Norton Manxman

The Norton Manxman was a 650 cc vertical twin motorcycle that Norton built at its Bracebridge Street factory in Birmingham for export, mainly to the United States. Its engine was an enlargement of the 600 cc Model 99 Dominator unit, with new crankshaft, barrels, pistons and a downdraft head with twin Amal carburettors that gave a claimed 52 bhp. It was shown at the November 1960 Earls Court show and listed by the American importer Berliner from 1961 to October 1962, and Berliner asked for the name Manxman even though the twin had never raced on the Isle of Man. A total of 630 machines were made in the first half of 1961, in three batches, of which 99 went to Australia and 25 to Sweden. It used the slimline Featherbed frame, was styled for America with high bars and polychromatic blue paint, and a European version went on sale in April 1962 as the 650SS.