cNw and 961

Hi Matt, Good to hear you show some interest in the newer Nortons. I called you, back when I first bought mine, to see if you would offer an exhaust system. I also contacted Corbin about an after market seat. Reading this forum, you'll constantly hear from owners looking for mirrors, handlebars, rearsets, luggage etc.. With your expertise with maintaining classic lines and looks, and increasing performance and dependability, I think entering this part of the market would be a benefit for you and those of us who own these machines. You realize ,of course, there aren't very many of these bikes around. Most of the owners advertise the fact that they own several other bikes in addition to their newer Norton so I'm sure they're aware of after market accessories that we'd love to see come available for the 961's. As for me, I'd currently be interested in being able to carry rain gear without wearing a backpack, ride all day and not need a butt transplant, and park next to the Harleys at work and not have them make jokes about the oil puddle under my bike. I'm in love with the handling and performance ( though more power would be nice). The curvy hilly roads close to my home are like my own chance to play. It is a fun bike. Additional engine performance is always welcome and some folks will always buy spiffy looking gee gaws whether they increase handling, performance, comfort or rid-ability in any way. From what I've gathered from the forum there are all kinds of motorcyclists who own these; people who want to ride distance, people who want to road race, sporting riders, guys who want to park the bike in their living room and never let the tires touch the pavement, guys that could machine their own engine cases, guys that shouldn't pump their own gas, etc.. I hope you get involved.
 
BPHORSEGUY said:
My bike runs better then any carb bike I've owned. But Fred I's right that it does not run as well as the best EFI bike I've ever owned. Mv Agusta and several other of the exotic verity have the same issue.
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Some do, and some don't. It is my first fuel injected bike i ever put some miles on and probably the worst running bike i ever owned. It is ok, but nowhere as smooth as most of my carbie bikes. Idle is fluctuating, it is running rough at times (not all the time) I must make some remarks about that:

I live in a very flat country, so no carb issues with rich running at height.
We have reasonably good quality of gas.
my 961 has the early ecu. Norton changed to a different type somewhere along the line. Might be an issue with that.


As with most high tech stuff... it is really nice as long as it's trouble free!
As with most low tech stuff... it is really nice! Even when it's having problems, because it's an excuse to enter the manacle, upgrade, reinvent, be the child everyone wants to be.


Might be just me. After a day of working on a computer, i like to get my hands dirty :)
 
Getting away from carb & EFI issues and back the the original point, perhaps one of the best after-market parts would be a redesigned side stand that holds the bike at a safe angle without the worry that it might roll off, and also has a kick down bar that is easy to reach, with boots, without knocking the bike back into gear.
I also agree with the point about the headlamp shell. I had occasion to remove the headlight recently and the poorly designed retaining screw mount broke. A dollop of arodite fixed it.......for now at least.
 
The short side stand does exist. I have been told by owners in Canada that there is actually a Norton part number for the stand. However, acquiring one, or even getting Norton to confirm that the part exists is as difficult as confirming the existence of Bigfoot. Another source for the part would likely solve the problem. I’m sure Matt would be interested to know that every 961 owner that I know, has looked at the precarious, nearly vertical perch of their 961 while resting on its stock side stand, and wondered, where in the hell can I get a shorter side stand for this thing.
 
My dad made a RH kick stand so now he has one on both sides. He was sick of pulling to the side of the road and dealing with some of these larger cambers and the bike having to be held up with fear of transport truck wind blowing it over. He even order a second safety switch.. :mrgreen:

Other benefits of this second stand are great for washing the bike, working on the bike, if you have two blocks of wood and on both stands its easier to lube your chain, remove a wheel, etc...

RH SIDE VIEW
cNw and 961
Bill from Bolton Ontario by ONE-07, on Flickr
 
Richard,

Is the shorter stand designed for the left side or the right side of the bike?
I never noticed that there was a sidestand mount on the rightside of the frame.
 
richard-7 said:
ONE07 tools will have a bunch of items for you. Tools and accessories.

But of things ONE07 won't be making, carry bar end mirrors, gel grips, tank protectors, custom indicator lights, all specific to the 961. I've been hunting for Gel grips.
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I'm not sure if using this thread to promote your own 'offerings' is ignorant or just disrepectful.?
 
Snorton74 said:
richard-7 said:
ONE07 tools will have a bunch of items for you. Tools and accessories.

But of things ONE07 won't be making, carry bar end mirrors, gel grips, tank protectors, custom indicator lights, all specific to the 961. I've been hunting for Gel grips.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure if using this thread to promote your own 'offerings' is ignorant or just disrepectful.?
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Snorton;
You're probably correct but a PM to me from you making me aware of this would have been less ignorant or just less disrespectful.


BritTwit;
My dad made it on his own, and I think CNW could offer something like this or at least the shorter or a totally different side stand. Very high on the list of something most people would want.
 
Snorton74 said:
richard-7 said:
ONE07 tools will have a bunch of items for you. Tools and accessories.

But of things ONE07 won't be making, carry bar end mirrors, gel grips, tank protectors, custom indicator lights, all specific to the 961. I've been hunting for Gel grips.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure if using this thread to promote your own 'offerings' is ignorant or just disrepectful.?
Click to expand...

