ANOTHER SLATING ON YOU TUBE....

These blokes are really taking the piss... trouble is everyone seems to agree with them... even other you tubers are adding to the negative comments. I tried stickin up for the 961 in the comments but fightin a losing battle i feel.

961al said:

These blokes are really taking the piss... trouble is everyone seems to agree with them... even other you tubers are adding to the negative comments. I tried stickin up for the 961 in the comments but fightin a losing battle i feel.

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Yes they are ! And with this review Norton will have trouble selling another bike. Ouch !

Just watched it
Why the endless comparison to the thruxton?
Yes I know they are similar bikes but they are clearly not seasoned riders with the comments about the side stand position and switch gear etc etc

baz said:

Just watched it
Why the endless comparison to the thruxton?
Yes I know they are similar bikes but they are clearly not seasoned riders with the comments about the side stand position and switch gear etc etc

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He's a Triumph fan boy regardless of what he says....along with a half decent following.
Had Norton allowed me to road test a bike, instead of wasting 3hrs of my time and security turning me away under the instruction of Kate Brown, an instruction he was given weeks before my booked test ride date, I would have very most probably given a positive review of the bike in its own right. I couldn't have given a negative review as at the time I was under the deluded impression that there maybe a hope of building some sort of working relationship there. But hey ho...now it's just left me very bitter, angry and Motorvated (see what I did there?) to succeed

They understated the ac Triumph 865 output at 60 bhp. The correct number is 68 bhp.
So when comparing those two bikes the difference is only about 10 bhp. I believe the weights are similar. I recall tests from 2015 or earlier where the 961 was noticeably quicker on roll on than the 865. So that part of their review seemed wonky.

I'm not sure though how anyone could give an honest positive review given the vibration problem experienced along with speedo not working and check engine light on for this particular bike.

I wonder why the vibration is still a problem. The 961 uses a balancer shaft and that seems to cancel vibrations on other engines. For example, the Indian built BSA Goldstar 650 single would be a most horrid shaker if built like vintage singles, that is without a balancer shaft. With the balancer almost all reviewers of the 650 BSA say that it's a smooth runner right up over the ton.
Something has to still be amiss with that 961 balancer shaft, or they were overstating the vibration levels.

Glen

‘It feels like a 40 year old bike’ he says suprised and disappointed! - ‘It’s nowhere near as refined as the Thruxton‘ says he! At least some of it‘s good for a laugh - ‘it’s a bit vibey, maybe it doesn’t have enough oil’! ‘At no point do I think I’m gonna pull a wheelie‘ he says winding on the throttle!!

The usual situation - the Vlogger‘s account is compromised before he turns the key. These guys with large followings really do have a responsibility (IMO) to do just a little research/analysis before riding a bike for the first time. Know what you’re about to ride, in this case before leaping into a direct comparison with a completely different bike. The technology of the Norton is effectively from another period (for want of a better descriptor) - by design; for a reason!

He clearly knows little about the 961 (or Norton) - including its period configuration, aesthetic and intent. Nothing new here though and partly understandable. His function Is to compare machines, mostly by way of performance. How does he do that with an air cooled, push rod, 2 valve, parallel twin?

Produced by a guy that’s had his license for about ten years, has likely never ridden any period machinery and has a hard-on for modern water cooled bikes, particularly Triumph. Entirely the wrong guy to be testing the Norton maybe. Testament when they just start taking the piss!

The clocks failing is a real shame and doubtless influenced the commentary. Shouldn’t happen, but does I suppose - bought in from a French company I think, or used to be. Quality control issue both ends I guess?

I started to watch another video of his ,but as soon as I realised he owned a Hinckley triumph with 'Merlin' painted on the side
Because he loves the rolls Royce Merlin engine!!!
I had to turn it off

TonyA said:

Yes they are ! And with this review Norton will have trouble selling another bike. Ouch !

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I get your point Tony, but these two guys are pretty poor at what they do, certainly here! Some of the content is just laughable.

A prospective buyer gearing up to spend that much money is going to have a reasonable appreciation of the 961’s strengths and weaknesses. Not sure they would be swayed on the strength of one VLOG produced by a couple of amateurs that clearly didn’t know what they were riding.

Calling a spade a F***ing shovel, maybe they're right (being wankers nonetheless)

Six years ago I was looking a a "new" bike and it had come down to a new 961 or a restored '70's Commando. Price really wasn't an issue - it came down to what was "best".
The things that turned me off the 961 were:
* Sounded like a bucket of bolts at idle.
* Reported (here) poor factory support for "issues"
* Evidence of cheapest electrical/instrumentation components.
* Didn't like the non-brit sound of the 270 crank (very subjective I know - but it's my money)

As far I can see not much has changed in six years - other than the demise of public enemy Garner

But then again I am a curmudgeonly dinosaur - so what would I know?

I would make the same decision today.
Cheers

robs ss said:

Calling a spade a F***ing shovel, maybe they're right (being wankers nonetheless)

Six years ago I was looking a a "new" bike and it had come down to a new 961 or a restored '70's Commando. Price really wasn't an issue - it came down to what was "best".
The things that turned me off the 961 were:
* Sounded like a bucket of bolts at idle.
* Reported (here) poor factory support for "issues"
* Evidence of cheapest electrical/instrumentation components.
* Didn't like the non-brit sound of the 270 crank (very subjective I know - but it's my money)

As far I can see not much has changed in six years - other than the demise of public enemy Garner

But then again I am a curmudgeonly dinosaur - so what would I know?

