Norton Dominator Gallery

In 1954 a more effective 8" front brake was fitted and the cast iron cylinder head was superseded by a redesigned light alloy unit. A characteristic feature was the small light underneath the headlamp. Although the handling was not in the Featherbed class, it was of a good touring standard and the clutch action was beautifully light compared to the AMC clutch fitted to other later Dominators.

From 1951, the Model 7 was rather overshadowed by its newer and more glamorous counterpart, the Featherbed framed Model 88, so sales of the former became somewhat fewer. It was quietly dropped from the range in 1956.

The Norton/Burman gearbox was replaced by the AMC box for the 1957 range and there was also a new camshaft. The cylinder head was modified for better heat dissipation, and the pear drop silencers gave way to a tubular design. Coil ignition with an alternator superseded the magneto and dynamo in 1958. There were then only cosmetic changes to the silencers and petrol tank until the Slimline frame came in for 1960.

During its 15 year span, the Model 88 was produced at various times in Standard, Sports Special and De Luxe versions. The Standard version was produced until 1963, but the twin carburettor 88 Sports Special (88SS) brought out in 1961 continued until 1966, with a downdraught head being introduced from 1962. The De Luxe had a rear tinware enclosure and was in production from 1960 to 1962.

The Dominator 77 is one of those motorcycles that seems to have been almost forgotten, probably because it is a comparatively rare bike, and also because they are easily confused with the 500cc model 7.

It is more or less a swinging arm, single downtube ES2 chassis with a 600cc Dominator 99 engine, and it was in production at the same time as the Dommi 99, with its acclaimed Featherbed frame.
The Manx was of course busy making the Featherbed frame into a household name on circuits around Europe at the time, so it is not difficult to see why the Model 77 seems to have been forgotten!

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The paint finish for the Standard version was polychromatic grey with options of blue or Post Office red.

The Wideline Featherbed frame on the first Model 99 was superseded by the Slimline in 1960, coinciding with a twin carburettor 99 Sports Special (99SS) being made available. There were some modifications to the clutch in the same year, the plate order being juggled in order to have the sprocket plate as a solid one.

The De Luxe version was produced to satisfy a largely imaginary demand for semi enclosed machines and was Norton's response to similar efforts from Triumph and Ariel. The front half of the side panels are quickly detachable to permit access to the battery and other parts, with the rear part lifting up to facilitate wheel removal. The seat also hinges up to reveal the tool tray and the oil tank filler. Produced in the heyday of the coffee bar racer, a great many De Luxes were stripped for these purposes, resulting in it being a very rare model these days in its original trim. Colour options for the De Luxe were either red / dove grey or blue / dove grey.

Norton had introduced their first parallel twin during 1949 with the introduction of the Model 7 Dominator 500cc. This was joined in 1952 by a "featherbed" framed version typed the Model 88 which utilised the same 500cc twin. Demands for increased performance saw the introduction of 650cc twins from both Triumph and BSA nesscitating a response from Norton which was announced during 1956. The new machine utilised the 88's cycle parts housing a new engine with dimensions of 62 x 82 mm resulting in a swept volume of 596cc.

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