The Norton F1 was a Wankel rotary powered road bike built by Norton Motorcycles between 1989 and 1991. It had an engine capacity of 588cc, race spec suspension, an aluminium alloy frame, a hydraulically operated clutch, 5 speed transmission and front/rear disc brakes.
The bike was a revelation when it was released and the original race version won its first ever outing at Brands Hatch, the road going version was put on sale a year later for £12,000 (a stupendous amount of money at the time) and saw limited sales success, it also had issues with excessive emissions and overheating but none of this ever concerned me. I wanted one then and I still want one now.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The Ford P68, otherwise known as the F3L for “Ford 3 Litre”, is a sports prototype racing car that should probably be just as famous as the Ford GT40 that preceded it. It was essentially a closed-wheel, two-seat Formula 1 car powered by the then-new and unproven Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 Formula 1 engine. The project to…
The Honda Monkey Z50R was released in 1979 as the new and improved Honda Monkey bike – so named because people looked like monkeys when riding them, with their knees up, arms out, and shoulders raised. The Honda Monkey Z-Series The truth of the matter is that the Honda Monkey came about almost by accident,…
This Land Rover Defender 1:10 scale remote control model from Tamiya sits on a full four-wheel drive chassis with lockable differentials, oil-filled coil over dampers on all four corners, a live rear axle, and independent front suspension. The Land Rover Defender is a 4×4 that needs no introduction, it’s a descendant of the original Series…
This film was originally an episode of a popular British TV show called “Millionaire”. Each episode followed a millionaire of the time offering a window into their life, and perhaps a glimpse into what made them a millionaire in the first place. For anyone interested in cars, Formula 1, or motorsport in general the 35…
This is doubtless one of the most important Husqvarna’s of the 20th century, it was ridden by World Champion Bengt Åberg in 1968 in Santa Cruz as part of the 1968 Inter-Am series where it was seen by accomplished motorcycle racer (and actor) Steve McQueen. McQueen was so impressed with the new Swedish two-stroke that…
The 1965 running of the 24 Hours Of Le Mans saw a battle of the ages running between Ford and Ferrari, but further down the field there were equally hard fought dogfights between teams running far less powerful cars. The specially prepared Triumph Spitfires with their aerodynamic bodywork and comprehensively modified engines were set to…
