We rarely get to see a Norton Commando Transformer and the one in this short film is actually very funny. It is the work of Steve Twist, a student from Bournemouth University, who contacted MCN to help him for this project that he had for his Undergraduate Degree course in Computer Visualisation And Animation. The idea was to use a classic motorcycle and the old Commando turned out to be the ideal solution.
Check out the video after the break and see the final result.
It’s always nice to see comebacks in the motorcycle industry, especially for fans of the different brands. In what Norton is concerned, although they’ll most likely never reach their former glory, the modern interpretation of their mid 1990s racer is enough to provide the industry with an accurate impression of how advanced the technology implemented in this model was for its time. And with performance data comparable to that of modern supersport models, we reckon the Brits have little catching up to do.
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There have been many speculations regarding the introduction of a road legal Norton NRV 588 and although production hasn’t even started, we’re able to come up with all the details concerning the radical new bike basing on an early press release that Norton had the kindness to provide.
Developed by Brian Crighton and Spondon Engineering, the Norton is powered by a twin-rotor engine, the same kind that won races against Yamaha, Ducati and Honda back in the early 1990s, before being excluded due to regulations.
So this is history knocking on our door, but it will take some time until we answer because Norton will start production at the Donington Park plant in 2010 with a limited edition series. Yet, that doesn’t stop them from testing what is virtually the prototype of the future road legal model and worm up the audience in expectancy of a second twin-rotor revolution wave.
After Stuart Garner – a UK based businessman and present owner of Norton Racing Ltd, bought all the trademarks back from the US-based Norton owner of the past fifteen years – we can now finally look, talk about, and walk around what is nowadays the pride and joy of Norton Motorcycles, the all-new Commando 961 SE.
Relying on features of the original bike, the new Commando is all about unique style and modern performance and it is ready to cheer all nostalgic hearts out there.
Since when did American builders turned their heads towards Norton Commandos? Not for long, but they do some of the best and most expensive Norton Commandos ($39,500 each) in the Colorado Norton Works located in the Rocky Mountains.
In an attempt to retain the original look and sound, the bike called Norton Café, uses an 865cc British parallel twin so it isn’t that American after all.
The project is run by Matt Rambow who plans to built only 13 such motorcycles in batches of three until the summer of 2010.
Modern times call modern features so the engine is fuel injected and develops 60bhp, there is a pair of Brembo disc brakes, a CNC-machined cylinder head, 2-inch lowered suspensions, a hydraulic clutch, belt primary drive and hand made alloy body panels.
Bad news if you plan on buying one in the near future. Motorcycle enthusiast Richard Barks has already ordered the first of these Norton Café motorcycles made in the US.
The British motorcycle journalists from MCN have recently tested the new Norton Commando and apart from their best impressions on the bike, they’ve also provided the internet world with a more than decent photo gallery that reflects the best of this revamped bike.
Featuring brembo brakes, ohlins suspension as well as light-weight carbon fiber wheels, the new Commando is not only Norton’s alternative for the Triumph Thruxton, but a machine capable of becoming a benchmark for the class.
The bike is still in pre-production stages, but chief designer Simon Skinner says: “We want to retain the sihouette of this prototype because it’s a very pretty little bike - butch but pretty." so chances are that not much will differ on the final version.
Inspired by the new Norton Commando, the MCN crew offer people the possibility to vote if British bike brands such as Norton, Hesketh and Brough should be revived or not. So what do you thing?
Apparently yes. The photos were taken yesterday down Sunset Blvd. in L.A. just when the famous movies star enjoyed a relaxing ride on its classic Norton motorcycle. It seems that Keanu is an adept of the idea that motorcycles are made to be ridden, no matter their year of fabrication.
Dressed like an English man in…L.A. and wearing a blazer helmet and leather gloves, the Canadian actor seems to play one of its most enjoyable role yet.
Gas leaking was a common problem with early Norton and Triumph motorcycles, but who would have expected at something like this in the year 2008? As long as the bike is old, the problems are old but it is a real shame that at an apparently organized show you can’t get your hands on an extinguisher fast enough to minimize damage to the bike. And the guy that was riding…did he actually thought that by hitting the thing with his foot would actually help him solve the problem?
The Norton M28 has come to say out with the old, in with the new as a company can’t stay alive in people’s eyes only with its creations from the past. This has long been Norton’s case until the moment Aaron Rogers decided that it must use the maker’s strong British heritage in order to power it straight into the future which is supposed to be a bright one starting now.
It all started from a pretty simple idea involving a 499cc single-cylinder engine that would be used as a stressed member of a carbon fiber chassis. And this time the “easier said then done” saying is not valid as the Norton M28 ended up being the light, compact and awesome performing machinery that its designer had previously visualized.
From where it stands now, Norton has very much chance to be back in the cards and the M28 is THE machine able to do that. We reckon it will see production in a relatively close future and, if so, it will surely come with a demanding price tag.
The F1 Sports was the swansong of Norton Rotary motorcycle production, representing the peak of the development at the time. It came about through the frustrating experiences of German importer Norton Motors GmbH in emissions testing, and the main ideas were outlined in a fax from Joe Seifert to Richard Negus in 1991.
Starting with an idea derived from David Garsides SAE paper on the development of the rotary engine in combination with the fact the Commander had no emission problems, the (...) > Full story
