Few motorcycles align with the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum’s focus on inventive engineering as neatly as the Norton Commander. Built in small numbers and developed from Norton’s police motorcycles, the Commander brought the compact, smooth-running Wankel rotary to real-world touring. Its liquid-cooled, twin-rotor 588 cc engine used a 9:1 compression ratio and produced 85 horsepower at 9,000 rpm. Period testing estimated a 125 mph top speed. Dry weight was 517 pounds, with a six-gallon tank and observed economy in the 40 to 49 mpg range.
Before it became a luxury tourer, this rotary powerplant served in uniform. Norton first applied the design to its Interpol 2, a police motorcycle adopted by British law enforcement in the early 1980s. Officers appreciated the bike’s steady power delivery, low vibration, and reliability during long patrols. Building on that success, Norton launched a liquid-cooled successor in 1988, the P52 Interpol for police fleets and the closely related P53 Commander for civilian riders seeking long-distance comfort and performance.
Rotary Innovation
The Commander’s development stemmed from Norton’s long pursuit of rotary power. The concept originated with German engineer Felix Wankel in 1929 and was refined by NSU in the 1950s. At BSA and later Norton-Villiers-Triumph, David Garside led a team exploring how the compact, lightweight rotary could serve as a motorcycle engine. Starting from a single-rotor Fichtel and Sachs design, they developed a twin-rotor 588 cc prototype producing around 70 horsepower by 1973.
The rotary’s chief challenge was heat management. Garside’s solution routed intake air through the hollow rotors to absorb heat, then through a cooling plenum chamber before entering the combustion chambers. When BSA merged with Norton-Villiers, the design was carried forward and refined through several prototypes. By the 1980s, Norton had acquired tooling from Hercules, further refining the concept into a reliable air-cooled twin-rotor engine used in the police-spec Interpol 2. Under the leadership of Philippe LeRoux, Norton Motors introduced the liquid-cooled Commander as the pinnacle of that development.
Engineering the Commander
The Commander’s twin-rotor 588 cc engine produced a turbine-smooth flow of power unmatched by piston engines of its time. A five-speed gearbox derived from the Triumph Trident and an enclosed final drive kept operation clean and quiet. The box-section spine frame doubled as an intake plenum and two-quart oil tank.
Intake air was drawn through the rotors for internal cooling, passed through the plenum to shed heat, and then delivered to twin SU constant-vacuum carburetors. The air-fuel mixture carried fine oil mist for the rotor seals, and excess oil condensed in the plenum before being drawn into the left combustion chamber for clean burning. Many owners added a small catch bottle to fine-tune the oil balance.
Suspension came from Kayaba at the front and Koni at the rear. Wheels, brakes, instruments, and controls were sourced from Yamaha’s XJ900, ensuring reliability and easy servicing. Touring comfort was built in with a full fairing that shielded the rider from wind and weather, while luggage compartments were kept no wider than the fairing. Later versions featured removable Krauser panniers.
On the Road
The Commander’s performance impressed testers and owners alike. Superbike Magazine called it “a bit special and rather good in its intended role of sports tourer,” praising its turbine-like acceleration and frictionless smoothness. Reviewers compared its refinement to Honda’s Gold Wing, noting that “numbers can’t convey its smoothness or seemingly frictionless turbine power.”
Riders described the Commander as quiet and composed, with a distinct turbine-like whir rather than the rumble of a conventional motorcycle. Roger Slater, former British Laverda importer and owner of one of the few Commanders in North America, called it “a bomb-proof, long-lasting engine.” He compared its torque to a turboprop aircraft, adding that it could glide through small towns in top gear and accelerate without downshifting.
Handling was neutral and well balanced. With little vibration or engine braking, the ride felt effortless, almost gliding. Many compared it to a “magic carpet,” capable of crossing long distances in comfort and tranquility.
A Short but Brilliant Legacy
At £7,500, the Commander was significantly more expensive than rival touring motorcycles like BMW’s K100LT. Without a large dealer network, service was handled directly by Norton’s Shenstone factory, limiting production to fewer than 300 units. By 1992, Norton was in financial trouble and motorcycle manufacturing ended.
The rotary engine lived on, however, evolving into the Norton F1 racing program that won the 1992 Isle of Man TT under rider Steve Hislop. That victory marked Norton’s first TT win in 30 years and proved the potential of its unconventional engine design.
The 1989 Norton Commander stands today as one of the most technically advanced British motorcycles of its era. It links Norton’s police service bikes to its racing triumphs and represents the company’s final chapter of original engineering innovation.
On Display
See the 1989 Norton Commander at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, where it joins our collection of rotary-powered vehicles. With its smooth, quiet Wankel engine and aerospace-inspired design, this motorcycle embodies the ingenuity and persistence that define both Norton’s history and the museum’s celebration of mechanical creativity.
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