Conked out

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Sep 22, 2018
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ok, waiting to turn right at a junction, then acted like it dropped to one cylinder, had to push it across the road, left it a bit, then started it, all ok again
 
It’s those electrical gremlins!
Mine is currently at Donnington as EML on and Ash has identified issue with Lamda sensors and an additional issue with throttle position sensor - either a broken/cracked wire or the loom needs changing...depends if he can find it and fix it.
Cut out at a junction with a normal restart possibly points to electrics
John
 
With car manufacturers you get recalls, does that happen with big brand motorcycle manufacturers?

I have another 6 months of warranty and hope I can get any "known" issues sorted before then
 
With car manufacturers you get recalls, does that happen with big brand motorcycle manufacturers?

I have another 6 months of warranty and hope I can get any "known" issues sorted before then
As John says.... Yes, for big brand, but don't think Norton is in that league. Like you, I have 6mths warranty left, but I doubt if any of the recent issues that others have experienced would get a recall, they seem pretty random and to be luck of the draw. On the other hand, Norton appear to be pretty good at stepping up and fixing some major things past warranty, such as cracked fork yokes etc.
 
For us guys that only put on 2K max miles per year, a 5 year warranty would be nice, gives a lot of piece of mind
 
Has anyone looked into an extended warranty of some kind for their 961?
 
I think we have solved the mystery of why so many come up for sale between the first and second year!

It's pretty bad when the only person interested enough to lay down some cash for my 961 was my older brother. Now that he's caught up on all the horror stories (lack of dealerships and parts availability mostly) he is just a little disappointed.

I am heading out to Colorado to visit him and my 961 next month. We are planning to do a long ride through the mountains if she behaves ... but she hasn't been very good at cold starts lately.
 
Has anyone looked into an extended warranty of some kind for their 961?
I looked at this when the bike was around a year old,it was around £50 a month,but,& there was lots of buts,there were lots of terms & conditions,servicing done on the button each year or mileage interval,illustration of lots of exclusions it was difficult to see what was covered apart from having breakdown cover, no cover of serviceable parts & not really any “acts of god”, & to top it all the company wanted payments to start 6 months b4 Norton’s one was up!
When BMW launched the new Mini in 2001 they were sold with a 5 year warranty & service package,this kept them in the dealer network & gave the owner peace of mind for the 5 years .
It would be beneficial for all if Norton was to introduce some king of service warranty package , a lot of these 961s for sale with only 1000/1500 miles on at 3 years old have not had more than one main dealer service & the new owner may find out there’s different odd things that need attention & updates to be done , usually after buying it
 
These bikes have got to be one of the easiest bikes ever to work on. They are easy to sort. Unfortunately it means tearing it down, doing a few mods and swapping out some shitty electronics for some good stuff. My prediction is the 961 will come to an end shortly after the 650 launches. And soon after that they will start to become sought after by Shops/people because they will be cheap and easy to sort. They will sort them like we (one07) and a lot of you have then.... used will become valuable again.

You watch. I give it 10yrs- 15yrs and this forum will be thriving in a whole new way. My advice is buy the tools and spares now while you can. Don’t sell your bikes. And if you can, buy any bikes you find that are insanely cheap and hang on to them. Especially if they have USD forks and single seats. (Norton stopped making single seats a few yrs back)

My friend collects 58-59 2 door chev impalas. At one point he was buying mint condition cars with low miles for dirt cheap. At one point he had 16 cars all low mileage top spec cars with all the options. Plus two shipping containers filled with parts. It became on obsession. He stored them and bought as many NOS parts he could find. Dealers wanted nothing to do with 30yr old cars and parts.

Now, that $25 level air emblem in the box sells for $1500usd. And that $12,000 impala is worth $80,000++

He just sold a 58 fuel injected rag top with 12,000 og miles. Super rare car. He got it in 2001 for $60,000. A super bargain to him but top dollar at the time. His wife nearly killed him. He had to sell two of his shittiest cars (they were nice) to make that happen. He just sold that car 18yrs later for $342,000usd last month. Crazy. Even Crazier is he has another one in better condition. He still has 9 more cars and due to prices his collection wont grow but he’ll never be broke or bored.

So don’t sell your bikes. Probably wont be worth $300k in 40yrs but you never know. My 70yr old neighbor has a vincent he owned since he was a kid. Still rides it. It still has 6volt power. He has loads of spares and can somehow still get parts. Zero warranty on that thing.
 
These bikes have got to be one of the easiest bikes ever to work on. They are easy to sort. Unfortunately it means tearing it down, doing a few mods and swapping out some shitty electronics for some good stuff. My prediction is the 961 will come to an end shortly after the 650 launches. And soon after that they will start to become sought after by Shops/people because they will be cheap and easy to sort. They will sort them like we (one07) and a lot of you have then.... used will become valuable again.

You watch. I give it 10yrs- 15yrs and this forum will be thriving in a whole new way. My advice is buy the tools and spares now while you can. Don’t sell your bikes. And if you can, buy any bikes you find that are insanely cheap and hang on to them. Especially if they have USD forks and single seats. (Norton stopped making single seats a few yrs back)

My friend collects 58-59 2 door chev impalas. At one point he was buying mint condition cars with low miles for dirt cheap. At one point he had 16 cars all low mileage top spec cars with all the options. Plus two shipping containers filled with parts. It became on obsession. He stored them and bought as many NOS parts he could find. Dealers wanted nothing to do with 30yr old cars and parts.

Now, that $25 level air emblem in the box sells for $1500usd. And that $12,000 impala is worth $80,000++

He just sold a 58 fuel injected rag top with 12,000 og miles. Super rare car. He got it in 2001 for $60,000. A super bargain to him but top dollar at the time. His wife nearly killed him. He had to sell two of his shittiest cars (they were nice) to make that happen. He just sold that car 18yrs later for $342,000usd last month. Crazy. Even Crazier is he has another one in better condition. He still has 9 more cars and due to prices his collection wont grow but he’ll never be broke or bored.

So don’t sell your bikes. Probably wont be worth $300k in 40yrs but you never know. My 70yr old neighbor has a vincent he owned since he was a kid. Still rides it. It still has 6volt power. He has loads of spares and can somehow still get parts. Zero warranty on that thing.
I think Richard-7 is pretty much right on the money as far as the future of the 961 and it's value....but right now, today, it still remains the coolest bike out there. I have a 2013 SE, #10 of 50 USA. I will never sell it. I am no mechanic, but I do have basic tools. The tank has been on and off several times, all sensors replaced, new spark plugs, ignition coil, new valve cover, new headlight, new short slip-ons, fluids changed several times and other misc. items. Did not need a shop or mechanic for any of it and I can assure you, my mechanical talents are average. The point being is that you will always be able to keep them running as time goes on.
The best part, of course, is the absolutely unique riding experience of the 961. The only thing that comes close was the thrill of riding my mini-bike after having sold my Schwinn Sting-Ray bicycle. I was 11 or 12 and zipping around the neighborhood and back roads in the late 60's on that Bonanza with the "awesome power" of a Tecumseh 2 1/2 HP engine was a feeling that was not to be repeated for me until the 961 came along. The 961 ticks all the excitement boxes. They are going to have to bury me with it!
 
Mine occasionally conks out at a stop also. Drops to 800 rpm and stalls. It's an intermittent thing and I just restart. Once I get on the highway or ride a bit, it corrects itself.
I'm keeping this bike for its novelty and fun to ride. Getting sick of shit breaking on it, but I've got 11k on it, so, it goes. Just got home from a trip. Time to fix the tank brackets.
 
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