The motorcycle that impressed us most at the NEC Motorcycle Show was the new Norton Cafe Racer.

From a purely girlie perspective the yellow colour is fantastic and out of the colours likely to be available – black, silver, red and yellow – it is definitely the one I would choose, simply stunning.

You can see my little video, shot at the motorcycle show below, that hopefully will give you some idea how gorgeous these machines are.

I am sure there were plenty of naysayers expecting this attempt to get this great marque in production again to crash and burn like all before it.

However, Stuart Garner is proving them all wrong, I’m glad to say, with extremely well thought out modern improvements whilst maintaining the classic look that we all love, a winning combination for sure.

All of Norton’s current production is spoken for with a full order book and it is not difficult to see why when you get up close and personal with these machines. They speak to your soul like the British machines of the 1950s and 1960s did (and still do)and now, in the 2000s, they bring a sense of our motorcycling heritage into the future for those of us too young to enjoy them when they were fresh and exciting first time round.

We understand that there is to be version suitable for two up riding and I know that the other half can barely contain himself at the thought of what he describes as a “hell of a lot of bike for thirteen grand”. I agree, the thought of owning one of these classic motorcycles and doing some touring on it is certainly something that gladdens my heart.

Whilst Garner admits that this will not be another Triumph Motorcycles in terms of production numbers there is evidence that they are taking their place in the market seriously with branded clothing and accessories as well as the appointment of British Superbikes racer, Chris Walker, as their UK Sales Manager.

I look forward to hearing more about Norton’s success, and having a test ride in the not too distant future, and I expect we may well be dusting off our chequebook soon after.