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The Norton Motorcycle Company is a brand of motorcycles, originally based in Birmingham, England. This company is owned by Indian multinational giant TVS Motor Company. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles was owned by North American financiers. From 2008 to 2020, a line of motorcycles was produced under owner and chief executive Stuart Garner. Due to financial failure with large debts, in April 2020 administrators BDO agreed to sell certain aspects of Garner's business to Project 303 Bidco Limited, a new business established for the purpose with links to Indian motorcycle producer TVS Motor Company.
Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc four-stroke twins. Matchless had a long history of racing success; a Matchless ridden by Charlie Collier won the first single-cylinder race in the first Isle of Man TT in 1907.
Douglas was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1907–1957 based in Kingswood, Bristol, owned by the Douglas family, and especially known for its horizontally opposed twin cylinder engined bikes and as manufacturers of speedway machines. The company also built a range of cars between 1913 and 1922.
The Norton Commando is a British Norton-Villiers motorcycle with an OHV pre-unit parallel-twin engine, produced by the Norton Motorcycle company from 1967 until 1977. Initially having a nominal 750 cc displacement, actually 745 cc (45.5 cu in), in 1973 it became an 850 cc, actually 828 cc (50.5 cu in). It had a hemi-type head, similar to all OHV Norton engines since the early 1920s.
The Dominator is a twin cylinder motorcycle developed by Norton to compete against the Triumph Speed Twin. The original Dominator was designed in 1947 and 1948 by Bert Hopwood, who had been on the Speed Twin design team at Triumph. Available for sale from mid 1949, this design set the pattern for Norton twins for the next 30 years.
The Matchless G12 is a British motorcycle made by Associated Motorcycles at the former Matchless works in Plumstead, London. Developed in 1958 specifically to capture the potentially lucrative US market, the last G12 was produced in 1966.
The Norton 650SS is a 650 cc (40 cu in) vertical twin motorcycle made by Norton Motorcycle Company from 1962 to 1967. The 650SS was based on the Norton Manxman.
The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to 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 Jubilee is a Norton motorcycle made from 1958 to 1966. Named to commemorate Norton's Diamond Jubilee, the 249 cc Jubilee was a break with Norton tradition designed in response to UK legislation introduced in 1960 limiting learner riders to motorcycles of under 250 cc. It had the smallest engine ever made by Norton, and was the first Norton with a unit construction engine and gearbox.
The Navigator is a Norton motorcycle made from 1960 to 1965, based on the Norton Jubilee 250 cc. Production ceased shortly before the collapse of the parent group Associated Motor Cycles in 1966.
The Super Meteor was a British motorcycle made by Royal Enfield for export to the US between 1952 and 1962, when the Super Meteor was replaced by the 736 cc Royal Enfield Interceptor.
Colin Jordan Seeley was a British motorcycle retailer who later became a motorcycle sidecar racer, motorcycle designer, constructor and retailer of accessories. In 1992 he was involved in running the Norton Rotary race team.
The John Player Norton, also referred to as JPN and JPS Norton, were a series of Formula 750 racers manufactured by Norton Motorcycle Company from 1972 to 1974 and sponsored by cigarette manufacturer John Player. The engine for these machines was derived from the unit used in the Norton Commando, which was a development of the 1948 Bert Hopwood designed 500 cc Dominator. The lack of power from the engine, compared with other manufacturers, led designer and rider Peter Williams to a adopt a radical approach to chassis design. Riders of the bikes included Williams, Phil Read, Tony Rutter, Mick Grant, John Cooper, Dave Aldana and Dave Croxford.
The Norton Model 7 Dominator was a 500 cc vertical twin motorcycle manufactured by the Norton Motorcycle Company from 1949 to 1955. It was the first of Norton's Dominator range of motorcycles. The engine was designed by Bert Hopwood and was a departure from Norton's previous practice of producing single-cylinder machines. The Model 7 was used in Japan as a police motorcycle.
The Norton Nomad was a dual-sport motorcycle produced for the American market between 1958 and 1960 by the British manufacturer Norton. The machine was available with either 500 or 600 cc twin cylinder engines and was produced in small quantities, around 50 of the smaller engine and around 300 600 cc machines. The first Nomad imported to the US finished 8th in California's Big Bear Run. 822 competitors has started the race. The 600 Nomad was designated with model number N15 (1958), P15 (1959) and R15 (1960). The 500 was designated N16/P16/R16. The Nomad was the first in a line of on/off road machines which culminated in the Ranger.
The Norton Model 88 Dominator, also originally known as the Dominator De Luxe was a 500 cc vertical twin motorcycle manufactured by the British Norton Motorcycle Company from 1952 to 1966. It was the first of Norton's motorcycles to use the featherbed frame, which established Norton's reputation of producing fine handling machines. The 88 used the Bert Hopwood designed engine that was first fitted to the Model 7 and was initially for export only. It became available on the home market in 1953. Norton were a small manufacturer at the time and without the economies of scale the model was expensive compared to other manufacturer's equivalent machines. The 88 retailed for 20% more than the contemporary Triumph Speed Twin and was dearer than the 650 cc Triumph Thunderbird.
The Norton Model 99 Dominator was a 600 cc vertical twin motorcycle manufactured by the British Norton Motorcycle Company at their Bracebridge St, Birmingham factory from 1956 to 1962. The 99 was based on the 500 cc Model 88 Dominator with an enlarged engine. The model was superseded by the 650SS.
The Norton Manxman was a 650 cc vertical twin motorcycle manufactured by the British Norton Motorcycle Company at their Bracebridge St, Birmingham factory for export. It was first shown at the November 1960 Earls Court Motorcycle Show and listed by the American importer, Berliner, in their catalogue from 1961 to 1963. Berliner had asked for the model to be named Manxman although the twin had never been raced at the Isle of Man.
The Norton 650 Dominator was a 650 cc vertical twin motorcycle manufactured by the British Norton Motorcycle Company from 1962 to 1967. Initially production was at Norton's Bracebridge St, Birmingham factory, but following the factory's closure in 1963, production was transferred to parent company AMC's works in Plumstead, London. Initially produced in single and twin carburettor versions, the single carb version were soon discontinued. The twin carb version, the 650SS, was described as the 'Best of the Dominators'.
The Norton Manxman was a 646 cc (39.4 cu in) air-cooled OHV parallel twin motorcycle made by Norton-Villiers from 1968 to 1970. It was the last Norton model to use the featherbed frame. Following the collapse of AMC and the subsequent formation of Norton Villiers, the company's focus had been on the new Norton Commando. There was a large inventory of parts from previous models that would not be used on the Commando, and to use up this stock the Mercury was conceived. The Mercury was introduced in October 1968 and around 750 machines were produced, most of the production going to the US. The model was also used by the Nigerian Police.
References
- ↑ Reynolds, Jim (1990). Best of British bikes. Patrick Stephens. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-85260-033-4.
- ↑ Reynolds, Jim (1990). Best of British bikes. Patrick Stephens. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-85260-033-4.
- 1 2 3 "Norton Dominator". Classic-British-Motorcycles.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- 1 2 3 "Norton Factory Brochure 1957 - Model 77 600cc Twin" . Retrieved 18 June 2021– via Sheldon's Emu.
- 1 2 Sharkey, Alex (19 March 2021). Classic Bikes: Essential Transport. Character-19.
- ↑ "Norton Dominator Model 7 1952 497cc 2 cyl ohv". www.classic-motorcycle.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
