Norton Motorcycle Company
343193
225639597
2008-07-14T18:04:58Z
86.137.224.108
{{Infobox Defunct Company
| company_name = Norton Motorcycle Co Ltd
| company_logo = [[Image:nortonlogo.jpg|225px|center|Norton Logo]]
| fate = bankrupt
| successor = [[Norton Villiers Triumph]]
| foundation = 1898
| defunct = 1992
| location = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Birmingham]], [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], [[United Kingdom]]
| industry = Motorcycles
| key_people =
| products = [[Norton Dominator]]<br />[[Norton Atlas]]<br />[[Norton Commando]]
| num_employees =
| parent = [[Associated Motorcycles]]
| subsid =
}}
[[Image:Norton-850-commando.jpg|thumb|right|Norton 850 Commando]]
'''Norton''' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[motorcycle]] [[marque]] from [[Birmingham]], founded in 1898 as a manufacturer of cycle chains.
By 1902 they 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 cylinder motorcycles. They were one of the great names of the British motorcycle industry, producing machines which for decades dominated racing with highly tuned single cylinder engines under the Race Shop supremo Joe Craig.in 1949 Norton wanted a 4 cylinder engine for there race bike, BRM in Bourne in Linconshire designed a 500cc 4 cylinder engine that would blown the competition away it was water cooled DoHc five speed gearbox clutch on the rigth handside horzontal split crackcases the cams was driven by 4 timing gears the oil was underneath the engine and formed as the mounting points for the engine too fit the mcCandless new frame the featherbed but after all the heated and bad tempered arguments in the boardroom which forced two major shareholders too leave Norton in 1953 and Norton went bust as a result?Amc bought the shares to prop up Norton ? ,most of the argument was coming from joe Craig he was narrow minded and bad tempered , He dismiss the new 4 cylinder engine with out giving it a chance to be built and tested , And this is the engine which the japanese have developed ??
Postwar 500cc twin cylinder model called the Model 7 Dominator was added to the range for 1949, and this evolved into the 1970s through 500cc, to 600cc in late 1955 to models with the 500cc /600cc Dominator,in 1961 the 650cc Manxman,650ss and Atlas in 1962 and then Commando 750cc in 1968,and in 1973 to 830cc known as a 850cc commando all highly regarded road motorcycles of their time.
==History==
===Beginnings===
The original company was formed by [[James Norton]] (Known as Pa) in [[Birmingham]] in 1898. In 1902 Norton began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines. In 1907 a Norton 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 – The [[Isle of Man]] [[Isle of Man TT|Senior TT]], the most prestigious of events, was won by Nortons ten times between the wars and then every year from 1947 to 1954. The first Norton engines were made in 1908, beginning a line of side-valve single cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s.
In 1913 the business declined, 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.
J.L. Norton died in 1925 aged only 56, but he saw his motorcycles win the Senior and sidecar TTs in 1924.<ref>[http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/britbikes/brit_n.html] IanChadwick Britbikes Histories (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
Designed by Walter Moore, the CamShaft One (CS1) engine appeared in 1927, based closely on the ES2 (pushrod) engine and using many of its parts. On his departure to NSU in 1930, an entirely new ohc engine was designed by Arthur Carroll, which was the basis for all later ohc and dohc Norton singles. (Moore's move to NSU prompted staff to claim that NSU stood for "Norton Spares Used") That decade spawned the Norton racing legend. Of the nine Isle of Man Senior TTs (500 cc) between 1931 and 1939 Norton won seven.<ref>[http://www.is-it-a-lemon.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=752] Is-it-a-lemon Norton CS1 (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
Up to 1934, Norton bought the excellent Sturmey Archer gearboxes and clutches. When Sturmey decided to discontinue production, Norton bought the design rights, and had them made by Burman, a manufacturer of proprietary gearboxes.
[[Image:Norton 16H 001.jpg|thumb|right|civilianised 1943/44 military Norton, model WD16H]]
Nortons also appealed to ordinary motorcyclists who enjoyed the reliability and performance offered by single-cylinder engines with separate gearboxes. The marque withdrew their teams from racing in 1938, but between 1937 and 1945 nearly one 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).<ref>[http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/company/history.asp] NortonMotorcycles 1940-1946 (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
===Post war===
After the War, Norton reverted to civilian motorcycle production, gradually increasing the range. A major addition in 1949 was the Dominator, also known as the Model 7, 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 'horizontal' box.
