While Germans Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach are credited with designing and building the first ever motorcycle in 1885 in the form of the Petroleum Reitwagen, it was the British who dominated motorcycle manufacturing in the early years of the 20th century, particularly between the 1920s and 1950s. In this period, which is considered the golden age of British motorcycle manufacturing, brands such as BSA, Triumph, Royal Enfield and Norton led the way in production, innovation and export globally. From the late 1950s, however, British motorcycle brands started to falter, for various reasons, and Japanese motorcycle manufacturers took over the sector.
But, in recent years, there has been a revival of sorts for some British manufacturers with the latest being Norton Motorcycles. Norton has had a hell of ride since it was founded by James Lansdowne Norton in 1898 in Birmingham, England. In 1913, following financial difficulties, the first of many changing of hands took place and, since then, the company, its rights and assets have been bought and sold numerous times.
Early in 2020, following Norton Motorcycles going into administration, the company was acquired by the 100-year-old Indian two- and three-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company. In the time since the acquisition, Norton has undergone a transformation underpinned by significant investments by TVS into research, development, design and a flagship manufacturing plant in the English town of Solihull. Their Resurgence Strategy, which was developed over the last five years, culminated in the launch of the Norton Manx R at the EICMA 2025.
The Manx R is a supersport with a 1,200 cc V3 engine that puts out 206hp and has torque of 13Nm. The suspension is bespoke and fully adjustable, with compression and rebound damping managed with information from real-time sensors, developed by Italian suspension manufacturers Marzocchi. The brakes are Brembo’s HYPURE brake calliper setup, and it sits on 17-inch carbon fibre BST wheels and Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa V4SP tyres.
The features list is long and includes cornering cruise control, five riding modes (Rain, Road, Sport and two customisable track profiles), wheelie and rear wheel slide control, switchable linear traction control and cornering traction control, cornering-optimised ABS, quick shifter, launch control and hill start support. It also comes with an 8-inch TFT touchscreen (with all the data you will need), Bluetooth integration and multimedia and GoPro control.
While the Manx R is leading the charge in the resurgence of Norton, they followed up EICMA with the launch of the Manx as well as two midweight adventure motorcycles, the Atlas and the Atlas GT.
Simon Skinner, head of design, says, “I think it’s fair to say, though, that Manx R represents a modern interpretation of what people have come to expect a Norton to be in more recent times, while Atlas requires looking a little further back for the inspiration. At this stage, our sole focus is on the four bikes we’ve announced plus another two which we’ll announce next year.”
When asked about whether we could expect a new Commando, considered an iconic Norton Motorcycle, first introduced in 1967, Skinner adds, “We don’t have any plans for Commando to return or for us to produce anything retro.”
Part of the resurgence is a new design strategy developed in consultation with British car designer Prof Gerry McGovern. Skinner explains that working with McGovern gave him and the team the opportunity to really take a fresh look at the brand and products.
“What we’ve designed, and what has been meticulously developed across the company’s engineering team, is a range of motorcycles — not just one. It’s a new direction, for sure, but one that is sensitive to what has gone before, blending our rich heritage with a bold new future.”
He goes on to say, “We use the Norton design strategy as our guiding light for all of our bikes, regardless of category. This gives us a visual continuity while allowing each bike to have its own unique character. All good design starts with proportion, giving the bike the right stance, then the surface quality and finally the details. All of our bikes start with a great stance.”
The approach they have taken is one of reductivity, where less is more, until less is less. Skinner says, “Modernity is forward-looking; the future is a place of inspiration and desire; tomorrow is better than today. If you look at the motorcycle landscape, bikes are becoming more and more visually complex. To truly stand out, we have reduced the visual clutter on our motorcycles; every line is considered and intentional, and we use our well-defined design strategy as our guiding light. This is a modern approach to luxury, refined and sophisticated, not traditional and overt. There’s a difference between something that’s new and something that’s modern.”
It finally looks like Norton Motorcycles has left the turmoil in the past and is building a new future.
