending caused the rollers to "dig-in" to the races, causing rapid failure. This fragility was particularly obvious when measured against the reliability of contemporary Japanese machines. This problem was solved initially by a special roller bearing of 'superblend' fame later in 1972. This
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#17328908114961032-517: A modified Norton 16H beat contenders. From 900 in 1936 to 2000 in 1937, Norton was ahead of the competition as war loomed, and there was good reason in terms of spares and maintenance for the military to keep to the same model. Between 1937 and 1945 nearly a quarter (over 100,000) of all British military motorcycles were Nortons, basically the WD 16H (solo) and WD Big Four outfit with driven sidecar wheel. The Isle of Man Senior TT successes continued after
1118-459: A no-cost option), and the gearbox was the laydown version (same gears in a revised housing). Although Nortons advertising slogan of the time was "Built in the light of experience. Norton. The Worlds Best Roadholder" the new featherbed Inter was well behind the specification of the racing Norton Manx – double overhead cams and 8-inch twin leading shoe front brake. Also, the BSA Gold Star
1204-731: A number of world speed records on a Norton International at the concrete bowl track in Montlhery , France. As well as setting a new one-hour world record at a speed of 114.09 miles per hour (183.61 km/h), he also broke the 50 km (31 mi), 50 mi (80 km), 100 km (62 mi) and 100 mi (160 km) records. Military police from the Provost Company of the Territorial Army 's 1st London Division , commanded by Captain Sir Malcolm Campbell , were equipped with
1290-455: A patent for the design on 13 October 1949 and it was granted as reference 664,667 but the completed specification was not published until 9 January 1952. The Featherbed frame was simply constructed: This invention relates to a new or improved frame for a motorcycle which comprises two substantially parallel rectangular loops each formed from a single length of tubing, and the ends of the tube forming each loop cross and are welded to each other at
1376-601: A planned production of 500 in 1980. 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 company had some success making the Wankel -engined Interpol 2 motorcycle for civilian and military police forces and the RAC which was launched in 1984. In 1981 Lotus Cars planned to build
1462-646: A prototype motorcycle with the new frame was on the test track and it was tested on the Isle of Man in the winter of 1949. It performed well and Norton decided that the Norton works team would have motorcycles with the new frames. The Norton works was not well equipped so the sif-bronze welding was undertaken by the McCandless brothers who produced the eight frames for the racing team by hand. Production featherbed frames were made under Ken Sprayson 's direction at Reynolds, who became known as 'The Frame man' Norton applied for
1548-472: A significant number of records on the Norton by 1914 when the war broke out - and as competition motorcycling was largely suspended during the hostilities, these records still stood when production restarted after the war. 1914 Dan O'Donovan records set in April 1914 : On 17 July 1914 O'Donovan also took the flying 5 mile record at 75.88 mph, and the standing start 10 mile record at 73.29 mph, again on
1634-521: A spoof of the 1935 Isle of Man TT race. The International was presented to Formby during a visit to Norton's Bracebridge Street factory in July 1947. For 1951, the by-now outdated and heavy plunger frames on the Internationals were upgraded with Nortons new race proven Featherbed frame . The engine stayed essentially the same, although the lightweight alloy head and cylinder were fitted as standard (previously
1720-425: A swinging arm fitted with vertical hydraulic shock absorbers from a Citroen car. BSA bought several of his converted motorcycles but Norton saw the real opportunity and contracted him to work exclusively for them from 1949. The Norton Motorcycle Company were concerned at the reliability of their plunger (or "Garden Gate") frame, as several had broken through the stress of racing. Norton engineer Joe Craig solved
1806-427: A top speed of 209 km/h (130 mph). In 1960, a new version of the road-going Featherbed frame was developed in which the upper frame rails were bent inwards to reduce the width between the rider's knees for greater comfort. The move was also to accommodate the shorter rider as the wide frame made it difficult to reach the ground. This frame is known as the "slimline" frame; the earlier frames then became known as
