After Market Exhaust and Seat

If there is a list for testing, sign me up for that V4

Hello Dbono , Which dealer was it ? You're Bay Area is that South Bay Norton ?

Hello Richard-7 , Glad to see you're still checking in. I will be doing a review on the R&G Products Side Stand Shoe and Viking Hard Bags once I get the brackets and hardware worked out. I want it to turn out really nice and hopefully encourage more traveling on the 961 by myself and others . All hardware will be off the shelf purchase so anyone can do it . That's my hope anyway.

TonyA said:

Hello Dbono , Which dealer was it ? You're Bay Area is that South Bay Norton ?

Hello Richard-7 , Glad to see you're still checking in. I will be doing a review on the R&G Products Side Stand Shoe and Viking Hard Bags once I get the brackets and hardware worked out. I want it to turn out really nice and hopefully encourage more traveling on the 961 by myself and others . All hardware will be off the shelf purchase so anyone can do it . That's my hope anyway.

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No, South Bay Norton is in Southern California. The Northern California dealer in San Francisco is Munroe Motors.

Hello Dbono , I just had another look at the Southbay website . For some reason I had it in my mind that they were in San Jose , but sure enough they are near Los Angeles,. Thanks for the info.

DBono. Having one of the first delivery in the US, I too went through dealer/factory issues. Took 2 years to sort out. I had a gut feeling there would be problems but pulled the trigger anyway. In the end, Norton delivered. The dealership, eh...they treat me ok, but I think they are done with Norton. They will order on demand, but will not stock them. Its a pity. The factory got their act together. Small company (comparatively) starting up in the demanding US is not an easy task, but its pretty smooth sailing with service now.

At the beginning, it was all good as the dealer sent their chief mechanic to Norton 961 training and he had an interest in the bikes. Shortly after I took delivery, this guy quit the dealer and nobody really stepped up. The dealer does a fair (at best) job with the bikes they understand (Triumphs and Ducatis), but almost immediately they began feuding with the Norton factory over warranty work that wasn't getting paid on a timely basis, due to the factory claiming the dealer was overcharging and doing unnecessary work. I believe the dealer caused the failure of my ECU and they were clearly unable to diagnose the problem, despite my suggestions that I had a fuel pump problem. To be fair, the fuel pump did not outright fail, but was operating at something like 70-80% of spec, so the problem was sporadic, making troubleshooting troublesome. One of the issues is that, when hot, it would go into "limp home" mode seemingly.

At one point with my Daytona 675, after the full dealer service with valve adjustment and need to remove the fuel tank, the fuel line came off at the tank while riding, drenching the bike with gasoline. It was a miracle the bike did not go up in flames with me on it. Either they did not properly secure the fuel line or broke the connector in the process. So, I do believe the dealer was largely to blame in my case. Thanks to this site, I was regularly sharing diagnostic info with their service department, who otherwise was content calling the factory every now and then, and missing them due to time zone differences, so nothing was getting done.

In the end, it was kind of funny that after my bike was at the dealer for almost a year with these issues and virtually no communication from them over this period (unless I pestered them), and after I reached agreement with the factory to buy it back (with no help from the dealer), I returned to the dealer with my Daytona 675, when the service manager said he was just about to call me to share the good news that the 961 was ready to be picked up and all problems were fixed! I never did determine whether that was true. I keep expecting to see my bike being listed for sale by the dealer, as rep for the factory, but not happened yet. Frankly, if offered for sale at an attractive price, I would be tempted to buy it back, particularly since I still have the nice exhausts systems!

Given my experience, my recommendation for those considering buying a 961 would be to only do so if able and willing to regularly wrench on the bike or if located near the factory or a quality dealer, and so long as it is not your only bike. In my case, the Daytona 675 is my main ride and is bullet-proof reliable. I was hoping for the same with the 961 and was disappointed. When running well, it was my favorite ride, right up there with my 916, but ultimately not worth the trouble for me. Might have been different if I had more time and not still working for a living.

Hello Dbono , It is a shame really that they didn't fix that for you . A fuel pump and ECU are relatively quick and easy fixes. It is very disappointing to have a great Norton supporter like yourself subjected to this when it could have been easily avoided.

DBono said:

Given my experience, my recommendation for those considering buying a 961 would be to only do so if able and willing to regularly wrench on the bike or if located near the factory or a quality dealer, and so long as it is not your only bike.

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DBono,

Well said.
I agree wholeheartedly, and wish that your experience with the 961 had been much better.

Good, well written story. Thanks for sharing. Sorry it didn't work out for you. I must say, the Norton community, at least on this forum are gentlemen.

