Norton jumped aboard the vertical-twin bandwagon in 1948 when it introduced the Model 7. Designed by the legendary Bert Hopwood, the new 500cc engine went into the existing ES2 plunger-frame/tele-fork cycle parts, a marriage that necessitated a redesign of Norton's well-proven four-speed gearbox. Norton's 500cc twin found a new home in the racing singles' 'Featherbed' duplex frame in November 1951. Initially for export only, the newcomer - titled 'Dominator 88' - was the first production Norton roadster to feature the lightweight, race-proven chassis. Updated year by year, by the decade's end the Dominator had received an alloy cylinder head, full-width hubs, welded rear subframe, alternator electrics, coil ignition and - for 1960 - the narrower 'slimline' Featherbed frame among countless other improvements. The model was last produced in 1963. Finished in red, this Dominator 88 was despatched from the factory on 14th May 1957 to West London dealer, Claude Rye and sold to its first owner in Essex. The machine subsequently came to Yorkshire where it remained in the ownership of the same family from 1963 until earlier this year. Its previous owner inherited the Norton from his cousin and restored it to its present condition between 2004 and 2007. Now refinished in the marque's traditional silver/black livery, the machine is said to start easily, idle steadily and pull really well. A substantial file of history in included in the sale, containing three old-style continuation logbooks, sundry invoices, restoration progress photographs, Norton OC dating certificate, two expired MoTs, Swansea V5 registration document and MoT to April 2010.