Best of luck. Hope the quality is there.
Clint Eastwood was a Norton guy. When not cruising his thumping two-cylinder Norton Commando along the winding roads through the pines and redwoods near his beloved Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Eastwood used machines from the storied British motorcycle manufacturer while on location for movies such as Where Eagles Dare and Kelly’s Heroes (see earlier post - CW).
Founded in 1898 in Birmingham, England, Norton has had a rough ride since the glory days of the 1950s, when its Manx models dominated racetracks around the world and its road bikes were considered superior to contemporary BSA or Triumph machines. It went through a string of owners and several bankruptcies before being acquired in April 2020 by TVS Motor Company, India’s third-largest motorcycle manufacturer.
Norton used the Manx name between 1936 and 1962 for its racing models, acknowledging its numerous victories in the grueling TT races held on the Isle of Man. (Manx is a term used to describe the Celtic language, people, and customs of the island, as well as its famous tail-less cats.) But the Manx and Manx R are anything but retro machines. New from the wheels up, both are powered by a liquid-cooled 1200-cc 72-degree V-4 engine that develops 206 hp at 11,000 rpm and 93 lb-ft of torque at 9000 rpm. The power and torque peaks arrive at relatively modest engine speeds by modern superbike standards, but after analyzing real-world telemetry to understand how such bikes were ridden in everyday conditions, Norton’s engineers concluded there was little need for an ultra-high-revving powerplant. This insight defined the fundamentals of the engine’s development, with the goal of delivering class-leading torque and usable power between 5000 and 10,000 rpm.