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#17328908114961892-525: A visit to Norton Motors. Mr Norton had stated that he expected three post-war models, the 3.5 hp 490 cc TT with belt drive (for the 'speed merchant'), and two utility mounts, one with detuned TT engine, and the other being the Big Four for very heavy solo or sidecar work, both of these with three-speed Sturmey-Archer countershaft gearbox and all chain drive. It was also stated that he had been experimenting with aluminium pistons, and that Norton had produced
1978-540: A workers cooperative alone. Despite mounting losses, 1974 saw the release of the 828 Roadster, Mark 2 Hi Rider, JPN Replica ( John Player Norton) and Mark 2a Interstate. 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. Production of
2064-431: Is owned by Indian motorcycle giant TVS Motor Company The business was founded in 1898 as a "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade" manufacturer. By 1902 the company had begun manufacturing motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908 a Norton-built engine was added to the range. This began a long series of production of single and eventually twin-cylinder motorcycles, and a long history of racing involvement. During
2150-676: The slimline frame. The slimline was used until the last of the vertical twin cylinder models in the late 1960s, the Norton Mercury , a limited-production run of single carburettor 650 cc machines based on the Dominator; the Norton Commando with its new frame design and angled-forward engine having been launched at the Earls Court show in 1967 took over as the 750 cc range-topper, later enlarged to 830 cc, but badged as '850'. Dave Degens created his first hybrid motorcycle of
2236-419: The 'Big 4' (633cc), beginning a line of side-valve single-cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s. The first Norton logo was a fairly simple, art nouveau design, with the name spelled in capitals. However, a new logo appeared on the front of the catalogue for 1914, which was a joint effort by James Norton and his daughter Ethel. It became known as the "curly N" logo, with only
2322-613: The British Norton motorcycle company to improve the performance of their racing motorcycles in 1950. It was considered revolutionary at the time, and the best handling frame that a racer could have. Later adopted for Norton production motorcycles, it was also widely used by builders of custom hybrids such as the Triton , becoming legendary and remaining influential to this day. The Featherbed inspired other frame builders who based their own products on similar principles, including
2408-582: The DOHC engine becoming available to favoured racers in 1949. The Short Stroke model (1953 to 1962) had bore and stroke of 86 mm × 85.6 mm (3.4 in × 3.4 in). It used a dry sump 499 cc single-cylinder motor, with two valves operated by bevel drive, shaft driven twin overhead camshafts. Compression ratio was 11:1. It had an Amal GP carburettor, and a Lucas racing magneto. The 1962 500 cc Manx Nortons produced 50 bhp (37 kW) at 6,780rpm, weighed 142 kg (313 lb), and had
2494-455: The Isle of Man Senior TT was the first win with a race average speed over 60 mph, rider Alec Bennett . Norton won this event ten times until they withdrew from racing in 1938. J.L. Norton died in 1925 aged only 56, but he saw his motorcycles win the Senior and sidecar TTs in 1924, specifically with the 500 cc Model 18, Norton's first overhead valve single. Designed by Walter Moore,
2580-509: The Norton CS1 engine appeared in 1927, based closely on the ES2 pushrod engine and using many of its parts. Moore was hired away to NSU in 1930, after which Arthur Carroll designed an entirely new OHC engine destined to become the basis for all later OHC and DOHC Norton singles. (Moore's move to NSU prompted his former staff to quip NSU stood for "Norton Spares Used") The Norton racing legend began in
2666-469: The Norton International was relaunched with a new version of the Featherbed frame made from grade A mild steel. In 1956, Norton development engineer Doug Hele was tasked with creating a 500 cc overhead valve road-based racing machine to challenge the larger-displacement side valve 750 Harley Davidsons run in the same class at AMA -organised Daytona 200 races. Initially unsuccessful,
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2752-580: The Second World War Norton produced almost 100,000 of the military Model 16 H and Big 4 sidevalve motorcycles. Associated Motor Cycles bought the company in 1953. It was reformed as Norton-Villiers , part of Manganese Bronze Holdings , in 1966, and merged with BSA to form Norton Villiers Triumph in 1973. In late 2008, Stuart Garner , a UK businessman, bought the rights to Norton from some US concerns and relaunched Norton in its then-new Midlands home at Donington Park where it
