Featherbed frame

1950s-era Manx Norton styled replica built for the 1990s named Manxman, using a replica Featherbed frame constructed to special order by BSA[1]

The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to the British Norton motorcycle company to improve the performance of their racing motorcycles in 1950. It was considered revolutionary at the time,[2][3][full citation needed] and the best handling frame that a racer could have.[4][2][5][full citation needed] Later adopted for Norton production motorcycles,[6] it was also widely used by builders of custom hybrids such as the Triton,[7] becoming legendary and remaining influential to this day.[8][9][3]

The Featherbed inspired other frame builders who based their own products on similar principles, including the 1960s heavyweight Münch Mammut,[10] a lightweight version for a 250 cc BSA C15 engine,[11] and the 1970-conceived Dresda frame.[12][13]

The Featherbed was replaced by the Norton Isolastic frame in 1967 for the then newly-developed Norton Commando which used a rubber-mounted engine and gearbox,[14][full citation needed] although Norton continued to offer the Mercury with a Featherbed frame until production ceased by 1970. Replicas of the frame continue to be produced by specialist companies.[15][16][17][full citation needed]

"Triton." A Triumph 650 cc pre-unit engine and gearbox in a wideline Norton Featherbed frame
  1. ^ New Manx Nortons from Port Talbot. Classic Racer, Summer 1989, pp.61-63 Accessed 10 January 2018
  2. ^ a b "As opposition companies strove to develop completely new machines with multi-cylinder engines, far more powerful than the Norton single, Bracebridge Street was content to find new speed in 1950 with a revolutionary new frame which steered and handled so superbly that it immediately earned the now forever-famous tag Featherbed". Sixty Years of Speed, 1967 a Motorcycle News publication, pp.41-42 Accessed 26 January 2018
  3. ^ a b Motorcycle handling and chassis design: the art and science by Tony Foale. 2006
  4. ^ "Introduced in 1950, the featherbed Norton frame, designed by Rex McCandless, of Belfast, became, and still is, the standard by which handling and steering of all racing machines is judged". Sixty Years of Speed, 1967 a Motorcycle News publication, p.41 Accessed 26 January 2018
  5. ^ The Café Racer Phenomenon by A Walker. 2009
  6. ^ Motorcycle Mechanics, August 1966, pp.36-37 Featherbed stripdown. "Developed from the one-time, world-beating Manx Norton, the Dominator 'featherbed' frame is still regarded as the ultimate in steering, handling and roadholding." Accessed 8 February 2018
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference MC Sport 1978 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Motor Cycle, 23 April 1964, pp.494-497 Norton Featherbed Twins by John Ebrell. "The famous featherbed frame, beloved of specials builders. Its absolute rigidity makes a big contribution to the legendary Norton roadholding". Accessed and added 4 February 2018
  9. ^ Do not mourn the Featherbed! Motorcycle Sport, August 1978, p.218 "The Featherbed Nortons were some of the all time greats, but to ascribe to the shape of the frame some magic properties is to detract from the design of the whole bicycle, its weight distribution and geometry and to give to the frame's progenitors some of the credit due to the likes of Ken Sprayson, who knows a thing or three about its development." Accessed 10 January 2018
  10. ^ Motor Cycle, 3 February 1966, pp.142-143 On the Four Winds by 'Nitor'. "Engine is from the NSU Prinz car and may be specified in 43 or 52 bhp trim. In my picture you can see how well it fits into a featherbed-style frame". Accessed and added 2014-09-28. Re-accessed and quotation added 8 September 2018
  11. ^ Motor Cycle, 24 November 1963, pp.696-699 All the rage by John Ebrell. " ...Ilford's CeeR-Speedshop. For £29 they'll supply the C15 rider with a featherbed-type duplex frame". Accessed and added 2014-09-28
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mechanics 1970 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bike Dec 84 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Norton By Mick Woollett. 2004.
  15. ^ Classic Bike, October 1989, p.80 Barber Engineering advert (Norfolk, England). Replica frame builder. G50/7R, Featherbed and Seeley Mk3. Other frames to pattern." Accessed 10 January 2018
  16. ^ Andover Norton Frames and Auxiliaries made to factory drawings Archived 16 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2014-09-28
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference classicbikeguide was invoked but never defined (see the help page).