Crighton CR700W Reboots the 220hp Rotary for the Track

Long-time Asphalt & Rubber readers might recognize the motorcycle above. It started life as the Norton NRV588, and then later became the Crighton Racing CR700P.

What is old is new again, it would seem, as the Crighton CR700W is getting significant press this week. And although the bike is a massaging of a machine that has been in the two-wheeled nexus for over a decade, Crighton’s work is certainly lurid.

This is because the Crighton CR700W is the only rotary engine powered motorcycles available on the market, and the headline features are certainly worth talking about.

Try this on: the 690cc twin-rotor engine produces 220hp and 105 lbs•ft torque, while being wrapped up in a package that weighs only 285 lbs dry (129.5 kg).

For fun trivia, the engine weighs a mere 53 lbs, and when you add the gearbox to it, that figure bumps to only 95 lbs. That’s Moto3 weights with SBK power figures.

Everything on the Crighton CR700W is bespoke and unique. The engine is made in-house, and according to Crighton, the company’s rotor design has the highest volume-to-surface ratio of any rotary engine ever made.

Nova Transmissions is responsible for the six-speed gearbox, which has a removable cassette style design, and of course there is a slipper clutch involved.

The Spondon-styled aluminum chassis is a carryover from the project’s Norton days (Norton and Spondon sharing a common ownership for a time), with the headstock angle and swingarm pivot points being adjustable.

Go-fast parts include carbon fiber Dymag wheels, Öhlins suspension (Bitubo forks available as well), and Brembo brakes.

The bike’s overall appearance hasn’t changed much in the past decade, but that’s fine by us – it still looks as fast as its spec sheet.

If you want a Crighton CR700W in your garage though, you will need to find £85,000 in your pocket. (around $115,00 at the time of this writing).

That’s not a lot of coin when you consider the performance figures and the novelty of a having one of only a handful of rotary-powered motorcycles ever produced.