2838-539: The TT replica sports roadster in 1932. Overseen by Joe Craig, Arthur Carroll had designed an overhead-camshaft engine for the works racers and although it retained the 79 mm × 100 mm (3.1 in × 3.9 in) bore and stroke of the Norton CS1 the Model 30 International was all new. The racing heritage led to quickly detachable wheels and hairpin type valve springs that could be changed rapidly when racing. In 1933,
2924-519: The "wideline". The last Manx Nortons were sold in 1963. Even though Norton had pulled out of Grand Prix racing in 1954, the race-shop at Bracebridge Street continued until 1962, and the Manx became a mainstay of privateer racing, and even today are highly sought after, commanding high prices. On 7 November 1960 the first new 650 cc Norton Manxman was launched for the American market only. By September 1961
3010-451: The 1930s, many of them 1-2-3 results. Norton factory riders on Inters, including Jimmie Guthrie , Jimmy Simpson, Stanley Woods were household names of the era. Production of the Model 30 and 40 International ended temporarily on the outbreak of World War II . Production of the Inter resumed for 1947, and continued until 1957. Although the engine continued almost from first to last unchanged,
3096-406: The 1930s. Of the nine Isle of Man Senior TTs (500 cc) between 1931 and 1939, Norton won seven. Until 1934 Norton bought Sturmey-Archer gearboxes and clutches. When Sturmey discontinued production Norton bought the design rights and had them made by Burman , a manufacturer of proprietary gearboxes. Norton started making military motorcycles again in 1936 after a tender process in 1935 where
3182-634: The 1933 Brough Superior catalog: The "Brough Superior" Rear Spring Frame, to quote "Castor" of "Motor Cycling," renders "pitching or wobble non-existent, impossible. A feather bed could scarcely be safer"—and this in relating his experience on a Special "Brough Superior" S.S. 100, on which he did 106 m.p.h. in second gear on the road ! Further testing took place at Montlhery race track with four motorcycles running flat-out for two days. The new frame stood up well to tests and saw its UK launch at Blandford Camp in Dorset in April 1950. Geoff Duke had won
3268-434: The 1950s, Ron Hankin designed a featherbed-inspired Moto Cross frame for Les Archer junior , having curved downtubes to allow for greater front suspension movement without fouling the wheel on the frame, and with heavy bracing around the steering head tube. The frame was used with Manx Norton engines prepared by tuner Ray Petty, and also with a 500 cc Norton Dominator engine. Weight and strength were key factors in
3354-530: The 1960s heavyweight Münch Mammut , a lightweight version for a 250 cc BSA C15 engine, and the 1970-conceived Dresda frame. The Featherbed was replaced by the Norton Isolastic frame in 1967 for the then newly-developed Norton Commando which used a rubber-mounted engine and gearbox, although Norton continued to offer the Mercury with a Featherbed frame until production ceased by 1970. Replicas of
3440-591: The 1961 Senior TT race. In 1962 the factory developed a Lowboy with a 350 cc Manx Norton single-cylinder engine and a 650 cc version using the Dominator 650SS engine but with a full-height Manx frame, both as tried by Derek Minter . In 1962 the race shop closed and was sold to Paul Dunstall , who had already developed his own Norton Dominator -engined race machine campaigned by Fred Neville (deceased 1961) and Dave Downer (deceased 1963). Dunstall successfully developed 500, 650 and 750 versions, later producing
3526-604: The 1963 and 1964 Manx Grands Prix . In 1970, racer and bike shop owner Dave Degens produced his first bespoke Dresda frame, after his business name Dresda Autos . Based on the geometry of the smaller-capacity (250 cc/350 cc) Aermacchis he had previously raced, the new frame had tube runs and layout based on the Featherbed, but with upscaled proportions to allow for the use of taller, heavier, more-powerful 650 cc parallel twin cylinder engines , similar to his 1965 Barcelona 24-hour endurance race-winning Dresda Triton . The new bike used Degens' later development of
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3612-410: The 1972 Bol d'Or 24-hour endurance race . Degens subsequently offered frame kits for self-builders using Triumph and Honda engines, and also produced complete machines for road-use, named Dresda Triumph and Dresda Honda . In addition to the better-known Triumph-Norton and Vincent-Norton , a small number of other hybrid motorcycles, sometimes known as 'specials', have been created using
