Would a Chinese Norton be that bad ?

The Next Norton will have to start a new tradition - oil tight tradition.
The leaking thing is getting old, and we already have HD's for that anyway.

No HD's were harmed in this joke.
 
If my 75 Mk3 is typical, the old Norton Co. had finally figured out how to make them leak free in 1975.
It can sit for months without leaving a drip under or it can run 400 miles on a hot day and stay clean. It's my only old bike that is as dry as the modern Triumphs it sits with.

I thought the newer Harleys, as in after about 1990, were generally oil tight?
I've never owned one but they do seem reasonably well built, a good machine for reliable touring.


Glen
 
worntorn said:
If my 75 Mk3 is typical, the old Norton Co. had finally figured out how to make them leak free in 1975.
It can sit for months without leaving a drip under or it can run 400 miles on a hot day and stay clean. It's my only old bike that is as dry as the modern Triumphs it sits with.
I thought the newer Harleys, as in after about 1990, were generally oil tight?
I've never owned one but they do seem reasonably well built, a good machine for reliable touring.
Glen[/QUOTE


To BriTwit and worton, in some American states they will fine you if your vehicle leaves a drop of oil on the pavement/road. So firms like HD have had to clean up their act- no pun intended- in recent years.
Click to expand...
 
If Triumph bought the Norton brand, finally we don't have to build the Tritons ourselves.
 
worntorn said:
I thought the newer Harleys, as in after about 1990, were generally oil tight?
I've never owned one but they do seem reasonably well built, a good machine for reliable touring.


Glen
Click to expand...
Generally considered oil tight & got their engine act together starting with the Evo (Shovel was prior) earlier 80s.

Newer variants weren't always better, in terms of new issues & reliability to be sorted out.
 
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84ok said:
Generally considered oil tight & got their engine act together starting with the Evo (Shovel was prior) earlier 80s.

Newer variants weren't always better, in terms of new issues & reliability to be sorted out.
Click to expand...

My 50 yr old HD drops way less oil than my 50yr old Norton.... Just sayin.
 
Mine doesn't really do what I would term as leak.... more like seeping, and it appears as if by magic in the vicinity of those bloody pushrod tunnels... forever. Just enough to make you PO'd after about 60 or so miles by slinging a couple of spots on the left boot.
 
BritTwit said:
The Next Norton will have to start a new tradition - oil tight tradition.
The leaking thing is getting old, and we already have HD's for that anyway.

No HD's were harmed in this joke.
Click to expand...
Contrary to GC claim of my cases weeping, I'm pretty sure it was just the starter. That said, it was burning oil. I'm glad they split them. They honed the cylinders, new rings, upgraded the valve covers. Since then, my engine oil level remains constant for thousands of miles and a slight loss of tranny oil every 1500 or so.
 
Britfan60 said:
Contrary to GC claim of my cases weeping, I'm pretty sure it was just the starter. That said, it was burning oil. I'm glad they split them. They honed the cylinders, new rings, upgraded the valve covers. Since then, my engine oil level remains constant for thousands of miles and a slight loss of tranny oil every 1500 or so.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my engine is oil tight too, and with the oil-in-airbox fix my catch bottle is dry.
It's all good.:)
 
italia said:
Triumph invest in UK R&D as volume production moves to Thailand
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/triumph-production-thailand/

For the first time in the history of Triumph Motorcycles, all volume production models will be built outside of the UK, as the firm confirms its intent to move the last two UK produced models to its Thailand factories...
Click to expand...

"Significant redundancies" they say. It makes my blood boil. If Triumph are proud of these machines why don't they put a sticker on the frame saying "Made in Thailand"?
 
I'm Canadian, almost all motorcycles are foreign built to me. The only one that is built in Canada has a low reliability rating on par with BMW and Ducati, so I have no interest.
I just try to choose one that'll work for a long time, don't care a whit about Country of assembly.
I've got two John Deeres here that were built in Germany. They are said to be the best series JDs ever built and hold value very well.
But some insist that all JDs should be US built.
Funny thing is that now word is out about these Mannheim JDs, they bring the highest dollar in the used mkt, much higher than similar US built JDs.
So maybe the market is like me, it doesn't care about country of origin.

I guess it's Patriotism and we Canucks don't seem to have much of it.
We do make some of the best damn Maple Syrup in the world, although I much prefer the US "Aunt Jemima" stuff with all its chemies.:)

If a buyer is set on having only a British built Triumph, that is still an option. In the Thruxton 1200, the TFC model will continue to be built in Hinckley along with some other limited editions and high end bikes.
 
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worntorn said:
I'm Canadian, almost all motorcycles are foreign built to me. The only one that is built in Canada has a low reliability rating on par with BMW and Ducati, so I have no interest.
I just try to choose one that'll work for a long time, don't care a whit about Country of assembly.
I've got two John Deeres here that were built in Germany. They are said to be the best series JDs ever built and hold value very well.
But some insist that all JDs should be US built.
Funny thing is that now word is out about these Mannheim JDs, they bring the highest dollar in the used mkt, much higher than similar US built JDs.
So maybe the market is like me, it doesn't care about country of origin.

I guess it's Patriotism and we Canucks don't seem to have much of it.
We do make some of the best damn Maple Syrup in the world, although I much prefer the US "Aunt Jemima" stuff with all its chemies.:)

If a buyer is set on having only a British built Triumph, that is still an option. In the Thruxton 1200, the TFC model will continue to be built in Hinckley along with some other limited editions and high end bikes.
Click to expand...

It's not all about patriotism. It's about machines being true to their heritage - something Triumph are always shouting about.

My next bike might well be a Moto Guzzi - and I damn well want it to be an Italian one! I wouldn't buy a Thruxton 1200 TFC just out of pure patriotism - quite simply because it's not the bike for me.
As for the market not caring about country of origin, reading this forum I think there are plenty on here that do. I'm sure they also care about "significant redundancies" being made amongst employees who have helped put Triumph where it is today.
The article says there are also quite possibly many riding what they think are Hinckley bikes without realising they are actually made in Thailand. That's understandable because of the way Triumph relentlessly milk the patriotic angle.

The topic is "would a Chinese Norton be that bad?" Well if all you are interested in is quality and reliability and nothing else then yes although it might be bad at the moment, China is making great strides in that direction and who knows one day a Chinese Norton might be a top notch motorcycle. But as long as they continue their record on human rights, or should I say the lack of them, and as long as it's quite legal to kick a dog, or any animal to death in the street if it takes your fancy (no laws whatsoever against animal cruelty) then I would never even consider one. Indications are that things are getting worse. The disgusting Yulin dog festival (no, it's not a rival to Crufts) began as recent as 2009.
 
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