Who owns the Norton name?

I happened upon this . As a former Norton owner, it caught my eye.
http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/

I have a sweet spot for anything Norton.

Looks like it could an awesome bike.

Would anybody have any comments on this bike or background on it ? I realize
attempts have been made to capitalize on the Norton name more than once over
the last bunch of years.

Who actually *OWNS* the Norton name these days?

Last I heard it was the daughter of a Canadian real estate developer <caugh
caugh Scalbania caugh caugh>

Thanks for any info.

D.
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
This week:
"I was provided with addtional input that was radically different from the
truth. I assisted in furthering that version."
-Colonel Oliver North, from his Iran-Contra testimony


-

 

Hi Pete, I talked to the "Norton" rep this year at the Cleveland show,&
he indicated that "they" [the company now building them] now own the
name rights.
He had on display a new "952",& yes it is a very sharp m/c. Like you
I've always liked Nortons, had one years ago.
BTW, he had a drawing going on giving away the display bike,this coming
June? I think.
Yeah! fat chance------I don't have that kind of luck.
New price was close to $20.000--ouch!
If I sell my BMW,---maybe,but I doubt it.
Ron
kaw/nomad
bmw/rs

 

Ed

 

Pow! Zoom!

To the moon!!!

 

Kenny Dreer acquired the exclusive use of the name sometime last
year. His bikes are currently about 80% new parts (manufactured by him
not NOS) and he intends to make it 100%. A friend of mine has one and
they're pretty nice They're reliable, don't leak and are beautifully
made. It's the bike Norton should have built.

All one has to do is justify spending $30K for a new 40 year old bike.
They're toys for nostalgic, rich customers who already have everything
else.

Bill Smith

 

Thanks Ron, And Bill Smith.

Yea...a little more $ than I have in my toy fund too. But it's nice to
dream.

I have a clip in my Norton folder, it's called "Norton VR880
Special.mov", I can't recall where this came from, and don't know exactly
what it is. You guys have probably seen it.

A cool thing about this clip is the sound portion. Nothing sounds quite like
a Norton. The throaty bit and the way they rap off between gears. I hear
that whenever I see a Norton.

I quess I'm pegging myself as a nostalgic old fart

I remember when the Japanese (twin) bikes started becoming popular. To me
they sounded weird, I think it was because they had 180 deg crank throws, to
me they sounded like a 4 cyl running on 2 cyl. I didn't like it. The Brits
were 180. Appealed more to my sense of symmetry.

The 450 Hondas, which where very popular then, in particular. Couldn't
handle the sound. Alot of my friends had 'em. Yuk.

Anyways, Cheers guys.

D.

 

Oops. The Brit bikes had 360 deg cranks, Pls make corrections for below.

D.

 

Hello, Pete!

Kenny Dreer.

-Eric

 

Enjoy is this link works!
http://twilight.dattaway.org/abpms/abpms26/videos/Norton VR880 Special.mov

D.

 

That VR880, might be referring to the rotary engined race bike of about
12 or-so years ago.
Although I thought "it" was called,the 888,[tuggin on my memory now]
IT won {I I believe} the Bold O'r 24 as well as LeMans & maybe even the
world championship in 1992.
They made a few police bikes called Commando's from a de-tuned version
of it, [ actually saw one at Mid-Ohio one year] but it never made it to
the street in any real numbers as far as I know. Heard there were a few
sold in Canada.
Shame,neat motorcycle!!!
Ron
kaw/nomad
bmw/rs

 

Actually the police-spec bike was called the Interpol over here in the UK
and the road version was the Commander with the F1 being the "sporty"
version. See here:

http://www.monito.com/wankel/norton.html

SteveM

 

I found this site on a search, here are some pics of it.
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze24hsy/
Thanks for the replys. I know now... Kenny Dreer!

There is another site I found on this bike...
http://www.pbtfus.org/news/bikeraffle.htm .Good stuff.

I didn't know there was a Norton America. This stuff can be hard to keep
abreast of if you don't follow it regularily.

D.

 

So then the 880 is not a [rotary] but instead a [piston] engined bike.

I wish that they {Norton} could have taken the rotary development
further. I like Nortons,& I'm a believer in the rotary engine.

Had a couple of rotary Mazda's,& that little engine is just amazing.
It's the only Japanese car/engine to win LeMans.
Ron