American Norton not happening

A firm calling itself the Norton Motor Company has given up its attempts to resurrect the famous Norton brand in the US.

Facing legal problems, the firm has been persuaded to change its name by out of court settlement, including an undisclosed amount of cash and an end to the legal action. The legal action had been brought by a number of parties, including creditors from previous attempts to reintroduce the name, and some trying to acquire the trademark rights.

The company had existed since August 2002, as a subsidiary of Freedom Motorcycles In, and planned to release the first production model, the Norton Freedom Cruiser, in 2002.

” The status of our rights to the Norton brand had become too risky and uncertain. The brand is important, but our company, our product and our team are much more valuable, ” said CEO John Fiebelkorn.

The new name is the Viper Motorcycle Company, and aims to begin production of the Viper Diablo Power Cruiser in May 2003. The company claims the engine of the Diablo is the largest production V-Twin available. The cruiser also gets a dual exhaust, digital speedo, and a ‘monster’ rear tyre.

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