Featherbed frame

The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to the British Norton motorcycle company to improve the performance of their racing motorcycles in 1950. It was considered revolutionary at the time, and the best handling frame that a racer could have. Later adopted for Norton production motorcycles, it was also widely used by builders of custom hybrids such as the Triton, becoming legendary and remaining influential to this day.

The Featherbed inspired other frame builders who based their own products on similar principles, including the 1960s heavyweight Münch Mammut, a lightweight version for a 250 cc BSA C15 engine, and the 1970-conceived Dresda frame.

The Featherbed was replaced by the Norton Isolastic frame in 1967 for the then newly-developed Norton Commando which used a rubber-mounted engine and gearbox, although Norton continued to offer the Mercury with a Featherbed frame until production ceased by 1970. Replicas of the frame continue to be produced by specialist companies.