The Norton Classic Rotary is likely the rarest Norton ever to have existed, and certainly the rarest to find today for collectors. The bike is highly coveted for motorcycle historians and collectors, the reason being is it’s rotary Wankel engine. With only 100 ever produced, the backstory is fascinating and while it didn’t take off, … Read more
The Manx Norton was a racing motorcycle produced by Norton Motors Ltd from 1947 to 1962. It was created for just one single purpose, to win the Isle of Man TT. History of the Manx Norton The Manx name first appeared prior to the development of the Manx Norton on one of their earlier racing … Read more
The 1940s were a turbulent time for motorcycle manufacturers. On one hand motorcycles were evolving into faster, more reliable and capable machines and then on the other World War II was consuming the world and bikes were being built to go to the war efforts. Following the war, manufacturers hit the ground running and picked … Read more
The Norton Commando 750 was a breakthrough in British motorcycling history. Despite being released during the UJM takeover, half a million were sold during the decade it was in production. Today, the Norton Commando 750 remains a popular buy to ride classic motorcycle. Norton Commando History The origins of the early Norton Commando 750’s can … Read more
Since the 2009 second coming of Cafe Racers the genre has gone from strength to strength. Lots of manufacturers have one in their stable and in general they at least try to stick to the original 1950’s definition of what a Cafe Racer is. What is a Cafe Racer? A Cafe Racer is a motorcycle … Read more
With the sad news of the administrators being called in to Norton Motorcycles, I thought that now would be a good time to reflect on what could have (should have?) been a fairytale story of racing success and British pluckiness. (That’s a real word, honestly). Although I grew up with British motorcycles, I never really … Read more
Norvin. A name that was long forgotten in my mind, and truth be told, of course I knew the name but it never really registered as to just exactly what it is. It’s a Norton & Vincent mashup, unless you’re Gregg Wallace or John Torode, and then it would be called a ‘fusion’. As a … Read more
Most have heard the term “Cafe Racer” and in our head we have an image of what one looks like. In my particular case, they are my favourite style of motorcycle. Here I look at a few of the reasons for their resurgence. Why are Cafe Racers so popular? The Cafe Racer styling is straight from the … Read more
The VMCC Festival of Jurby is part of the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling and a visit should be on the bucket list of all classic motorcycle fans. The festival takes in 2 weeks of classic TT races, the Manx Grand Prix, the Manx Two Day Trial, the Classic Weekend Trial, the Vintage Motorcycle Club Rally … Read more