Norton is a British motorcycle company founded in the year 1898. Norton was one of the foremost British motorcycle manufacturing companies, which produced vehicles that dominated the racing scene for decades.
The company was originally founded by James Norton in Wolverhampton in 1898. Norton began manufacturing motorcycles with French and Swiss engines by 1901. They began a racing tradition that lasted till the 1960s, with their twin-cylinder class motorcycles in the first Isle of Man TT race. They also manufactured single-cylinder engines with a separate gearbox for riders who enjoyed the performance and stability features encompassed in these motorcycles. During the period of 1937 to 1945 most British military motorcycles were Norton motorcycles. The Norton brand grew popular for their superior designs and excellent motorcycle frames. The Norton Featherbed frame was a great success in the racing circuit. These efficient frames were brought to the streets by Café racers who combined these frames with engines form other manufacturers, thus developing motorcycles that had the best of both worlds. Norton went through a crisis during the early 1980s, but got back into the market in the year 1988, in Lichfield. The bikes launched during this era were highly successful on the racing track with the Senior TT title to their credit in 1992. Norton also had some commercial success with their Wankel-engined Interpol 2 motorcycle which was used by the military police forces and the RAC.
Some of the most prestigious racing events were won by Norton motorcycles. They won ten times during the wars and then continued winning every year from 1947 to 1954. J.L. Norton passed away in the year 1925 at age 56, but saw Norton motorcycles win the Senior and sidecar TTs in 1924. Due to commercial crisis Norton has shut shop since the early 1990’s. | 
