It is one of the most recognisable motoring brands on the planet, and through highs and lows, Norton Motorcycles has arrived at its 125th anniversary. The company was founded in Birmingham by Pa Norton in 1898, and he had already showcased his skills at an extraordinarily young age, building his first steam engine at just ten years old. The company has gone on to win 8 World Championships, 94 TTs at the Isle of Man, and countless Bike of the Year accolades, including an amazing five straight years with the iconic Norton Commando. It has always been a brand with a loyal and fanatical fan base, and to give Norton lovers around the world a way to celebrate this milestone, the Solihull factory has produced a series of machines that pay tribute to four of the company’s most celebrated models.
For the average punter, the Commando is the singular bike they associate with the brand, and with good reason; it was the Motor Cycle News “Machine of the Year” from 1968 to 1972 and combined stunning good looks with that signature British parallel-twin engine. When Norton came charging back onto the market in 2010, it made sense that it was the Commando that led the charge, and the model remains an important part of the company’s model lineup. But make no mistake, just like its founder, Norton has been an innovator throughout its history, and the list of bikes being honoured proves exactly that!
The first bike in the ‘125 Limited Edition’ lineup is the Commando 961 LE ‘Energette’, which takes its styling cues from the machine that started it all, the 1902 Energette. Utilising Pa Norton’s own design of chassis, based on one of his bicycle frames, it was powered by a 142cc Clément engine and a two-speed Sturmey Archer gearbox. Packing a top speed of 30 miles per hour, this was scary quick at a time when the brakes were just a rubber block pressing on the tire. Thankfully, the tribute bike Commando has full Brembo brakes, as well as the Energette’s deep yellow paint, brown leather saddle, alloy yokes, natural alloy engine, silver headlight, polished alloy handlebars, and polished Öhlins suspension.
It wouldn’t be a celebration of Norton without the legendary Manx, one of the most successful race bikes ever built by a factory outfit. Developed in 1937 and being sold and raced all the way through to 1970, the machine took out 13 Isle of Man TT races and dominated on tracks around the globe. The unmistakable look is transferred onto the Commando 961 LE ‘Manx’ with that stunning silver and black tank and bodywork looking a million dollars. You also get a black engine, black footrests, black yokes, black Öhlins suspension, carbon fibre chainguard, and carbon fibre flyscreen.
The third machine to be celebrated is another factory racer, and again, the ‘Transatlantic’ looks are placed onto a Commando 961. But I can hear fans scratching their head; Norton never made a bike with that name. And you’d be right, because in 2023 we can say what the company can’t; it’s really a tribute to the famed John Player Norton, the Formula 750, which was heavily backed by the cigarette maker. The cancer stick colours of red, white, and blue were made famous by superstars like Phil Read, Tony Rutter, Mick Grant, and John Cooper. And the look of the bike that won a British Championship and an IOM TT, is beautifully splashed across the 2023 tribute bike.
The final machine to be honoured is the innovator’s most innovative, the ring-a-ding-ding 588cc rotary-powered racers, in the form of the RC588, RCW588, and NRS588. Just as Mazda wasn’t the first car company to use a Wankel engine, but was clearly the best at doing it, Norton was their equal in the motorcycle world, and while the road-going versions like the earlier Classic and the race-derived F1 couldn’t save the then-owners of the company from going bust; the bike was terrific on the track. Three British Superbike championships were won in 1989, 90, and 94, and at a time when British racing was suffering, the Norton brought back the crowds.
The thing was an animal, alloy frames from Spondon and Harris were utilised over the years, Kayaba or WP suspension, and lightweight Dymag wheels meant the big bike was just 135kg. For a perfect 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, the twin-rotor engine screamed to 135bhp and up to 150bhp in qualifying trim. It was no wonder other riders reported factory pilot Ron Haslam literally went past them screaming and smiling down the straight. But it was in 1992 when a champion became a legend, as Steve Hislop rode a repainted Haslam track bike to victory at the Isle of Man, in the Senior TT. In what is described by most as the greatest motorcycle race of all time, Haslop, starting in 19th, took an epic win over the King, Carl Fogarty, on his Yamaha.
For this most special of machines, three limited edition tributes are on offer, in the form of the Commando 961 LE, the superbike V4SV, and its cafe racer cousin the V4CR. All three wear the iconic black colour scheme and are known by the ‘588’ moniker. The Commando gets black footrests, black yokes, black Öhlins suspension, carbon fibre chainguard, carbon fibre flyscreen, and sweet gold rims with stainless spokes. While the V4-powered machines look incredible with gold anodized OZ Racing wheels along with the commemorative 125-year anniversary crest on the top of the seat unit.
Just 125 examples will be made in total across the entire collection, and for the Norton aficionados, these are surely a must-have; we’re drooling just looking at them.