3698-504: The 490 cc Norton. Norton continued production of their 3.5 hp and Big 4 singles well into the war period, though in November 1916 the Ministry of Munitions issued an order that no further work on motor cycles or cars would be allowed from 15 November 1916 without a permit. By this time most motor cycle companies were already either producing munitions (or aircraft parts), or devoted to
3784-552: The German company Norton Motors (Deutschland) GmbH. After Poore's death in 1987, Manganese Bronze sold Norton to a group of investors led by Philippe LeRoux for £1.64 million, who formed Norton Group PLC. A civilian version of the Interpol 2 was introduced named the Classic with only 100 bikes being made. Subsequent Norton Wankels were water-cooled. The Commander was launched in 1988 and
3870-469: The Model 30 in 1940 for fast escort and traffic control in the Coats Mission to evacuate King George VI , Queen Elizabeth and their immediate family in the event of German invasion. A Norton International owned by comedian George Formby sold for £30,582 at an auction on 3 December 2007. The 1947 Norton International was one of several motorcycles owned by Formby, who starred in the film No Limits ,
3956-532: The Norton 650SS appeared for the UK market, the 750 cc (Atlas). By 20 April 1962 for the American market as they demanded more power, but the increases to the vertical twin engine's capacity caused a vibration problem at 5500 rpm. A 500 cc vertical twin is smoother than a single-cylinder, but if the vertical twin's capacity is enlarged vibration increases. The 750 Norton Atlas proved too expensive and costs could not be reduced. Financial problems gathered. There
4042-533: The OHV single-cylinder machines. Manx Nortons also played a significant role in the development of post war car racing. At the end of 1950, the English national 500 cc regulations were adopted as the new Formula 3 . The JAP Speedway engine had dominated the category initially but the Manx was capable of producing significantly more power and became the engine of choice. Many complete motorcycles were bought in order to strip
4128-557: The Russian Army [1] . The 1913–1917 Red Book 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. Norton also resumed racing and in 1924
4214-611: The Senior Clubmans TT and the Senior Manx Grand Prix in 1949 on the earlier type Nortons, so was a clear choice for Norton to really put the new Featherbed-framed race bikes to the test. Duke won the race on the new design and several racing successes followed with Norton winning first three places in the 1950 Senior and Junior TT's. In the Friday Senior TT Duke set a new lap record of 93.33 mph and also broke
4300-456: The Wankel engine on two main counts: 1. As the team had realised, there was just too much heat to be confined in a motorcycle chassis. 2. The pollution created by the engine burning lubrication oil and fuel was too great to meet the impending pollution regulations without a large and costly exhaust scrubbing system. In his TV Series on British industry, Sir John Harvey-Jones commented that the company
4386-453: The design of the featherbed frame for the Norton racing team's Manx. 16-gauge Reynolds 531 , a high-tensile manganese-molybdenum steel alloy, was used as it allowed the frame tubes to be made thinner for the same strength, as well as making for a more responsive frame. All the joints were Sifbronze welded, – a relatively low-temperature flame-braze – except for the sub frame which was initially bolted-on but welded in later versions. In 1953
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#17328908114964472-426: The engine for 500 cc car racing, as Norton would not sell separate engines. 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. The most famous of these were Tritons - Triumph twin engines in a Norton featherbed frame. Despite, or perhaps because of,
4558-547: The engine slightly up/down, forward/back, or even right/left, could deliver a "sweet spot" in terms of handling. Motorcycle designers still use this method to fine-tune motorcycle handling. In 1951 the Norton Dominator was made available to export markets as the Model 88 with the Featherbed frame. Later, as production of this frame increased, it became a regular production model, and was made in variants for other models, including
4644-563: The engine was upgraded with an alloy head and barrel with a bronze liner, available as an option. In 1938 suspension was upgraded to plunger type. And telescopic Roadholder Forks as ridden by Harrold Dannels and Freddie Frith in this year 1938 also available as an option. Production of the Model 30 and 40 ended on the outbreak of World War II. After the war, production of the International Model 30 (500 cc) and Model 40 (350 cc) restarted with an iron head and barrel, as fitted to
