The feather frame, developed by Norton Motorcycles, was a revolutionary motorcycle frame design that used hydraulic dampers to smooth out the ride. It outperformed competitors in a road race and is still reproduced today.
The feather frame is a motorcycle frame design that was a precursor to most modern motorcycle frames. The boom frame was initially designed for racing use. It features two loops of steel tubes that surround the engine and a swinging arm that uses hydraulic dampers to smooth out the ride.
The British Norton Motorcycles Ltd. was responsible for the development of the feathered frame. Other companies, such as Triumph motorcycles and Birmingham Small Arms (BSA), also installed their engines in the feather bed frame. Norton Motorcycles, however, eventually patented the design and became the sole owner of the original feather frame design.
Before the release of the feather frame, most motorcycle designs used the rigid frame as the platform for their motorcycles. Paired with a spring seat, the rigid frame was very strong and was also difficult to ride at race speeds. The design of the tires from the early to mid-1940s, coupled with the rigid frame, created motorcycles that would literally bounce off the track after hitting a significant bump. The newly designed feather frame was named after a runner who described the ride as if he were floating on a feather bed.
The prototype frame design used shock absorbers from an automobile to soften the harsh features of the motorcycle. Finally, purpose-built shock absorbers would replace the car units in the feather bed frame. The new frame design first debuted in a road race where it convincingly outperformed all the competitors. Riders described the bike as very easy to maneuver in traffic and it felt very solid and stable under them during the race. The new frame worked so well that many companies chose to put their engines in the Norton frame to give themselves a competitive edge on the motorcycle racing circuit.
The frame is offered in two different sizes for the 350cc and 500cc Norton motorcycle engines. Tube size is smaller on the 350cc frame equipped with the smaller engine. Since tube size is extremely important in the handling traits of the bike, it was very dangerous to fit the larger 500cc engine into the featherlighter 350cc frame. Hybrid motorcycles using other brands and engine manufacturers were careful to closely match their engine size to the Norton frame size. The success of the frame design was such that it is still reproduced by various companies around the world today.
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