Post war, Norton struggled to reclaim its pre-WWII racing dominance, since the single cylinder machine was facing fierce competition from the multi-cylinder Italians, and AJS at home. In the [[1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season]], the first year of the world championship, Norton only made fifth place, and [[AJS]] won. That was before the ''Norton 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]]. Overnight the featherbed frame was the benchmark by which all other frames were judged. Nortons were winners again.<ref>[http://www.is-it-a-lemon.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=751] Is-it-a-lemon Norton Manx (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
Norton also experimented with engine placement, and discovered that moving the engine slightly up/down, forward/back, or even right/left, could deliver a "sweet spot" in terms of handling. In the ''The Victory: The Making of the New American Motorcycle'' (1999, Motorbooks International), the designers of the Victory motorcycle cited Norton in experimenting with various engine placements and finding one that was noticeably better than the others.<ref>''The Victory: The Making of the New American Motorcycle" (1999, Motorbooks International)</ref>
In 1951 the Norton Dominator became available in 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 the ohv single cylinder machines.
The racing successes were transferred to the street through [[Cafe racers]], some of whom would use the feather bed 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 feather-bed frame.
===AMC===
Despite, or perhaps because of 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 was sold to [[Associated Motorcycles]] (AMC), who also owned the brands [[AJS]], [[Matchless]], [[Francis-Barnett]] and James. The Birmingham factory was closed in 1962 and production was moved to AMC's [[Woolwich]] factory in Southeast London.
Under AMC ownership, a much improved version of the Norton gearbox was developed, to be used on all the larger models within the corporation under the AJS, Matchless and Norton banners. Again, the major changes were for improved gear selection.
In late 1955 a 600 cc Dominator 99 appeared.
[[Image:NortonManx,Bj.1954.jpg|thumb|right|1954 Norton Manx]]
The 1946-1953 Long Stroke Manx Norton was 79.6 mm x 100 mm, initially sohc, the dohc engine becoming available to favoured racers in 1949. The Short Stroke model (1953-1962) had bore and stroke of 86 mm x 85.6 mm. 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 {{convert|47|bhp|abbr=on}} at 6500 rpm, weighed {{convert|142|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}, and had a top speed of {{convert|209|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>[http://www.motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/norton_classic.html] MotorbikeSearchEngine Norton 500 Manx specifications (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref> The new price was 440 pounds.
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 the engine for 500 cc car racing, as Nortons would not sell separate engines.
Manx rolling chassis were frequently resold, and equipped with Triumph engines. These motorcycles were known as Tritons.
In 1960, a new version of the featherbed frame was developed, with the upper frame rails 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 was made in-house by AMC, and is known as the 'slimline' frame - the earlier frames then became known as the 'wideline'.
The last Manx Nortons were sold in 1963. Even though Norton had pulled out of racing in 1954, the Manx had become the backbone of privateer racing, and even today are quite sought after.
In January 1961 a new Norton Manxman 650c was launched for the American market only and one year later a Norton 650SS appeared,for the UK market along with the Norton Atlas 750 in 1962, for the American market as they wanted more power, still using featherbed frames, but the increases to the vertical twins engine capacity had caused a vibration problem at 4500 rpm, A 500 cc vertical twin is smoother than a single cylinder, but if you enlarge the vertical twin's capacity, vibration increases. The 750 Norton Atlas proved too expensive, and costs were not able to be reduced. Financial problems gathered.<ref>[http://www.best-motorcycle-gear.com/norton-motorcycle-history.html] BestMotorcycleGear Norton Motorcycle (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
There was an export bike primarily for use as a desert racer, sold up until 1969 as a Norton P11,<ref>[http://www.realclassic.co.uk/newsfiles/news05081500.html] RealClassic ''Norton P11A on Display'' (Retrieved [[25 October]] [[2006]])</ref> AJS Model 33, and as a Matchless G15, which used the Norton Atlas engine in a modified Matchless G85CS scrambler frame, with Norton wheels and 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.<ref>[http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/britbikes/otherk_q.html] Ian Chadwick Matchless (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
===Norton-Villiers===
By the late 1960s competition from Japan and a rapidly declining home market had driven the whole British motorcycle industry into a precipitous decline. In 1966 AMC collapsed and was reformed as [[Norton-Villiers]] part of [[Manganese Bronze]].
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 1969 the [[Norton Commando|Commando]] was introduced; its styling, innovative [[isolastic]] frame, and powerful engine made it an appealing package. The Commando easily outperformed Triumph and BSA, and was the most powerful and best-handling British motorcycle of its day. The "isolastic frame," derived from the Featherbed, made it much smoother than the Atlas. It used rubber bushings to isolate the engine and swingarm from the frame, forks, and rider. As the rubber bushings wore, however, the bike became prone to fishtailing in high-speed turns.