4730-500: The existing name. Degens created what he termed as Dresda Triton from 1963, with the Motorcycle Mechanics' road test of June 1964 stating "The firm has sold well over fifty to date ...", naming two mechanics/bike builders in addition to Degens, who was a regular short-circuit road racer , having ridden for Monty and Paul Dunstall on his ex-works 500 cc Norton Domiracer with lowboy frame designed by Doug Hele in
4816-426: The export trade. Norton were involved in exporting and earlier that year had announced a new 'Colonial Model' of their 633cc Big 4. This featured an increase in ground clearance from 4.25" to 6.5", by altering the frame, larger tank, greater clearance on mudguards, and a sturdy rear carrier. The engine was unaltered, and transmission was via a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed gearbox. In February 1918, Motor Cycle reported on
4902-460: The famed featherbed frame was adopted for the 1953 models. By the 1950s though, the model was outdated and outclassed by the new twins and shared only the featherbed frame with its postwar Manx racing cousins, and only sold in small numbers. In the final years the Inter was not even mentioned in the catalog and was available only to special order. The name International was first used by Norton both for its newly designed race bikes and also for
4988-496: The forks and gearbox were redesigned and in 1935, the Sturmey-Archer gearbox was replaced, as Sturmey-Archer had stopped making gearboxes, so Norton bought the rights to the design and commissioned Burman to produce them. These gearboxes proved so good they remained unchanged for the next 30 years, although the external appearance was altered several times, and the gearchange mechanism fully enclosed and thus lubricated. In 1936,
5074-405: The frame continue to be produced by specialist companies. In 1949 brothers Rex and Cromie McCandless offered Norton a new frame to support their successful 500cc race single. Rex McCandless was a self-taught Belfast motorcycle engineer and raced competitively with his brother on a Triumph Tiger 100 . He had made several improvements to the Triumph, notably an innovative new frame with
5160-462: The gearbox known as the "lay-down" box. More shapely mudguards and tanks completed the more modern styling to Nortons new premium model twin. Norton struggled to reclaim its pre-WWII racing dominance as the single-cylinder machine faced fierce competition from the multi-cylinder Italian machines and AJS from the UK. In the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season , the first year of the world championship, Norton made only fifth place and AJS won. That
5246-405: The initial letter as a capital, and was used by the company thereafter, first appearing on actual motorcycles in 1915. In 1913 the business declined, and R. T. Shelley & Co., the main creditors, intervened and saved it. Norton Motors Ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint directorship of James Norton and Bob Shelley. Shelley's brother-in-law was tuner Dan O'Donovan, and he managed to set
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#17328908114965332-473: The new Norton Villiers Triumph (NVT) was formed. The Triumph Motorcycles name came from BSA's Triumph subsidiary. 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 called the 'Wulf'. However, as the Norton Villiers Triumph company was again in serious financial problems, development of the 'Wulf'
5418-516: The overall race record, finishing in two hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds; he had previously finished second to Artie Bell (Norton) in Monday's Junior TT. ( Harold Daniell 's Norton was third.) When it came to the bends on the twisting Island course the new frame gave the Nortons a distinct advantage. Featherbed frames were also successfully modified for use in off road racing or motorcycle scrambling . In
5504-606: The pre-war CS1 and CJ Nortons. The suspension was upgraded to Norton Roadholder telescopic forks instead of girders and Clubmans versions were also produced without silencers and lights for racing use. Close ratios gearboxes were supplied as standard from 1947, and the all alloy engine made a comeback in 1950 .A new Featherbed framewas introduced in 1953 Volume production of the International ended in 1955, although small numbers were built to special order for two or three years after. In 1935 works Norton team rider Jimmie Guthrie set