Tony, I always check in, but I've been super busy so I don't have anything to contribute. Plus there is snow on the ground here so my bike is sleeping. I am very much looking forward to the day I can wake it up tho... :mrgreen: Fingers crossed NORTON UK provides me a v4 for the 2017 season to make manuals on before the bikes are released to the public. ............... one can dream right???

richard-7 said:

Good, well written story. Thanks for sharing. Sorry it didn't work out for you. I must say, the Norton community, at least on this forum are gentlemen.

Tony, I always check in, but I've been super busy so I don't have anything to contribute. Plus there is snow on the ground here so my bike is sleeping. I am very much looking forward to the day I can wake it up tho... :mrgreen: Fingers crossed NORTON UK provides me a v4 for the 2017 season to make manuals on before the bikes are released to the public. ............... one can dream right???

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Tell them I will buy the manuals!

Wow. The first couple of lines of your story is my story. Swap the ECU with the tranny. My tranny blew 200 miles after the 600 mile service. Go figure. The dealership claimed Norton wasn't paying them and were taking months upon months to investigate or answer claims. I was totally sick over it and had Lemon Law papers in hand. But, like I said, a revamping of the dealership AND of the factory was a combination made in heaven. I can deal with the little stuff, but having major components blow on me was a nightmare. All is well in the universe and couldn't sell this bike more. Its really great.

Wow. The first couple of lines of your story is my story. Swap the ECU with the tranny. My tranny blew 200 miles after the 600 mile service. Go figure. The dealership claimed Norton wasn't paying them and were taking months upon months to investigate or answer claims. I was totally sick over it and had Lemon Law papers in hand. But, like I said, a revamping of the dealership AND of the factory was a combination made in heaven. I can deal with the little stuff, but having major components blow on me was a nightmare. All is well in the universe and couldn't sell this bike more. Its really great.

Having a dealer that is experienced with exotic brands, and the types of issues they normally encounter helps a great deal.
The dealer also has to be up front with customers when selling a new Norton.
He knows the customer's experience will most likely not be anything like buying a Honda, Yamaha, or Suzuki.
He should be honest with the buyer.
It may lose him a sale, but it could help prevent the type of frustration, alienation, and anger on the part of some disillusioned owners who experienced serious issues with their bikes.

Also, this forum has been a tremendous resource to owners of Nortons, old and new.
I would say there are many owners of older Nortons who would never be able to operate, or maintain their bikes without the information and assistance from others on this the forum.
I'm one myself.

My story is also similar. If it wasn't for this site I don't think anything would have gotten done on my bike. It sat at the dealer for about ten months, Norton acted as if they had closed their doors all the while my warranty wa being eaten up. Because of the forum and the people I was contacted by Norton. Now I don't believe either the dealer or Norton on many details. Norton had acted as if they would buy my bike back but said they needed me to tell the dealer that and have them relay it to Norton for a paper trail I assume. They both dropped me in the grease and I'm left with a bike with no more warranty. As far as I'm concerned the only good thing about these bikes/company is the the idea of them(if that makes sense) and this website and people. Norton the compamy needs to continue to get better for quite a while before I give them any credit. My love affair has been rekindled with the bike itself somewhat because of you guys. Now as long as the tank doesn't fold up again and it doesn't blow up I'll enjoy it another season and probably sell it due to life changes. I still have little distrust in the bike but the trust part may change. Don't mean to hijack the thread I just thought I'd give this community some credit where it's deserved.

Hello Foster961 , Who is or was your dealer ? I don't remember your original story though. I remember seeing you on the forum before . If you are in Texas there is a new dealer down there called AF1 I think in Austin. Of course if within 600 miles come to Chicago.

contours said:

TonyA said:

YES , all single seats are the same.

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Once again, thank you, Tony.

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The jury is still out on this idea. I tried to install the Corbin seat yesterday. First of all, it's a really tight fit. That's not the issue, though. For some reason once it is in place the screw holes are about 1/8th inches off from where the bolts pass through the frame. I can only imagine the tail section is different. :? Not sure what I'm going to do at this point, but if anyone is interested in a very comfy upgrade to their Cafe Racer seat please contact me.

Peter

The mount system should be as flexible enough to adjust the 1/8 " offset. Try to move the plates with the thread on the seat side...

Raphi said:

The mount system should be as flexible enough to adjust the 1/8 " offset. Try to move the plates with the thread on the seat side...

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They are fixed holes on the Corbin.

I still have brand new short open Motad exhaust with stainless headers and decatted X-pipe from my first gen 961 Cafe Racer.

I also have second generation South Bay mufflers in very good condition.

Please PM me if any interest.

Thanks

Sold the short open Motad system. Thought I still had the South Bay mufflers, but can't find them? If anybody is interested in those, I'll expand the search.

Thanks