Motorcycle Legends Magazine

Norton is one of the most famous names in British motorcycling. For more than a century its story has been written in race victories and revolutionary engineering, spectacular motorcycles and spectacular failures, heroic comebacks and crushing setbacks. Few marques have soared so high, fallen so far or fought their way back so many times.
Founded by the brilliantly inventive James Lansdowne ‘Pa’ Norton in 1898, the company established an engineering tradition continued by figures including Walter Moore, Joe Craig, Bert Hopwood, Rex McCandless, Doug Hele, Peter Williams and Brian Crighton.
This Motorcycle Legends 3 traces Norton’s extraordinary journey, from its almost unrivalled pre-war racing dominance and vital wartime production to the International, Dominator, revolutionary Featherbed frame and legendary Commando. It also explores the darker years: the decline of the British motorcycle industry, Norton’s eventual collapse, the spectacular rotary racers and the numerous attempts to resurrect the marque.
Now Norton is beginning another chapter. Owned by Indian motorcycle giant TVS Motor Company since 2020 and operating from a state-of-the-art factory in Solihull, the company is developing an ambitious new generation of motorcycles.
Success, tragedy and rebirth – this is the extraordinary story of a great British motorcycling marque.