The original “Norton Shrike” road bike was designed and built in 1983 as a safer alternative to the conventional motorcycle. It’s creator, Dave Norton, has over two decades of automotive racing and engineering experience. Utilizing paper and wooden models for the years leading up to his finalized design, Norton has documented the story of his creation allowing others to even purchase the plans for his design.

While not entirely indestructible when it comes to road debris and the occasional deer, the Shrike’s bodywork was remodeled using Dibond aluminum composite panels in 2005.

Norton explained that the Dibond panels, now nine years and 90,000 miles old, were chosen for their ease of fabrication and installation, superior stiffness and cost. Originally constructed with white Dibond ACM, the Shrike was easy to paint with no sanding or fillers needed and has not experienced delamination or cracking in the nine years since creation.

After some structural damage, the Shrike now sits in Norton’s garage awaiting a new front suspension system and improved driver ergonomics. We applaud Mr. Norton on this unique application and wish him safe travels on the road ahead.