Oliver Curme, a general partner with Battery Ventures, a $1.6 billion Boston-based venture capital firm, has added some high-tech torque to his personal investment portfolio by seeding what he likes to call “a 106-year-old start-up,” Norton Motorsports. Of the many fabled brands in British motorcycle racing, Norton is among the most revered: In the late 1960s and early ‘70s, the Norton Commando was one of the fastest bikes on the road. The company, however, couldn’t keep pace; it ceased production in 1977, eclipsed by Japanese superbike manufacturers like Honda and Suzuki.
Although he’s an avid rider, Curme never thought he would fund a motorcycle company -- much less Norton -- until he came across a 1998 feature story on Kenny Dreer, an entrepreneurial motorcycle engineer, in Cycle World magazine. Initially, Curme just wanted to buy a bike from Dreer, who was modernizing elegant vintage Nortons in his horse barn near Gladstone, Oregon. But once he saw the quality of Dreer’s work, Curme began to consider putting some of his own financial muscle behind Dreer’s fledgling company, then known as Vintage Rebuilds. “I owned a Norton when I was young, and I loved it,” Curme says. “I thought Norton would be a great brand to bring back.”
Now, six years, $6.8 million in venture funding (Battery did not participate), and one tough but successful trademark battle later, Norton Motorsports is set to roll out a redesigned Commando in June. It’s tough to win market share in the heavyweight class; both Indian Motorcycle and Excelsior-Henderson went bankrupt after failed comebacks. But Curme is confident that Norton’s relaunch will instead resemble the successful revivals of beloved brands like Ducati and Triumph. “We run this company lean and mean,” he says. “We don’t plan to waste $100 million.”
