Roadholder Forks

Roadholder forks were made in the Bracebridge St factory up to about 1963 then production transfered to AMC at Woolwich till about 1976.

Haven't checked, but I assume "Roadholder" was a registered trademark owned by Norton -- which raises the question "who owns it now?"

Previously julian_wells wrote:

Haven't checked, but I assume "Roadholder" was a registered trademark owned by Norton -- which raises the question "who owns it now?"

As far as I know Stuart Garner owns "Roadholder" and "featherbed". I'm sure he mentioned this on the factory visit I attended a couple of years ago. He implied that he may use them on the forks and frames his Norton company makes at some point in the future.

Big Alan Clarke, Shenstone Branch Sec.

The attachment shows a Norton Factory Brochure dated as from 1939. Presumably this Roadholder was a title they had already registered.

I'd be surprised if the name 'Featherbed' was registered at the time. It was a nick-name more than anything.

The 'Roadholder' trademark wasn't used on the Commando (Shame !) so may well have lapsed unless anyone thought to register it again (which probably means Les as he's shown himself to be keen on that sort of thing !)

I do recall documentation from the 1960s which allowed the NOC to use the Norton logo and the Roadholder name on club literature and promotional material.

I'd imagine that they would have at any rate been able to establish a claim, even if not formally registered. In 1939, of course, "Roadholder" presumably implied the bikes as a whole, not the tele-forks we know (and mostly love).

Previously Phil Hannam wrote:

The attachment shows a Norton Factory Brochure dated as from 1939. Presumably this Roadholder was a title they had already registered.

As per Julian Wells says above, Norton Claimed themselves to be: "The World's Best Roadholder" so the forks that were used on the bikes were thus named Roadholder: They were made at both factories but there are subtle casting differences in the shape of the flare (bulge) at the top which carries the oil seal.....Les

Of possible interest........in some of the first Commando Sales Brochures they promote one of the selling points as the 'Glideride' frame. By 1969 this had become the 'Glideride' suspension. Obviously hoping that this term would catch on as much as the 'Featherbed' name had.

I always assumed that the Roadholder Trademark labels were not fixed onto Commando forks due to the gaitors or profile forks preventing easy attachment. But Richard may have a point about the trademark lapsing as most of the pre-1967 brochures make a big point about the fitting of the 'famous' Roadholder Forks. But not afterwards.

You do not find too many brochures promoting the Commando as fitted with Roadholder forks. They generally just mention 'Roadholding'. The exception being some of the blurb promoting the Commando 750'S' type.

Allegedly Norton didn't even have their own name registered. So if someone owns 'Roadholder'now then they probablyregistered it regardless.

I like the story years ago when Ford brought out the Sierra. There at the Motor Show was the Dutton (kit car) stand showing the Dutton Sierra next door to Ford's offering.

Ford are alleged to have been very cross about it - but could do nothing as even though Dutton had not registered the name, they were there first. So they carried on regardless. (Customers were not likely to be confused anyway.)

In principle one does not need to have registered a trademark in order to defend it; see

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/unregistered-trade-marks