Compare motorcycles brands

Explore their origins, identifying marks and logo archives side by side.

Origins and Logo Archive

What we compareChater-LeaNorton Motorcycles
Country in archiveUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom
Founded18901898
FounderWilliam Chater LeaJames Lansdowne Norton
HeadquartersLetchworth, Hertfordshire, UKSolihull, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Name originThe firm carries the name of its founder, William Chater Lea. The hyphenated form Chater-Lea was adopted by the company in the 1920s for aesthetic reasons, according to Wikipedia.The company carries the surname of its founder, James Lansdowne Norton, who set up the business in Birmingham in 1898. The name is a plain founder surname with no other documented meaning.
Highlights—Model 16H, Dominator, Manx, Commando
Earliest archived brand logo20171902
Latest archived logo20192020
Archived logo assets29

Logo dates are archive labels; symbols dated before a brand's founding are excluded from its earliest-logo date. Asset counts include all archived variants, not just redesigns. A dash means a value is unavailable.

Sources & editorial review

More Brand Comparisons

Explore brand and vehicle rankings →