The Norton Nemesis is one of the mythical concept bikes that promised so much and delivered absolutely nothing. And when we say nothing, we mean NOTHING - they only ever made one, and it resides in the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
It really was a bike that had it all and fired the UK motorcycle media into a frenzy when it was announced. First up, this was a bike announced during the late nineties, a time of Japanese domination of the two-wheeled world, by the legendary marque Norton. It had a bonkers 1,479cc 60-degree V8 engine and a promised 200+ bhp. At a time when the new kid on the block was the Yamaha YZF-R1, boasting a meagre 150bhp, the Nemesis really did make the world sit up and take notice.
Sadly, as many predicted the bike never came to be, and didn’t get any further from being a show-pony prototype - until now, that is!
The bike could be about to make a phoenix-like return to the public eye, as the National Motorcycle Museum (who are the custodians of the bike) and The Motorbike Show is looking to recommission the machine. The legendary mechanic/genius Allen Millyard will be on the spanners while the floppy-hatted hipster that is Henry Cole will be doing the talking and riding. And they aren’t just looking to get the machine working (which in itself is a significant feat), they are actually looking to go for a speed record on the distinctive-looking motorcycle.
The re-build of the bike will now be followed in upcoming episodes of The Motorbike Show, which is shown on Monday nights on ITV4. All the previous episodes can be found on the ITVX streaming app.
