Norton Motorcycle Company

The original company was formed by James Lansdowne Norton (known as "Pa") at 320, Bradford Street, Birmingham, in 1898. In 1902 Norton began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines. In 1907 a Norton with Peugeot engine, ridden by Rem Fowler, won the twin-cylinder class in the first Isle of Man TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s. In April 1907 the Norton Manufacturing Co. moved to a larger factory at Deritend Bridge, Floodgate Street, Birmingham. The first Norton engines were made in 1907, with production models available from 1908. These were the 3.5 hp (490 cc) and the 'Big 4' (633cc), beginning a line of side-valve single-cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s.

The first Norton logo was a fairly simple, Art Nouveau design, with the name spelled in capitals. However, a new logo appeared on the front of the catalogue for 1914, which was a joint effort by James Norton and his daughter Ethel. It became known as the "curly N" logo, with only the initial letter as a capital, and was used by the company thereafter, first appearing on actual motorcycles in 1915.

In 1913 the business declined, and R. T. Shelley & Co., the main creditors, intervened and saved it. Norton Motors Ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint directorship of James Norton and Bob Shelley. Shelley's brother-in-law was tuner Dan O'Donovan, and he managed to set a significant number of records on the Norton by 1914 when the war broke out - and as competition motorcycling was largely suspended during the hostilities, these records still stood when production restarted after the war. 1914 Dan O'Donovan records set in April 1914:

Under 500 cc flying km 81.06 mph, flying mile 78.60 mph - 490 cc Norton

Under 750 cc flying km and flying mile see above

Under 500 cc with sidecar flying km 65.65 mph, flying mile 62.07 mph - 490 cc Norton

Under 750 cc with sidecar flying km and flying mile see above

On 17 July 1914 O'Donovan also took the flying 5 mile record at 75.88 mph, and the standing start 10 mile record at 73.29 mph, again on the 490 cc Norton.

On 17 April 2020 TVS motor company announced the acquisition of the brand in an all-cash deal for a reported £16 million.

In December 2020, new Norton motorcycles rolled off the production line after nearly 12 months of inactivity, with interim CEO John Russell announcing “The first bikes to be built will be 40 Commandos. It's a bike people love.”

In June 2021, TVS announced the appointment of Dr Robert Hentschel as chief executive officer (CEO) of Norton Motorcycles. Dr Robert Hentschel joined Norton from Valmet Automotive Holding GmbH & Co KG, where he served as managing director since 2017. Before that, he headed Ricardo Deutschland and Hentschel System and was also Director of Lotus Engineering.

Since 2024, Norton has been led by Richard Arnold as Executive Director. In 2025, Professor Gerry McGovern OBE, best known for his work as Chief Creative Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, was named Chief Creative Advisor to Norton.