

The Norton Atlas tends to get overshadowed by the Commando, which superseded it in 1968.

Which is somewhat unfortunate: the Atlas had sweet handling, courtesy of a featherbed frame and Roadholder forks, and its 750 cc parallel twin had ample grunt. (It was far more than “a 500 carrying oversize pots and carburetors”, as some claimed.) The Atlas in the picture, however, has been modified a little—as you may have guessed.

It’s a bobber created by Matt from Machine, a small custom workshop in the old Australian gold rush town of Braidwood. Matt’s onto a good thing, with a small but perfectly formed portfolio of tasteful customs, including a 1948 Panhead and a 1926 Norton Model 18 race bike.