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Norton Motorcycle Company
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Norton Motorcycle Company
The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motorcycles.) is a brand of motorcycles headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands, (originally based in Birmingham), England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles were owned by North American financiers. Currently it is owned by TVS Motor Company.
The business was founded in 1898 as a "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade" manufacturer. By 1902 the company had begun manufacturing motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908 a Norton-built engine was added to the range. This began a long series of production of single and eventually twin-cylinder motorcycles, and a long history of racing involvement. During the Second World War Norton produced almost 100,000 of the military Model 16 H and Big 4 sidevalve motorcycles.
Associated Motor Cycles bought the company in 1953. It was reformed as Norton-Villiers, part of Manganese Bronze Holdings, in 1966, and merged with BSA to form Norton Villiers Triumph in 1973.
In late 2008, Stuart Garner, a UK businessman, bought the rights to Norton from some US concerns and relaunched Norton in its then-new Midlands home at Donington Park where it was to develop the 961cc Norton Commando and a new range of Norton motorcycles.
The company went into administration in January 2020. In April 2020, administrators BDO agreed to sell certain aspects of Garner's business to a new business with links to Indian motorcycle producer TVS Motor Company.. Norton’s assets were acquired by Indian manufacturer TVS Motor Company in an all-cash deal valued at approximately £16 million , and production was subsequently restarted at a new facility in Solihull . Under TVS ownership, Norton has embarked on a major resurgence programme, supported by more than £200 million of planned investment, a new brand identity and logo, and the development of all‑new model ranges launching from 2026 onwards.
The original company was formed by James Lansdowne Norton (known as "Pa") at 320, Bradford Street, Birmingham, in 1898. In 1902 Norton began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines. In 1907 a Norton with Peugeot engine, ridden by Rem Fowler, won the twin-cylinder class in the first Isle of Man TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s. In April 1907 the Norton Manufacturing Co. moved to a larger factory at Deritend Bridge, Floodgate Street, Birmingham. The first Norton engines were made in 1907, with production models available from 1908. These were the 3.5 hp (490 cc) and the 'Big 4' (633cc), beginning a line of side-valve single-cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s.
The first Norton logo was a fairly simple, Art Nouveau design, with the name spelled in capitals. However, a new logo appeared on the front of the catalogue for 1914, which was a joint effort by James Norton and his daughter Ethel. It became known as the "curly N" logo, with only the initial letter as a capital, and was used by the company thereafter, first appearing on actual motorcycles in 1915.
In 1913 the business declined, and R. T. Shelley & Co., the main creditors, intervened and saved it. Norton Motors Ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint directorship of James Norton and Bob Shelley. Shelley's brother-in-law was tuner Dan O'Donovan, and he managed to set a significant number of records on the Norton by 1914 when the war broke out - and as competition motorcycling was largely suspended during the hostilities, these records still stood when production restarted after the war. 1914 Dan O'Donovan records set in April 1914 :
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Norton Motorcycle Company
The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motorcycles.) is a brand of motorcycles headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands, (originally based in Birmingham), England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles were owned by North American financiers. Currently it is owned by TVS Motor Company.
The business was founded in 1898 as a "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade" manufacturer. By 1902 the company had begun manufacturing motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908 a Norton-built engine was added to the range. This began a long series of production of single and eventually twin-cylinder motorcycles, and a long history of racing involvement. During the Second World War Norton produced almost 100,000 of the military Model 16 H and Big 4 sidevalve motorcycles.
Associated Motor Cycles bought the company in 1953. It was reformed as Norton-Villiers, part of Manganese Bronze Holdings, in 1966, and merged with BSA to form Norton Villiers Triumph in 1973.
In late 2008, Stuart Garner, a UK businessman, bought the rights to Norton from some US concerns and relaunched Norton in its then-new Midlands home at Donington Park where it was to develop the 961cc Norton Commando and a new range of Norton motorcycles.
The company went into administration in January 2020. In April 2020, administrators BDO agreed to sell certain aspects of Garner's business to a new business with links to Indian motorcycle producer TVS Motor Company.. Norton’s assets were acquired by Indian manufacturer TVS Motor Company in an all-cash deal valued at approximately £16 million , and production was subsequently restarted at a new facility in Solihull . Under TVS ownership, Norton has embarked on a major resurgence programme, supported by more than £200 million of planned investment, a new brand identity and logo, and the development of all‑new model ranges launching from 2026 onwards.
The original company was formed by James Lansdowne Norton (known as "Pa") at 320, Bradford Street, Birmingham, in 1898. In 1902 Norton began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines. In 1907 a Norton with Peugeot engine, ridden by Rem Fowler, won the twin-cylinder class in the first Isle of Man TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s. In April 1907 the Norton Manufacturing Co. moved to a larger factory at Deritend Bridge, Floodgate Street, Birmingham. The first Norton engines were made in 1907, with production models available from 1908. These were the 3.5 hp (490 cc) and the 'Big 4' (633cc), beginning a line of side-valve single-cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s.
The first Norton logo was a fairly simple, Art Nouveau design, with the name spelled in capitals. However, a new logo appeared on the front of the catalogue for 1914, which was a joint effort by James Norton and his daughter Ethel. It became known as the "curly N" logo, with only the initial letter as a capital, and was used by the company thereafter, first appearing on actual motorcycles in 1915.
In 1913 the business declined, and R. T. Shelley & Co., the main creditors, intervened and saved it. Norton Motors Ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint directorship of James Norton and Bob Shelley. Shelley's brother-in-law was tuner Dan O'Donovan, and he managed to set a significant number of records on the Norton by 1914 when the war broke out - and as competition motorcycling was largely suspended during the hostilities, these records still stood when production restarted after the war. 1914 Dan O'Donovan records set in April 1914 :
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