the original company was formed by james lansdowne norton (known as "pa") at 320, bradford street, birmingham, in 1898. in 1902 norton began building motorcycles with french and swiss engines. in 1907 a norton ridden by rem fowler won the twin-cylinder class in the first isle of man tt race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s. the first norton engines were made in 1907, with production models available from 1908. these were the 3.5 hp (490 cc) and the 'big 4' (633cc), beginning a line of side-valve single-cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s.