Norton Wankel, the air-cooled

Modern people have been thinking about a software system with that name for a generation+. But before that, way before that, Norton was a renowned motorcycle brand, 'the unaproachable' on tracks. The unapproachable. Later it became a somewhat convulsive brand that made rather unreliable 500 cc command blocks based on the ancient 850 cc principles. Part of the unreliability was also due to an old and tired machine park and staff who saw periods of work as annoying interruptions to the strike.

The Wankel Engine

Once, people knew for sure that the Wankel engine would be the future. Because few parts, few moving parts and quite powerful. Well… there were also some drawbacks. The unreliability, the oil seals, the fuel consumption. Details. The Norton Classic is a rotary-engined motorcycle built by Norton in 1987 as a special edition… The Classic was discontinued after a limited run of just 100 motorcycles and was succeeded by the liquid-cooled Norton Commander. The police motorcycle that was fully supported by government money. And also flopped. There is another one at GeKra in Dieren. It's not for sale. And at least a Norton fanatic is desperate about that. He has been denied entry.

The curtain fell for Norton

But where Jesus did it with just a resurrection, Norton got into it. Government agencies, venture capitalists, daydreamers, idealists, money launderers and pure crooks stood on the brink of a wormhole through which money disappeared into other dimensions. You could write a book about it.

The air-cooled Wankel

I once saw and heard one run. That was fantastic. The whole thing was, of course, already in the twilight of the British motorcycle industry when the government sent tons of money to save a case that had long since been lost. The basis of the management structures that now in an optimized form paralyze companies and plunge people into misfortune have been developed in England. But the air-cooled Norton Wankel is in my opinion the scary beautiful Wankel motorcycle ever.

There are very few left

The chances of encountering such a thing on the free market are nil. When you think of these types of motorcycles, you think of the big auction houses such as Bonhams. And insiders secretly think of people like Rik Diephuis from Groningen. And he sells 90+% to foreign merchants. The Rensumaheerd 72 is a transit house. Because he also mainly buys abroad. With the pleasant approach that we see with more and more traders: Focusing on a smooth flow of the stock through realistic pricing. Despite our good understanding, he does keep quiet where he does his shopping. Recently we saw some pictures of a trip to France. Where he buys a motorcycle. And also sells again. But how does 'trade' do that? Buy abroad and then sell the trade abroad from the Netherlands because the Dutch classics are so cheap? It must be the famous 'secret of the blacksmith'.

The times they are a'changing

In the meantime it is clear that many classics are currently being 'released' due to the changing of the generations. And that's how it will eventually end with 'the winner takes it all'. So it's just a matter of reaching 120 in all health and scoring all the classics you can get your hands on. In the meantime, keep in mind that owning an air-cooled Norton Wankel is a tricky business. Because the parts supply is submodal. And that is very British an understatement.

Also read:
- Norton Navigator (1960-1965)
- Norton Electra. "Can it be a little less?"
- Wankel engines. A missed opportunity?
- The Hercules W2000, the smallest Wankel
- More stories about classic motorcycles

This is how it once came out of the package