And, not to "White Knight" Richard 7, but he has been a big help with tools and manuals to combat the lack of support the US market has seen from Norton, and the dealer network. I know Richard has also worked with Norton UK to help solve quality problems.

So most of the 961 owners on this forum respect Richard's opinion. Snorton 74, not trying to be an a** here, just trying to say that I for one, and probably more on this forum, respect Richard's offerings. Much like most people on this forum respect CNW for their work on vintage Commandos (and Matt, and other suppliers, on a regular basis discusses their offerings without negative comment)

And, I think Matt should consider making a shorter kick stand. I am always worrying about my 961 falling over after I have dismounted. On flat and level ground it close to vertical with the stand down. If there is any slope, you have to make sure that the bike is set to the downhill side of the slope or it will fall over. One 961 poster just discussed replacing a clutch lever because of this problem, and, I hate to admit it, but I have replaced a clutch lever also.
 
G81 Can Cycle said:
So most of the 961 owners on this forum respect Richard's opinion. Snorton 74, not trying to be an a** here, just trying to say that I for one, and probably more on this forum, respect Richard's offerings. Much like most people on this forum respect CNW for their work on vintage Commandos (and Matt, and other suppliers, on a regular basis discusses their offerings without negative comment)
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I agree.
Richard has been, and continues to be a great resource to 961 owners on this forum.
 
Thanks guys!!

I could provide Matt a cad model and proper drawings of the stand to make. Of course if he wants this.
 
Hi. I've swapped out a lot of stock parts (mirrors, grips, levers, indicators, exhaust, bolts, coil, plugs, chain) but would love to see a Dunstall style fairing (half and full), luggage rack, spark plug wires, and other black-out components.

Cheers,

Daniel
 
Hey snorton 74, it's kinda hard to sit on my thumbs and let you insult someone who has been so helpful and is so far from self-serving. Richard has shared information, experience and offered advice for free to all of us so that we don't have to go through the pitfalls of learning everything by trial and error. The manuals that he's made up are for everyone's benefit and you don't have to pay for the knowledge if you don't want to. The tools that he's made are reasonably priced. For you to insinuate that he's trying to get "fat" off of the other 961 owners is truly disrespectful. Lighten up my friend and lets tear up the roads, not each other.
 
I just checked in on the thread and it looks like it got stirred up a bit.

Before we get away from the subject to far I want to let everyone know that Richard and I have had some brief discussions about his products and manuals to see if it will make sense to add these items on the cNw site

I have seen his manuals and they are very nice. I have yet to see any tools but have been told by those that have that they are in fact top quality products

So we are still talking about it and we'll see what happens in the next couple of months

Thanks

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

www.coloradonortonworks.com
 
If someone doesn't come up with a way to carry luggage and a tool kit on the 961 solo seat model, I'll be forced to design and build my own bracketry over the winter, and I've got too many bikes in pieces to want to take it on. I'll be someone's customer for sure! And for what it's worth, I think Richard 7 is a real asset to this site - to describe Snorton 74, based on his comment, you'd have to remove the letters 'et' from that word!
 
Precisionbob said:
If someone doesn't come up with a way to carry luggage and a tool kit on the 961 solo seat model, I'll be forced to design and build my own bracketry over the winter, and I've got too many bikes in pieces to want to take it on. I'll be someone's customer for sure! And for what it's worth, I think Richard 7 is a real asset to this site - to describe Snorton 74, based on his comment, you'd have to remove the letters 'et' from that word!
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I have one concepted up for rear side bags and it's really cool but you won't see it for a while. With soo much in the works I need a staff of 10 to get out the items I want to get out. -- And thank you for the kind comments. Hopefully Matt can put something together for the 961 too. At least a tool roll bag for the forks or in front of the rear wheel.
 
BritTwit said:
G81 Can Cycle said:
So most of the 961 owners on this forum respect Richard's opinion. Snorton 74, not trying to be an a** here, just trying to say that I for one, and probably more on this forum, respect Richard's offerings. Much like most people on this forum respect CNW for their work on vintage Commandos (and Matt, and other suppliers, on a regular basis discusses their offerings without negative comment)
Click to expand...

I agree!

Richard has been, and continues to be, a great resource to 961 owners on this forum.
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I too have benefitted greatly from Richard's "Service Bulletins" and I think he is a great asset to the forum.

There are trolls like Snorton74 on every forum . . . but as a friend on mine says: "Some people are not worth ignoring" :D
 
Let's try to keep this thread on track. It seems like a really valuable topic to me. Would hate to lock it down. Matt and Richard thanks for the support. Its members like you who make a difference. We have to keep trying to make things better. Try to see through the haze.

Cheers

Jerry
 
One more thing:

Oil dipstick! Don't know if Norton updated it already, but i would love one that is removable by hand (original one is just to tight with hot engine. My dealer even made a tool to unscrew it)

And it is too short below low level mark.

Nice would be if the distance from bottom of dipstick to low level mark would be a round amount of fluid, to make it easy to estimate the amount of oil needed to fill up to proper level instead of trying 3 times.
 
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