1962 Norton Dominator 650SS

1962 NORTON DOMINATOR 650SS BACKGROUND
The story starts not with a Norton, but with the 1938 Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the world’s first “modern” vertical twin. The rest of the British motorcycle industry went nuts and rushed to field their own 500 twins. But WWII got in the way, putting things off until after the war. But once civilian production resumed British vertical twins started popping up all over. BSA was first in 1946 with their A7 (500). Norton and Matchless both launched their first 500 twins in 1949, Norton calling theirs the Model 7.

FEATHERBED FRAME
In 1950 Norton introduced the game-changing Featherbed Frame for it’s road racing Manx singles, and by 1953 had dropped the Model 7’s 500 twin-cylinder engine into the Featherbed, creating the Dominator 88. In 1956, they punched the 500 out to a 600 and renamed the bike the Dominator 99.

1962 NORTON DOMINATOR 650SS ARRIVES
In late 1960, they punched it out again, this time to 650cc to create the 1961 Dominator 650SS. At this time, they also narrowed the top frame rails near the front of the seat for greater rider comfort, earning them the nickname ‘slimline’ Featherbeds. Twin carbs and a new tank and seat combo were added. The 650SS ran through 1969, overlapping the 1968 introduction of the iconic 750 Commando.