1990 Norton 588cc F1

Footnotes

'As an engine it's amazing: like a turbine or an electric motor. It just turns and you feel the beautiful simplicity of it. Though the throttle is a little heavy, it has the revability of a two-stroke but the fat, flat power curve of a big four-stroke... The real goodies are a chassis which feels milled from solid, and delightful steering which is at once strong but remarkably light.' - Bike magazine on the Norton F1, August 1990.

Norton's last valiant attempt to build a roadster around its fabulous rotary engine was easily the best looking. Race-styled and painted in the John Player Specials livery of the works bikes ridden by Steve Spray and Trevor Nation, the F1 made do with 94bhp as opposed to the racer's 150-plus, a figure which put its performance (top speed was around 145mph) on a par with that of contemporary sports 600s from Japan. In the quality of its equipment though, the F1 was streets ahead of the opposition: Spondon alloy beam frame, White Power 'upside down' forks, White Power rear shock and Brembo brakes all-round with floating discs at the front, gripped by four-pot callipers. Even today there are few road bikes better specified. The downside, however, was the F1's cost: a colossal £12,700 (a Honda VFR750 cost £5,799 at the time) but then quality never did come cheaply. Perhaps not surprisingly, few F1s were made before the factory hit yet another financial crisis and production ceased. Today, this last 'proper' Norton has become one of the most sought-after British motorcycles of recent times.

First registered in November 1992, this example was purchased the same year by the vendor. Sparingly used since, this F1 only shows 519 miles from new and is described in "as new" condition. The machine is offered with a V5 registration document.

Please note that this vehicle has less than 6,000 kilometres recorded on the odometer, is considered to be a New Means of Transport under EU law and will incur a VAT liability if sold to an EU country other than Italy. The current Italian VAT rate of 22% will be applied on the hammer price and added to the invoice total.