Usually when I see a Harley motor stuffed into a Norton frame, the resulting creation is called a Narley or Norley. The builder of this went…a different way.
We’ve shared all kinds of hybrids with fun names here on Bike-urious beyond the usual “Triton” – Norvin (Norton frame, Vincent motor), Esquire (Norton frame, Ariel Square Four motor), a Narley (Norton/Harley) and even a Burton (Norton/Buell). This time around, Mid-Missouri Motorcycle Custom’s Norm Wilding (who’s also built a ZRX with a Hayabusa engine in it) put together a 1961 Norton Atlas (Slimline Featherbed) frame with a 2001 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL1200 engine to create a “Hardon.” I’ll give you a minute to finish giggling.
Per the seller, “I grew up in the 60’s just outside London England, and as a teenager, I used to put the Triumph Bonneville motor into the Norton Featherbed frame’s to build what was then known as the “Triton”. The ultimate cafe racer of the time. As I am now a dual citizen of both the UK and USA, I decided to build something similar, combining two manufacturers of my favorite countries. I started with a super clean 1961 Norton Featherbed slimline frame, which as it stood, was not tall enough to hold the Sportster engine that I intended to install. So I split the frame horizontally from front to back, turned up some custom pieces, which I installed and fully tig welded to make the complete frame 2 inches taller. Custom engine mounts were fabricated and installed, and The engine now fitted. I then Custom Fabricated a new Swingarm to incorporate a wider rear tire than the stock Norton swingarm, fully tig welded, and installed in the frame. For the wheels, I used two “Front” wheel, new Billet Harley Sportster hubs, and had Buchanan’s lace up and true two new 18 ” Excel Aluminum stepped rims, with polished stainless steel spokes. Tires are new Michelin Road Classic, 100/90/18 front, and 130/80/18 rear. Forks are shortened 2011 Harley Sportster. Brakes are new floating rotors with Brembo calipers. Twin Gauges are also from a late Sportster. The motor contains all Buell internals, and is fitted with twin Mikuni carburetors The strait through Hi-Level exhaust I fabricated from 1 3/4″ stainless steel tubing and then polished. Battery is a new Heavy Duty Antigravity Lithium AT12-BS-HD in a custom mount. I custom built the oil tank, which is installed under the seat. Foot controls I completely custom fabricated in 6061 aluminum. Five gallon Tank and seat are new fiberglass units from Europe. Tank and seat are gloss black, and the frame is silver, all sprayed with PPG materials. Seat Hight is 31″, so not for the “short arse’d rider. I’m 5’9” and it fits me comfortably.”
Find this “Hardon” for sale in Columbia, Missouri for $18,000 here on Facebook Marketplace.