What’s in a name? Well, when it comes to the British-built Norton motorcycle brand, quite a lot. It holds an incredible history in its chassis, and with the rebirth of the beefy Norton Commando, a Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of mediocrity.
There was a time when Norton reigned supreme, when it won the Isle of Man TT races eighteen times, and when the cool chrome and the powerful twin engines made its presence on the roads a welcome thing. That was over twenty years ago, and since then the most evocative marque in British motorcycling has declined from the headstrong warrior it once was. Poor management, diving sales and an unsympathetic manufacturer made sure that the 1977 Commando was the last truly bona fide Norton off the construction racks. This was the case until a Midlands-born pyrotechnics manufacturer, Stuart Garner, pledged that such a great British name would never be used to sell flannel suits, an idea its American owners were toying with. He bought it for ‘many millions’, and the rest is history.
Fans of the old Commando include Keanu Reeves and Orlando Bloom. With such insight and Garner’s resources and assistance, the new retro-styled Commando SE 961 revs up for its inaugural cruise on Sunset Strip. Triumph Bonneville beware; the speed and machismo of the original is all there, as is the unmistakable Norton chatter. Modern engineering brings with it an all-new, air-cooled, fuel-injected 961cc parallel twin engine, good for an estimated 90bhp, a chrome-moly steel tube chassis and carbon-fibre wheels. And with a multicylinder sports model and new take on the legendary Norton Manx in Garner’s field of vision, expect to see the Norton bad-boy club out in force.
New Norton collection includes: Commando 961SE, Commando 961 Café Racer, Commando 961 Sport. For more information, see www.nortonmotorcycles.com.
