Mike Farish

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Norton Motorcycles: engineering the revival of an icon

In-Depth

Among the most advanced British motorcycles ever built, the latest ‘superbikes’ from Norton Motorcycles were designed in record time thanks to innovative use of the latest engineering software. Mike Farish reports  

Speed is what Norton Motorcycles is all about and the latest machines from the iconic British company that now operates from premises in and around a stately home Donington Hall in Leicestershire certainly deliver on that.

Edging past 200mph is no problem for either the Norton Motorcycles V4 SS or V4 RR machines introduced to the public at the Motorcycle Live event at the NEC in Birmingham at end of October last year.

The reasons include the powertrain for both bikes - the company's new 1200cc, 200bhp V4 engine - and a weight of just 179kg, making them lighter than the TT machines from which they are derived.

Other aspects of their specifications are equally impressive. The chassis of the V4 SS, for instance, features a 3.1kg swing arm CNC machined down from a billet originally weighing 70kg, whilst both machines feature a Kevlar-reinforced carbon fibre fuel tank cleverly positioned under the seat in a way that both helps provide a narrow profile overall and enables its underside to form the upper part of the airbox.

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