I would make the same decision today.
Cheers

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looking at your stable of bikes Rob, you are obviously a fan of 'older' Nortons..... i'm guessing that all of your bikes are worth more than , say, a 10 year old Bonneville..? I would think that if these you tubers rode ANY of them, they would comment that the Bonneville was a much better bike, because its 'smoother, more reliable, faster, and most of all, cheaper'...? And no matter how much you argued your point, they would just not 'see it'

Stephen_Spencer said:

I get your point Tony, but these two guys are pretty poor at what they do, certainly here! Some of the content is just laughable.

A prospective buyer gearing up to spend that much money is going to have a reasonable appreciation of the 961’s strengths and weaknesses. Not sure they would be swayed on the strength of one VLOG produced by a couple of amateurs that clearly didn’t know what they were riding.

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Hello Stephen , I am afraid that I was just "piling on" and I agree with you. All I could think of when I listened to it was "Let me drive that Norton and we will see then if it's just half throttle to keep up" .

Stu Bodycote said:

He's a Triumph fan boy regardless of what he says....along with a half decent following.
Had Norton allowed me to road test a bike, instead of wasting 3hrs of my time and security turning me away under the instruction of Kate Brown, an instruction he was given weeks before my booked test ride date, I would have very most probably given a positive review of the bike in its own right. I couldn't have given a negative review as at the time I was under the deluded impression that there maybe a hope of building some sort of working relationship there. But hey ho...now it's just left me very bitter, angry and Motorvated (see what I did there?) to succeed

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Hello Stu , I was also dismayed when Norton turned you away from the test ride.

I watched about half of that video , and I thought it was shit , mainly because of the video switching so smoothly between bikes , just seemed to ramble on back and forth , and was hard to tell which bike they were on and talking about .I love the look of the 961 , when I first saw one it was like Wow ,old and new tec so cool , beautiful ,it almost had a halo around it, I nearly bought one , but was put off on hearing about problems etc .

Vibrations, a lot of it appears to emanate from the centre exhaust hanger.
I've always said the best way approach a 961 is to view it as a resto-mod bike ie old school bike with some new tech, brakes and suspension chucked at it. And it then makes more sense. Its not comparable to other similar styled brands out there, and should be judged on its own merits. For me when I ride one I can pretend I'm a 60s rocker and go looking for scooter riders to bully

I'm going to throw a cat amongst the pigeons though....as I'm fitting a TVS motor into a Dominator SS Just pulling his old unit out now. I'll still be stripping the TVS unit down before fitting, as it means I can still have a poke about, and it also means I can replace all the gaskets with Thiel.

The video was not good. However, thinking you need a 70 year old to compare two modern bikes is also not good. IMHO, the ages and experience of those guys is about right for two modern bikes - no, I'm not saying that those particular guys are good. I watch a lot of YouTube and certainly won't subscribe to their channel.

Stu Bodycote said:

Vibrations, a lot of it appears to emanate from the centre exhaust hanger.
I've always said the best way approach a 961 is to view it as a resto-mod bike ie old school bike with some new tech, brakes and suspension chucked at it. And it then makes more sense. Its not comparable to other similar styled brands out there, and should be judged on its own merits. For me when I ride one I can pretend I'm a 60s rocker and go looking for scooter riders to bully

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I think this video is emblematic of the lot.
The reviewers stumble philosophically when they attempt to reconcile the performance/experience with the price of the 961.
Many of them get the idea of the classic Britbike experience. The feel of the engine's power band, vibes, sound. However, they simply see the motorcycle from a purely modern transactional perspective, a 70+HP bike with no electronic aids, or such sophistication is not worth £16K, end of argument.

We probably shouldn't pay much attention to these "expert" tests. They will continue until Dr. Bob introduces his new twins later this year. If they these twins done right, attention to the 961 will fade away into the sunset.

Stu Bodycote said:

For me when I ride one I can pretend I'm a 60s rocker and go looking for scooter riders to bully

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Some of us are still livin the dream Stu...lol

BritTwit said:

I think this video is emblematic of the lot.


We probably shouldn't pay much attention to these "expert" tests.

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The problem is people DO pay attention... and the gossip spreads.

I recall this reviewer telling his audience that he would disclose the " major warranty issues" with his 1 year old Thruxton R.
I was guessing that it must be burning oil or have worn bearings or broken frame welds, something like that.
Not a bit, he had salt pitting on the bare aluminium cases after a winter of riding on salt covered roads without daily cleaning.
The manual tells you to avoid salt, or if you must, clean the bike thoroughly after each ride, as is standard procedure for all bare aluminium on any bike.
He obviously wasnt aware of that and blamed Triumph for the salt damage.

He wined sufficiently that Triumph installed a new black painted timing cover free of charge.
Then he got into some financial difficulty and sold the bike on.
I'm not sure what he rides nowadays. I lost all respect when he was knocking Triumph over the salt damage that he caused.

Glen