Hello from Norton UK

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to introduce myself, and help explain my intentions here on Access Norton.

My name is Simon Marshall and I am one, of the small team, of Design Engineers here at the Norton Factory at Donington Hall, UK. I’ve been with the company since early 2012. There is a lot of positivity about the brand and the bikes here on the forum, which is great to see, but there is also some miss-information floating around. My intention here is to give an official factory response to some of the threads on the forum and help make sure the correct info is available to those who need it / want to listen to it.

Just a heads up however, I’m only able to help out with 961 Commando and Dominator models that have been built here at the UK factory since 2010, so please don’t ask me anything about sourcing parts for your 1955 Norton, I wouldn't even know where to start !

 

That would be fantastic Simon!
Welcome aboard.

 

Oh my God. We have Donnington Hall joining the group

Thank you very much, and you are more than welcome here.

You will find a group of people who are in love with the 961, even with some of the problems. I am sure you will get some negative remarks and "venting" from past problems, but please stay with us.

I own two 961 SF's, 2014 and 2015 models. I will be racing the 2015 on the AHRMA circuit next year. Our Norton team will campaign a 1938 Manx, a 1947 Norton, a 1971 Commando, a 1974 Commando, and the 2015 SF Commando. One of the race team has already contacted Donnington Hall with some questions as we prepare for the 2016 season

Again, I cannot express with words how happy I am to see Donnington Hall become active on this forum.

John Snead
President
Special Tool Solutions
Jacksonville, FL

 

Welcome Simon. Very cool of you to join. And much needed.

:mrgreen:

 

Thanks for posting this L.A.B! I have often wondered this myself.

And thank you for joining us, Simon.

 

Simon, thanks to you and the Norton Factory for contributing to this forum - I look forward to reading your comments. Here's my question: I have one of the 50 USA Special Editions, and I have learned to love the bike over my 4 months and 2,700 miles of ownership. However, there are probably 49 others in addition to myself who would like to know what the plan is to fix the SE numbering for the USA bikes. I waited 51 months from deposit to delivery for my SE, and received it without a unique SE Number or Number Plate. The only information I have received is a rather feeble excuse from South Bay Norton, who blamed it on a Factory screw-up with the numbering system. I very much hope this gets resolved and unique number plates are sent to the first registered owners of the 50 USA Special Editions. Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Welcome Simon

 

Welcome, Simon. You're a brave man. I've had my share of problems with my 2013 (still do) and did my share of venting too. For what it's worth, I love the bike and and am hanging in there for the long haul. I really look forward to your posts and hopefully, advice. Thank you. Definitely a big step in the right direction, public relations wise. Being here in the states and there still being relatively few bikes here, it is a lonely and lost feeling when we experience problems and the communication is so vague.

 

Hello Simon, I'm glad you've joined us. I'm in Indiana, USA and I have a 2014 961 SF purchased from Falcone in Indianapolis. I love the bike and though I've had a few problems, these have been minimal. I believe you will find the folks on this forum are patient, enthusiastic, resourceful, helpful, and knowledgeable. It will be great to have eyes and ears from the factory to chime in on issues once in a while. Welcome.

 

HI Guys,

We have made over 1000 motorcycles and have seen our volume of bikes out the door increase by about 60% year on year for the past 2 - 3 years, with no sign of us slowing down ! We're very open to admit that in the first few years we made some mistakes and things didn't always go to plan (though how often do they in life eh !) but we are constantly improving in all aspects of the business. There's a reason old motorcycle brands don't get reborn and survive every day !! There is no intention from us to let any of our customers down but sometimes things can go wrong in the chain from customer to dealer to importer to factory, all we can ask is that you bear with us and if need be call or email the factory directly or drop me a PM on here and ill do my best to pick it up and respond.

With regards to the SE numbering I am looking into this and will get back to you once I have a bit more info.

 

Thanks for the info Simon,

I have a 2011 model myself. And i am afraid its (financial) value is very low. Many of us, including myself, warned buyers not to invest in early bikes but to buy a new ( better developed) bike.

It would be nice to know what the production numbers for each year are. Having an exclusive bike instead of a high value bike is nice too!

 

Simon, I'd like to add my welcome. We really do appreciate this site for the information it provides, particularly for those far from the factory. So, your participation will be a big help.

I took delivery of my 2013 Café Racer as part of the first shipment to the U.S. West Coast in July of last year. At that time, Munroe Motors wasn't much help, but they are coming up the curve pretty well. FYI, they tell me they have sold 10 bikes thus far.

I love the bike and it has been quite reliable. I now have 6,000 miles and am looking forward to getting it back from the dealer for its scheduled service. My only ongoing issue has been related to the temp sensor, which causes the bike to go into "limp home" mode when the air temps are quite hot. We're replacing the sensor a second time and am hoping that rectifies the problem. The bike has never stranded me. Once it cools down, it runs perfectly again.

My only question for you now is why my bike, which was built in 2014 and delivered mid-year, came with a 2013 model designation. I've heard through the grapevine that this had something to do with frames being numbered and registered far in advance of build dates, but it would be helpful to hear the factory perspective.

Thanks, Dean

 

Hi Simon,
Allan here, a café racer owner in the uk.. ordered at the NEC bike show dec 2009 ( one of the first) and finally got the bike sept 2012 (don't ask...) LOVE THE BIKE...
Right, the short Motad pipes were fitted at the first service oct 2012, when there was no talk of remaps.... bike runs ok but stalls while stopped occasionally, is a bit grumpy at low revs but fairly takes off at 5000rpm...
I'm planning to have the decat pipe fitted at Norton and I want to know if there is a remap available for my bike and if so which map would it be for the decat and motad pipes? Reason for asking is that there is a post on this forum that states there is no remap that can be done to the early 961 ecu's . Is that correct and if so, would my bike fit into the 'early 961' category ?
Thanks in advance.

 

Simon, are there any plans to export the Dominator SS to the US and if so, when?

 

A question that I would pose also

 

John we think alike!

 

Welcome to the forum, Simon. Back in late 1966, I was in a similar position at Norton-Villiers. I hope you have a different experience than I did. I was hired specifically because of my experience with test instrumentation. Within 3 weeks of being hired, I discovered that the funding for my program had been pissed way with the PR company responsible for the infamous "green blob" logo. I ended up doing road testing of the Commando prototypes. Getting paid to ride the Commando all over the UK for 8 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week wasn't bad!

Unfortunately, inept management ran things into the ground. I was lucky enough to escape to join Boeing in Seattle in the summer of 1968. I retired from there in 1998 at 59 years old. I got fed up of all the travel. Now retired and living in the town of Anacortes in northern Washington State. The only way I'll leave her is in a wooden overcoat!

Good luck in your job and I hope it works out well. Just be aware of the possibility it could all turn sticky and brown very quickly. Having a safety exit maybe a good ide.

 

Beautiful, Jerry! Well, if Simon is not deterred after that then I sure ain't. :lol: