norton started making military motorcycles again in 1936 after a tender process in 1935 where a modified norton 16h beat contenders. from 900 in 1936 to 2000 in 1937, norton was ahead of the competition as war loomed, and there was good reason in terms of spares and maintenance for the military to keep to the same model. between 1937 and 1945 nearly a quarter (over 100,000) of all british military motorcycles were nortons, basically the wd 16h (solo) and wd big four outfit with driven sidecar wheel.