The customer could choose between single and dual carburetors, and the bike came in several different styles: the standard street model, a pseudo-scrambler with upswept pipes, and the Interstate, packaged as a tourer. Electric start was introduced in 1974. Sales were respectable, but the company declined financially and went into liquidation in 1975.<ref>[http://www.is-it-a-lemon.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=750] Is-it-a-lemon Commando Fastback (Retrieved [[October 23]])</ref> In 1976 a Norton with a US-flag theme on the tank could be purchased for $1976.
The 'Combat' engine was released in January 1972, with a twin roller bearing crank, 10:1 compression and making {{convert|65|bhp|kW|1|lk=on|abbr=on}} at 6,500 rpm. Reliability immediately proved a problem. (Older engines had used one ball bearing main, and one roller bearing main.) This fragility did not show up well, especially when compared to the reliability of the Japanese bikes.<ref>[http://www.realclassic.co.uk/dominator05062100.html] RealClassic Dominator 99 Build (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
===Norton-Villiers-Triumph===
[[Image:1978 Norton Commando - LHS.jpg|thumb|right|1978 [[Norton Commando]] Interstate Mk3]]
In 1972, the former giant of British motorcycle manufacturing [[Birmingham Small Arms Company|BSA]] was also in trouble. It was given government help on the condition that it merged with [[Norton-Villiers]], and in 1973 the new [[Norton-Villiers-Triumph]] (NVT) was formed. The [[Triumph Motorcycles]] name came from BSA's Triumph subsidiary.
In April 1973 an 8.5:1 compression 828 cc "850" engine was released with German SuperBlend bearings, which made {{convert|51|bhp|abbr=on}} at 6,250 rpm however the stated power does not give a true picture of the engine performance because increased torque seemed to make up for the lower horsepower.<ref>[http://www.ntnoa.org/General.htm#Combat] NTNOA Combat Questions & Comments (Retrieved [[23 October]] [[2006]])</ref>
In 1974, the outgoing government withdrew the subsidies, although the incoming government restored them after the election. Rationalisation of the factory sites to Wolverhampton and Birmingham (BSA's [[Small Heath]] site) only caused industrial disputes at Triumph's Coventry site; Triumph would go on as 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 ‘Mk.2a Interstate’. In 1975 this was down to just two models, the 'Mark 3 Interstate' and the 'Roadster', but then the Government asked for a repayment of its loan and refused export credits, further damaging the company's ability to sell abroad. Production of the two lone models still made was ended and supplies dwindled.
===Wankel engine===
[[Image:rhas.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ron Haslam]] on the rotary engined Norton]]
In the 1980s, the company went through several incarnations – mainly because, both the name was popular, and now owned by several parties: in liquidation from NVT, the global rights were split between (at least) Norton UK, Germany, America and Rest of the World.
The name was relaunched on an ambitious scale in [[Lichfield]] in 1988. The new models have succeeded on the race track – winning the [[Senior TT]] in 1992 – but they have moved rather more slowly in the commercial market. The British company had some success making the [[Wankel engine|Wankel]]-engined [[Norton Interpol 2|Interpol 2]] motorcycle for civilian and military [[police]] forces and the [[RAC plc|RAC]].
This led to a civilian model in 1987 called the [[Norton Classic|Classic]]. Subsequent Norton Wankels were water-cooled. The [[Norton Commander (motorcycle)|Commander]] was launched in 1988 and was followed by the Spondon-framed [[Norton F1|F1]]. This model was a replica of Norton's RCW588 factory racing machines which won many races including the 1992 [[Isle of Man TT]]. The F1 was succeeded by the restyled and slightly less expensive [[Norton F1 Sport|F1 Sport]].
At this point the Department of Trade and Industry stepped in to investigate improprieties in the investment web of financier Philippe LeRoux and his associates.<ref>{{cite book| first= Kris | last= Perkins | title= Norton Rotaries | publisher= Osprey Publishing | year= 1991 | isbn= 1855321815}}</ref> LeRoux resigned his position as Chief Executive.
Norton is now a small entity dealing with the approximately 1000 Norton Rotary motorcycles, and from their [http://www.nortonmotors.co.uk/P55B.htm website] comes the results of the end of Norton's debt plagued early 1990s "asset stripping" and the production run of the F1 Sport:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The end result was a motorcycle that sold on a subscription basis, every single one being snapped up immediately, and the last one (No.66) actually being built in Germany from new parts, as the factory in Shenstone had run out. The F1 Sports or "TT" is now considered to be the best and most desirable model of all Rotary Nortons, if not off all rotary engined motorcycles.
