961 (Commando or Dominator) as only bike?

OK

Richard that's you but who else?

Looking at doing same but feels like a small leap of faith (I know no guarantees with any bike, new or old).

Just not riding enough to have 2 or 3 or... and there is a romantic notion of only the Norton.

My only bike on the road since 2014 is my 961. I ride it daily. Same with my dad. Hope this helps.

It helps

But you also strike me as someone who could do an engine rebuild at the side of the road...

...With chewing gum and dental floss! :wink:

Dominator riding position is not really suited to long distances, Commando would make more sense as an all rounder. On a whole the range has got a lot better from a reliability perspective, but there is still work to be done by Norton to achieve what most would consider an acceptable modern standard.

Ok. Fair enough. Then for comfort, The commando. I've had hrs on both.

Been thinking. If someone bought a 961 commando. Did all the upgrades I suggest. I really don't see why it cant be a daily. I know I understand the bike better than a lot of people, but my 2014 has never let me down. Ive never even had that thought that it would. Of course I did the upgrades the day after purchasing before I ever rode it and never looked back. I Do all routine maintenance like head torque and timing chain and lube and oil change myself but if I didn't, I guess I would go to a dealer then. If you think about how many bikes have issues and what the issues are, most are silly fixes and really not that many. Ok - time for someone else now.

,bike stories here of guys like me that actually ride unusual,not everyday,expensive (yes for what they are I guess ),but like the four guy,s I ride mine as much as I can & is my only ride.

Excuse me with me Eyes shut,struggling to look as cool as the bike,the photographer that came down to see the bike traveled to each corner of England & Wales for the feature over the course of a week,the bike has only been maintained by Norton factory,Norton Canada & Norton Chicargo MCC, few serviceable items ,last 2 weeks of my USA/Canada trip I stayed on a friends boat in Seattle,spent a week in Bath New York State & a week in Charlottesville Virginia ,so did those 8,500 over 6 weeks of actual riding.
Only bike & daily ride for sure,been trying to dodge the rain ,but not too worried if I get caught out ,bike is a bit quirky,but wouldn't swap it for anything else of similar cost.

I am a believer that for distance, bike nite and daily driver you need at least 3 bikes and the Norton has to be one of them. I know this won't help you much but that's just me!

All awesome feedback.

It's not the best to do things by analogy but I love experiences, inspiration and advice from others when it comes to the Norton - the only new bike I ever purchased.

Now for some empirical inputs - my bike had issues from the beginning that seemed compounded by a less than ideal dealer/Norton relationship but all fixable and the two companies sorted it out.
Some items were even done right when I did them thanks to great help from you all but especially Richard.

My conclusion...If I only was to keep one bike it would be the Norton. It's 'my' bike.

So the new question (to myself) is do I want one bike. My other being a much less officially supported but brilliant Moto Morini Scrambler.

What a great problem to have

Thanks all.

I have a 2016 SF that I added the following parts to myself.
Polished yolks
Polished risers and bar clamps
Polished dash
Polished foot controls
Polished trans filler plug I modified to work with Richards vent 1300-01
Polished aluminum tank
Polished aluminum monza cap
Motad catless x pipe
Motad Shortie pipes
Richards battery mat 1300-04
Bosch Coil 1302-01
Richards wires 1300-02
Shoria battery and charger

I'm a die hard car guy and track racer (2016 mustang Shelby GT350) and I never had much interest in bikes until last summer. Out of impulse I decided I wanted a bike. I knew of the norton name and once I seen the Commando I had to have one. Six weeks later SBN delivered one to my door. My next bike (soon) will be a naked dominator if I can get my hands on one. If not a thruxton R.
I just wish it didn't take me 45 years to get into bikes after being into cars all my life. My cousin sold his Ducati monster and bought a brand new BMW R nine T. I must say it's a very nice bike as well

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:

Excuse me with me Eyes shut,struggling to look as cool as the bike,the photographer that came down to see the bike traveled to each corner of England & Wales for the feature over the course of a week,the bike has only been maintained by Norton factory,Norton Canada & Norton Chicargo MCC, few serviceable items ,last 2 weeks of my USA/Canada trip I stayed on a friends boat in Seattle,spent a week in Bath New York State & a week in Charlottesville Virginia ,so did those 8,500 over 6 weeks of actual riding.
Only bike & daily ride for sure,been trying to dodge the rain ,but not too worried if I get caught out ,bike is a bit quirky,but wouldn't swap it for anything else of similar cost.

Click to expand...

Hey ya Richard !!! , I wish I could have gone whole way with you and your son. Look forward to seeing you guys again.

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:

Excuse me with me Eyes shut,struggling to look as cool as the bike,the photographer that came down to see the bike traveled to each corner of England & Wales for the feature over the course of a week,the bike has only been maintained by Norton factory,Norton Canada & Norton Chicargo MCC, few serviceable items ,last 2 weeks of my USA/Canada trip I stayed on a friends boat in Seattle,spent a week in Bath New York State & a week in Charlottesville Virginia ,so did those 8,500 over 6 weeks of actual riding.
Only bike & daily ride for sure,been trying to dodge the rain ,but not too worried if I get caught out ,bike is a bit quirky,but wouldn't swap it for anything else of similar cost.

Click to expand...

Well, I gotta say Richard, I think this is a damned poor show from Bike...

They print pages and pages of utter shite and waffle. Your epic ride is a proper story that people would love to read, and all they can be bothered to do is print half a page about it...

W*nkers !

why thank u kindly Fast Eddie, I did speak at length to John Weslake , & he did come back to me a month after stating bike mag may do a feature as I had plenty of stories & photo,s , I sent around 50 pics ,but alas yes down to half a page,mine was the cheapest bike out the 5, the Ducati was £55k & had a £7k exhaust ,could only do 60 miles on a tank & & & at 15,000 miles its an engine out job for routine servicing with new valves,how's that for a daily ride.