5590-451: The problems by making the frames heavier but handling suffered as a consequence. Norton commissioned the McCandless brothers to design a complete frame, incorporating a swinging arm. McCandless' finished design was expensive, as it required over forty feet of the best Reynolds steel tubing . It was a welded twin loop with a swinging arm fitted with their own design of shock absorbers, with a heavily braced cross-over headstock. In two months
5676-438: The project was turned into creating a road-based race engine as a replacement for the ageing Manx Norton racer engine. Hele designed a lighter-weight, lower frame with slightly shorter wheelbase , based on Featherbed principles having slightly altered frame runs and shortened telescopic front forks which became known as Lowboy . The project was named Domiracer , and one was successfully raced to third-place by Tom Phillis in
5762-476: The racing successes Norton was in financial difficulty. Reynolds could not make many of the highly desired Featherbed frames and customers lost interest in buying machines with the older frames. In 1953 Norton sold out to Associated Motorcycles (AMC), who owned the brands AJS , Matchless , Francis-Barnett and James . In 1962 the Norton factory in Bracebridge Street, Birmingham was closed and production
5848-456: The size of this engine determined the space between the top and bottom rails of the full duplex cradle. In 1960 the top rails were installed at the rear of the tank. Riders complained that these wideline Featherbed frames were uncomfortably wide at 11.5 inches (29 cm) but it was not until 1960 that the top runs of the frame were narrowed towards the front of the seat, with corresponding overall styling changes including tank and seat to create
5934-506: The stated power does not give a true picture of the engine performance because increased torque seemed to make up for the reduced horsepower. 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. In 1972 BSA was also in financial trouble. It was given UK Government help on the condition that it merged with Norton-Villiers , and in 1973
6020-404: The top front corner of the loop, the free ends of the tube which extend beyond the crossing point being welded to the side of an inclined head tube adjacent to the top and bottom thereof. The assembled frame is extremely strong for its weight and designed to provide the maximum resistance to any stresses applied to the frame by road shocks or by the driving torque of the power unit. Harold Daniell
6106-414: The two models still made was ended and supplies dwindled. After the break-up of NVT, Poore established Norton Motors (1978) Ltd in the former NVT factory at Shenstone, Staffordshire to continue work on the rotary. They purchased all the wankel manufacturing equipment from Hercules/DKW who had stopped manufacturing wankel machines. 25 production prototypes of a dual rotor machine were built in 1979 with
6192-572: The war, with Nortons winning every year from 1947 to 1954. After the Second World War, Norton reverted to civilian motorcycle production, gradually increasing its range. 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
6278-567: Was a successful Isle of Man TT racer with three victories and several placings in the Tourist Trophy races and the Manx Grand Prix . After testing the new Norton frame in 1950 he declared that it was like "riding on a featherbed" compared with riding the "garden gate "—and it has been called the featherbed frame ever since. The term feather bed was used in the 1933 to 1938 Brough Superior catalogues in their press section. As printed in
6364-546: Was an export bike primarily for use as a desert racer, sold up until 1969 as the Norton P11, AJS Model 33, Matchless G15 and Norton N15 which used the Norton Atlas engine in a modified Matchless G85CS scrambler frame with AMC wheels and Teledraulic front forks. This bike was reputed to vibrate less than the Featherbed frame model. AMC singles were also sold with Norton badging in this era. Also during this period Norton developed
6450-602: Was before the Featherbed frame appeared, developed for Norton by the McCandless brothers of Belfast in January 1950, used in the legendary Manx Norton and raced by riders including Geoff Duke , John Surtees and Derek Minter . Very quickly the featherbed frame, a design that allowed the construction of a motorcycle with good mass-stiffness distribution, became a benchmark by which all other frames were judged. Norton also experimented with engine placement, and discovered that moving
6536-502: Was dropped in favour of the rotary Wankel type engine inherited from BSA . In 1974 the UK's outgoing Conservative government of Edward Heath withdrew subsidies, but the incoming Labour government of Harold Wilson restored them after the General Election . Rationalisation of the factory sites to Wolverhampton and Birmingham (BSA's Small Heath site) caused industrial disputes at Triumph's Coventry site; Triumph would go on as