The frustrating thing was, that these motorcycles were only built as an exercise to use up unshiftable parts originally bought in for F1 production- thus making Midlands Bank some more money, but never with the seroius [sic] intention to make any more after the original stash of parts was used up. This was not aparent [sic] to the directors of Norton Motors Ltd, nor to their trade customers, until it was too late, i.e. after the last bike had been produced.
In order to explain the inexplicably low retail price at the time- in fact a price that was not only far too low, but also uncalled for as all bikes sold instantly-, rumours were placed with the press that as parts dried up from the original left-over high-price parts (PVM wheels, Brembo Brakes, White Power supension [sic] components), these were to be replaced by cheaper Yamaha-sourced items. Whilst this was then faithfully repeated, and still is in all publications about Norton ever since ("The F1 Sports was built with cheaper parts" etc), this was, in fact, never done, the only bikes using these FZR1000-sourced "cheap" components being the non-functional F2 prototypes.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
===Replica revival===
During the 1990s, [http://www.nortonamerica.com Kenny Dreer] of [[Oregon]] evolved from restoring and upgrading Commandos to producing whole machines. He modernised the design and in the early 2000s went into series production, but then suspended operations in April 2006.
In the UK a number of firms such as the remnant of the Shenstone Norton factory, Norvil, Unity Equipe and Norman White [http://www.normanwhite.co.uk] (a former team racer and mechanic) supply parts for various generations of Norton motorcycles.
==Trivia==
One infamous rider of a Norton motorcycle was the medical student and future socialist revolutionary, [[Ernesto "Che" Guevara]], who along with his friend Alberto Granado, famously toured South America on a 1939 Norton 500, nicknamed 'The Mighty One' ('La Poderosa'). Unfortunately the bike did not complete the journey with them, as it was wrecked somewhere along the route. This trek was documented in Guevara's book, "[[The Motorcycle Diaries]]," and a film by the same title.
[[Shawn Spencer]], the fictional protagonist of the USA Network original series ''[[Psych]]'', rides a Norton 750 Commando on the show.
In the first season of the 1991 syndicated series ''[[Dark Justice]]'', [[Judge Nick Marshall]] rides a 1969 Norton Commando. Both actor Remy Zada and the Commando were replaced in the second season.
A Norton 650 with a sidecar attachment was ridden by the character Malcolm Stoneway in the [[ITV]] sitcom, [[Watching]].
[[Tomb Raider]] [[Lara Croft]]'s favorite motorbike is a Norton Streetfighter [http://www.tombnews.com/laracroft/].
==See also==
*[[List of Norton motorcycles]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commonscat|Norton Motorcycles}}
*[http://britiron.com/dc/ Norton Motorcycle Tech Talk and Forum - Thousands of Tips and Discussions from Owners of Vintage Norton Motorcycles Worldwide]
*[http://www.nortonamerica.com Sales office of Norton America's New version of the Norton]
*[http://home.tiscali.nl/wd16h/index.htm Military Norton page]
*[http://www.madeinbirmingham.org Norton, Birmingham]
*[http://caferacersreturn.blogspot.com Return of the Cafe Racers]
*[http://www.rotaryownersclub.co.uk Rotary Owners' Club (ROC)]
*[http://inoa.org Independent Norton Owners Association (INOA.org)]
*[http://www.nortonownersclub.org Norton Owners' Club - Original Norton Owners Club(UK)]
*[http://www.inoanorton.com International Norton Owners' Association (a USA and Canada only Club)(INOA)]
*[http://www.nortonclub.com Northern California Norton Owners Club (NCNOC)]
*[http://www.accessnorton.com/norton California Norton Commando Only Forum]
*[http://www.nwno.org Northwest USA Norton Owners Club (NWNO)]
*[http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Norton.htm Original Brochures, Ads, & Manuals for Nortons]
*[http://www.use-photos.com/Moto-OldTimer-Norton/ Norton Photos]
*[http://sameerkumar.blogspot.com/2006/08/remembering-rotary-norton-f1.html Rotary-engine Norton F1]
*[http://www.nortonmotors.co.uk/Production%20Models%20index.htm Norton Motors List of Rotary Motorcycles]
*[http://www.barkshire.co.uk/bikes/Norton181931.htm 1931 Norton Model 18]
*[http://www.barkshire.co.uk/bikes/Norton771958.htm 1958 Norton Model 77]
*[http://www.500race.org The 500 Owners Association]
*[http://www.britishbiker.net/ British Biker Cooperative (BBC)]
*[http://www.vintagemotorcyclesonline.com/ Vintage Motorcycles Online]
{{British motorcycle manufacturers}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1898|Norton (motorcycles)]]
[[Category:Motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom|Norton (motorcycles)]]
[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom|Norton (motorcycles)]]
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