1948 Norton Manx 1948 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form,...
1949 Norton Manx 1949 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form,...
1951 Norton International 1951 NORTON INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND The International was sort of the road-going version of Norton’s factory racer, the Manx. It came in two sizes: the 490 cc (500) Model 30 and the 349cc (350) Model 40. Both came with the Manx’s exotic shaft-and-bevel-gear-driven single overhead cam in a...
1951 Norton Model 7 Dominator 1951 NORTON MODEL 7 BACKGROUND Following Triumph’s lead, Norton, along with nearly every other British...
1952 Norton Manx 1952 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form,...
1952 Norton Model 7 1952 NORTON MODEL 7 BACKGROUND Following Triumph’s lead, Norton, along with nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, entered the parallel twin race with its own new 500 twin in 1949. Known as the Model 7, its basic layout followed the established norm of a 2-main bearing...
1953 Norton Manx 1953 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form,...
1957 Norton Dominator Dominator 88 – 500cc 1957 NORTON DOMINATOR BACKGROUND Norton designed the legendary “Featherbed Frame” for the single-cylinder...
1957 Norton Manx 1957 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form, to compete in and win the Isle of Man TT. Before fully developed, World War II intervened, and production of the Manx was delayed until 1946. The Manx quickly gained...
1959 Norton Dominator 1959 NORTON DOMINATOR BACKGROUND Norton designed the legendary “Featherbed Frame” for the single-cylinder Manx racer in 1950....
1959 Norton Manx 1959 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form,...
1962 Norton Dominator 650SS 1962 NORTON DOMINATOR 650SS BACKGROUND The story starts not with a Norton, but with the 1938 Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the world’s first “modern” vertical twin. The rest of the British motorcycle industry went nuts and rushed to field their own 500 twins. But WWII got...
1962 Norton Dominator 88 1962 Norton Dominator 88 Engine A WORK IN PROGRESS In our efforts to complete our online...
1962 Norton Jubilee 250 twin 1962 NORTON JUBILEE – WHAT’S IN A NAME? The name Norton Jubilee paid homage to...
1962 Norton Manx 1962 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form, to compete in and win the Isle of Man TT. Before fully developed, World War II intervened, and production of the Manx was delayed until 1946. The Manx quickly gained...
1962 Norton Navigator 1962 NORTON NAVIGATOR BACKGROUND Norton has always been known for big powerful bikes like the Manx and...
1962 Norton Navigator Deluxe 1962 NORTON NAVIGATOR DELUXE BACKGROUND Norton has always been known for big powerful bikes like the...
1964 Norton Atlas 1964 NORTON ATLAS BACKSTORY The story starts not with a Norton at all, but with the 1938 Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the world’s first “modern” vertical twin. The rest of the British motorcycle industry went nuts and rushed to field their own 500 twins. But WWII got...
1966 Norton Atlas 1966 NORTON ATLAS HISTORY The story starts not with a Norton at all, but with the 1938...
1967 Norton Atlas 750 1967 NORTON ATLAS HISTORY The story starts not with a Norton at all, but with the...
1968 Norton Commando ABOVE: The first 1968 Norton Commando was the Commando Fastback, pictured here in this British racing green, with silver side covers, which is correct for a 1968 Norton Commando. HOW IT ALL BEGAN The first Norton Commandos were all Fastbacks, designated Model 20M3, although they weren’t referred...
1969 Norton Dominator 650SS 1969 NORTON DOMINATOR 650SS BACKGROUND The story starts not with a Norton, but with the 1938...
1970 Norton Commando ABOVE: The 1970 Norton Commando came in a new guise: The Norton Commando Roadster, or Type R....
1970 Norton Mercury 1970 NORTON MERCURY BACKGROUND The Norton Mercury-series ran from 1968 to 1970 and represents the last model in the Dominator family. With Featherbed Frame production having ended in 1968 with the death of the Dominator 650SS and Atlas 750, and the launch of the new Commando. Production...
1971 Norton Commando 1971 Norton Commando ROADSTER 4 NEW MODELS The 1971 Norton Commando line grew from 2 models in...
1972 Norton Commando 1972 NORTON COMMANDO MODEL DESIGNATIONS All four road models became MkIVs & one completely new model was...
1973 Norton Commando ABOVE: 1973 Norton Commando 750 Roadster was more or less the “standard” Commando. BACK ON TRACK After the dismal finish of the 1972 model year, thanks to the Combat engine, 1973 was a good year for Norton Motorcycles. The entire model line had benefited from the engine...
1974 Norton Commando A 1974 NORTON COMMANDO FOR EVERY TASTE The Commando was available in a variety of configurations, all...
1975 Norton Commando ABOVE: 1975 Norton Commando MkIII Roadster in Union Jack paint scheme. TROUBLE BEHIND THE SCENES While the...
1988 Norton Classic Rotary 1988 NORTON CLASSIC ROTARY BACKGROUND Norton’s air-cooled, twin-rotor Wankel motorcycle was a one-year-only run, with just 100 of them built in 1987 as 1987 and 1988 models. This makes it one of the world’s rarest production Nortons, and one of the rarest classic British motorcycles overall....
1989 Norton F1 Rotary 1989 NORTON F1 ROTARY BACKGROUND Norton’s liquid-cooled, twin-rotor Wankel motorcycle, the F1, was produced from 1989-1991,...
2014 Norton Commando 961 2014 NORTON COMMANDO 961 BACKGROUND When the classic Commando went out of production in 1975, a...
AMC = Associated Motor Cycles BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE Associated Motor Cycles was more popularly known as AMC (not to be confused with ‘the other AMC’, American Motors Corporation, the US company that owned Rambler, Metro & Jeep, which sold out to Chrysler in 1987). Associated Motor Cycles was the...
Phil Radford, Norton Parts Expert Extraordinaire, owner of Fair Spares America, Inc., & all-around nice guy, beside a freshly-rebuilt Commando...
The Norton Commando Classic ‘Final Edition’ is a limited edition variant of the iconic 961, marking the end of the...
My Classic Motorcycle Restoration Project: My next cheap Classic Motorcycle Restoration Project: This sweet 1979 Triumph T140D Bonneville Special, pictured here in our state-of-the-art Research & Development Center (my garage). CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE RESTORATION PROJECT: THESE BIKES ARE CHEAP! Obviously, ‘cheap’ is a relative thing. But, when you think of what...
BSA Cafe Racers are not as common as Triumphs & Nortons. This 1969 BSA Rocket 3-based custom is nothing short...
CLASSIC BRITISH ROAD RACING MOTORCYCLES This 1969 Triumph Trident T150 Road Racer was campaigned by the legendary Gene Romero (above)....
CLASSIC BRITISH RAT BIKES – BORN OF CHOPPERS When I was growing up and learning to ride, around 1970, people were chopping all kinds of things, not just Harleys. Lots of guys were chopping their Honda 350s, 450s & 750s. I even saw a Kawasaki Mach3 chopper once, with extended...
CLUBMANS 2011 PHOTOS: WHAT A SHOW!! As always, this year’s Clubman’s All-British Weekend Motorcycle Show was fantastic!! While it felt...