Norton reveals names of upcoming models

Manx, Manx R, and Atlas - these will be the names of three models to come from the overhauled Norton brand, with all three set to be fully revealed in less than a fortnight.

We learned these names on Wednesday when Visordown met with Norton officials to try to prise some additional information about the iconic brand’s plans for EICMA. They were pretty tight-lipped, offering little more than what they’ve shared with us already: four new models to be revealed on 4 November, at Milan’s Esposizione Internazionale del Ciclo, Motociclo e Accessori - better known as EICMA.

For the most part, we’re stuck waiting until then. However, Norton did share the names of three of those upcoming models. The Manx name will apply to a naked bike, Manx R to a sportbike, and Atlas to an adventure model.

Meanwhile we’d guess that the name of the fourth bike will have something to do with the 1200cc V4 engine that editor Toad Hancocks spotted last week while touring the factory of Norton parent company TVS.

The three revealed names will be familiar to Norton fans. The original Norton Manx was a single-cylinder machine sold from 1947 to 1960, offered in 349cc and 499cc capacities. We don’t know, but it may be that the new Manx will be powered by the “around 700- to 900cc” parallel twin engine that Toad also spotted at the TVS factory.

That said, a third engine that Toad spied was a 450cc parallel twin that we assume will be the heart of BMW’s forthcoming F 450 GS (TVS has a partnership with BMW to build a number of its models), but who knows? Maybe the modern Manx will be a 450 - closer to its predecessor in capacity.

Moving to the second name, we’re going to guess that the Manx R will be a faired version of the Manx, with ergonomics and suspension adjusted to make it more of a speedy, corner-eating machine.

The Atlas name, meanwhile, is one that was originally used for a 745cc parallel twin that Norton produced from 1962 to 1968. More recently, it was the name intended for a scrambler-type bike proposed during the Bad Old Days of Stuart Garner’s leadership of the brand (TVS took over in 2020 and has spent the last five years untangling past messes and setting a clear course for the future).

Now it seems the Atlas name will be applied to an adventure motorcycle - a wise change of segment in our opinion, as the popularity of scramblers has waned somewhat in recent years.

Outside of these names we don’t really know any details about the bikes, beyond Norton’s promise that they will be modern - even futuristic - machines like nothing else Norton has done before.

To that end, the Commando is notably absent from Norton’s first round of bikes. The most recent version of the Commando - the Commando 961 - was dropped early last month. 

Our response at the time was disbelief - How could Norton shelve one of its best known names? To be honest, we’re still pretty sure the name won’t stay gone for good. But as Norton seeks to break from the missteps of past leadership it makes sense that it doesn’t want to be seen as leaning on nostalgia.

As Toad wrote in his recent article on the future of Norton: “Norton is now saying, ‘we’re not just building another retro twin or riding on the Commando name again.’”

And there is precedent here. When Triumph was relaunched in 1990 it did so without the Bonneville. When Indian Motorcycle was reborn under Polaris leadership in 2014, the Scout was not part of its first run of bikes. That tactic seemed to have worked well for one of those brands. For the other - well, we’ll see what happens.

Clearly, though, Norton is keen to be taken seriously. Without rustling feathers, we can think of a few brand names that have been revived with little actual effort from their new owners. Norton doesn’t want to be seen as one of those. We’re cautiously optimistic. It seems to be putting in the work and showing commitment not just to the past but the future.

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