Passings lamented
For those of us with an interest in the classic scene, the name ‘Norton’ is one of our touchstones, an iconic word that conjures up all manner of (often) black and silver racers, the most famous and iconic being the 1950s’ Manx Nortons, the plucky single cylinder machines that the likes of Geoff Duke took it to the much more sophisticated, better funded continental offerings.
Before that, there was the dominant period of the 1930s, when Nortons ruled the roost, riders like Jimmie Guthrie, Jimmy Simpson, Stanley Woods and Harold Daniell sweeping all before them. And preceding that, there was the overhead valve machines of the 1920s, again TT winners, while they themselves followed in the wheel tracks of Rem Fowler’s Peugeot-powered V-twin, winner of the twin cylinder class at the inaugural (1907) TT races.
After Norton stopped its works racing effort in the mid-1950s, privateer Manxes were the mainstay of the GP scene right up until around 1970, really, with a last GP victory coming in 1969’s Yugoslavian race, courtesy of Godfrey Nash. After that there were the glory days of racing Commandos, before a 1980s and 90s resurgence, headed by the black-andgold rotaries.
‘‘ Privateer Manxes were the mainstay of the GP scene after Norton stopped its works racing effort in the mid-1950s
Which makes it all the sadder to read of Norton’s demise, the company collapsing amid a maelstrom of rumours, allegations, non-deliveries and non-refunded deposits, with no winners emerging from the whole sorry saga. And for a name – Norton – that was a proven winner, it’s all the more sad.
On an altogether brighter note, please find some extracts of the features in this month’s issue of The Classic MotorCycle magazine, where we celebrate motorcycling diversity, ranging from the awesome Brough Superior owned by Lawrence of Arabia, a Greeves Anglian trials machine and a BSA Spitfire, among many other articles. There’s also a celebratory supplement commemorating the life and times of industry great Colin Seeley, who recently passed away. A sad subject owing to the circumstance, but we concentrate on the high points from Colin’s life, delving into our archive to pay tribute to a wonderful and significant contributor to the British motorcycling industry.