Norton 16H

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Perhaps the most well known of the British motorcycle manufacturers, Norton was founded in 1901 and a win in the first TT with a V-twin engined machine by Rem Fowler firmly established Norton's sporting prowess.

Lessons learned on the race track were passed down to the road bikes and performance, handling and braking improvements were incorporated into successive models. When James Lansdowne Norton entered a 490cc side valve motorcycle in the 1911 TT races, it was not placed, but by the following year his motorcycle, with a few improvements, had won the Brooklands TT and set three world records.

A drive chain replaced the earlier belt drive and a Sturmey Archer gearbox was included in the specification. By 1921 the machine had developed a racing heritage and in these early years had set 21 world records.

In 1921 the Model 16 was offered in two guises, the 16H for the home market and the 16 Colonial for overseas where it’s extra ground clearance was seen as beneficial on the poorer roads. The Norton 16H was to run in production from 1911 until 1954, Norton being the chief supplier to the army prior to WW2, and during WW2 some 100,000 machines were supplied to the British, Canadian, and Commonwealth forces

In the current ownership for 30 years, MF437 is a 1923 model 16H 490cc machine which has been used sparingly owing to the owner’s poor health and is now offered as part of a deceased estate. It was in good running order when put into storage fairly recently, but some checking over before use is recommended. It is accompanied by a current V5C and some old tax discs.