6622-688: Was followed by the Spondon-framed F1 . This model was a de-tuned replica of the Norton RCW588 factory racing machine, which won many short-distance races, but had many reliability issues requiring frequent servicing, in particular changing the primary drive chain every 100 miles. In 1988 a new team was brought in to replace Brian Crighton's team, to try to improve the model and reduce some of its reliability issues. The team, headed by ex-Honda-team manager Barry Symmons, Honda engineer Chris Mehew and chassis specialist Ron Williams, were tasked with producing
6708-416: Was governed more by heart than head, and the racing team were the only ones worth saving. The F1 was succeeded by the restyled and slightly less costly F1 Sport. In 2005, a group of former Norton employees were reported to have built nine F1 Sport models from existing stocks of parts. Featherbed frame The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to
6794-458: Was moved to AMC's Woolwich factory in south-east London. Under AMC ownership a much improved version of the Norton gearbox was developed, to be used on all the larger models of AJS, Matchless and Norton. Again, the major changes were for improved gear selection. In September 1955 a 600 cc Dominator 99 was launched. The 1946 to 1953 Long Stroke Manx Norton was 79.6 mm × 100 mm (3.1 in × 3.9 in) initially SOHC ,
6880-529: Was not the item to place under a petrol tank. The team's project, renamed NRS 588, did win the 1992 Isle of Man TT , ridden by Steve Hislop , North West 200, and Ulster Grand Prix races ridden by Robert Dunlop . Whilst in Northern Ireland, the team met Gordon Blair, an automotive engineer from Queen's University Belfast . Blair commented that the Japanese had abandoned development of the motorcycle variant of
6966-489: Was proving formidable opposition in the Clubman Racing scene, so popular in the 1950s. So sales of the 1950s Norton International were somewhat muted, and by the mid-1950s it had disappeared from the catalogue, available only to special order. A final facelift for the 1957 and 1958 models was a cosmetic update to the full width alloy hub wheels, chrome plated tank sidepanels, new type Lucas headlamp and tubular exhaust. Only
7052-649: Was reformed as Norton-Villiers , part of Manganese Bronze Holdings . The 750 Norton Atlas was noted for its vibration. Rather than change engines Norton decided to change the frame, and the isolastic-framed Norton Commando 750 was the result. In 1967 the Commando prototype was shown at the Earls Court Show in November, and introduced as a production model for 1968. Its styling, innovative isolastic frame and powerful engine made it an appealing package. The Commando easily outperformed contemporary Triumph and BSA twins and
7138-464: Was released in January 1972 with a twin roller bearing crank, 10:1 compression and developing 65 bhp (48 kW) at 6,500 rpm. Reliability immediately suffered, with frequent and early crank-shaft main-bearing failures, sometimes leading to broken crankshafts. Older engines had used one ball-bearing main bearing and one roller bearing main bearing but the Combat engine featured two roller bearings in
7224-503: Was superseded by a standard high capacity roller bearing early in 1973. In April 1973 an 8.5:1 compression 828 cc "850" engine was released with German FAG SuperBlend bearings. These, featuring slightly barrel-shaped rollers, had been introduced on late model 750 cc engines to cure the Combat engine's problems of crank-flex and the consequent digging-in to the bearing-surface of the initial cylindrical bearing rollers. This model produced 51 bhp (38 kW) at 6,250 rpm but
7310-510: Was the most powerful and best-handling British motorcycle of its day. The isolastic frame made it much smoother than the Atlas. It used rubber bushings to isolate the engine and swing arm from the frame, forks, and rider. However, as the steel-shims incorporated in the Isolastic bearings wore, often from rusting, the bike became prone to poor handling: fishtailing in high-speed turns. The "Combat" engine
7396-515: Was to develop the 961cc Norton Commando and a new range of Norton motorcycles. The company went into administration in January 2020. In April 2020, administrators BDO agreed to sell certain aspects of Garner's business to a new business with links to Indian motorcycle producer TVS Motor Company . The original company was formed by James Lansdowne Norton (known as "Pa") at 320, Bradford Street, Birmingham , in 1898. In 1902 Norton began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines. In 1907
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