Allen Norton is a defunct British company that supplied replicas of 350 and 500 cc

Norton Manx The Norton Manx or Manx Norton is a British racing motorcycle that was made from 1947 to 1962 by Norton Motors Ltd. Norton had contested every Isle of Man TT race from the inaugural 1907 event through into the 1970s, a feat unrivalled by any ...

road racing motorcycles. The company was run by Bernie Allen in

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...

, near Marlborough, Wiltshire. The company started to build replicas of the famous Norton Manx racers in 1990, based on the final 1961 Manx. Allen had been given the rights in 1989 after the death of

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

tuner Ray Petty and had received special permission to use the name "Norton" in England. Except for the

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

s, all the components used were of new manufacture. The engines were supplied by Summerfield Engineering of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, the frames came from Goodman Engineering and were made from Reynolds 531 tubing. The machines were fitted with a 5-speed

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

and a

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practit ...

primary drive. (The originals used a 4-speed gearbox and chain primary drive.) Although the original Manx machines were pure racers, Allen fitted a speedometer, horn and brake light so the machines could be ridden on the road. The machines were renowned for their quality. Former Norton race engineer and designer

Doug Hele Douglas Lionel Hele (13 July 19193 November 2001) was a pioneering British motorcycle engineer with Triumph and other firms: BSA, Douglas and Norton. He was born in Birmingham in 1919 and died in Hagley, Worcestershire on 2 November 2001. C ...

commented on the Allen machines "They are better than when we made them". Production numbers were low. Allen delivered the first machine in 1992, but was only able to build one every two weeks. He was 61 years old at the time. In 1994, the manufacturing rights passed to

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

engineer, Andy Molnar.

References

External links

Summerfield Engineering
{{British motorcycle manufacturers Norton motorcycles Companies based in Wiltshire Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England 1990 establishments in England 1994 disestablishments in England