John McGuinness chewing the fat with Stuart Garner on factory tour.

The poignant bit is 80% export, so at the very best we are only seeing 16 new bikes per month destined for UK dealers, probably slightly less actually registered for road use.
 
Admitted a few manufacturing difficulties also. One was outside part suppliers not keeping up and therefore having to bring some of the parts manufactured in house. This may have been the stumbling block getting bikes out to buyers? Better in the long run that they figured it out and can keep a better eye on their parts quality and quantity produced.
 
Appears very little made in the UK, An assembly line ,not a factory. Not for me. As far as I am concerned the last nortons were made around 1963 just before the Norton factory closed. As for those Comdon things they will never catch on!!.
 
norton bob said:
Appears very little made in the UK, An assembly line ,not a factory. Not for me. As far as I am concerned the last nortons were made around 1963 just before the Norton factory closed. As for those Comdon things they will never catch on!!.
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Have you been on a factory tour?
If not, it might change your opinion a bit. Not a lot perhaps, but a bit.
They do a lot of fabrication of frames and exhausts etc and a lot of machining of alloy components etc.
According to SG in the interview, they actually do a lot more in house than he originally intended!
 
I was quoted a figure of 83% UK parts, admitedly some of the 83% maybe bought in but made to their specification. I don't really see a lot wrong with that. Not sure why they are dont use UK shocks: http://www.nitron.co.uk/about.php but I guess need to stay with brembo for the brakes
 
I was told that many parts not made in the 'factory' are made in the East Midlands.
 
I think it was unfortunate choice of words 'pays your wages'. This was a phrase often used as a response to someone mocking a product, as in "don't knock it" or worse "I agree it's crap".... "but it pays the wages" !
 
Its fair to say I am unlikely to ever be a customer. I am a bit of a control freak and like to feel that whatever goes wrong I can diagnose and fix it myself. Hence 99,Atlas, etc, I never feel the slightest pang of envy with new stuff and regard them as disposable appliances with little character
 
Is it that really that you prefer the old bikes without the new electronics and other advancements or do you think they are not real Nortons. Nice to have a bit of both i would think.
 
Welshrugby said:
I was quoted a figure of 83% UK parts, admitedly some of the 83% maybe bought in but made to their specification. I don't really see a lot wrong with that. Not sure why they are dont use UK shocks: http://www.nitron.co.uk/about.php but I guess need to stay with brembo for the brakes
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Ohlins are a no brainer IMHO as they have the brand image and market desirability. K-Tech would be a brilliant choice for shocks and forks, they are arguably better than Ohlins and are actually close to the factory. But they’re not so well known outside racing circles, so lack the market desirability factor.

I do wonder how the 83% is measured, number of separate parts numbers (SKUs in automotive jargon), or % of value of the whole, or what? My guess is it’s vlaue based but would welcome learned opinion.

Either way, IMHO, I do find the 83% a tad hard to believe.
 
norton bob said:
Its fair to say I am unlikely to ever be a customer. I am a bit of a control freak and like to feel that whatever goes wrong I can diagnose and fix it myself. Hence 99,Atlas, etc, I never feel the slightest pang of envy with new stuff and regard them as disposable appliances with little character
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We are touring Europe for 3-4 months next year on my Characterless UltraGlide and if it breaks, Mr Harley and Mr Davidson will pick it up and fix it for free. I thought about going on my '58 T110 but crossing the Alps with no Suspension and Drum brakes outweighed the Character aspect. Feel free to Tag along with us on your Atlas, but bear in mind we will be covering Germany in 2 days and cruising around the Ton but Greece is less than 2500 miles away so you should be alright !!. :)
 
Covering Germany in 2 days?, what would you think of me if I said I was going to do the USA in three?. The slower pace of a classic Bike insists that you take more stops,travel the backroads and spend TIME meeting the locals and soaking up the flavour ,its not about the destination , the journey is what you will remember if you travel on the right roads. One motorway is very much the same as any other. I have crossed Europe over a dozen times ,the faster you go the more you miss.
 
Anyway... if I might just remind that this is a discussion about a factory tour of the new Norton factory...
 
Welshrugby said:
Is it that really that you prefer the old bikes without the new electronics and other advancements or do you think they are not real Nortons. Nice to have a bit of both i would think.
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You are right on both counts, can you imagine a died in the wool Harley guy welcoming a high tech sporster made in the Orient?. And if he did ,would you respect him?. Although we both know it would be a better bike!.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Anyway... if I might just remind that this is a discussion about a factory tour of the new Norton factory...
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I am pleased that the Norton name is going forward,and wish them every sucses, It will also bring much needed new blood into the Norton fold, these guys will be looking for a REAL Norton when they realise that buying bits of bling is no substitute for proper spannering.
 
norton bob said:
Covering Germany in 2 days?, what would you think of me if I said I was going to do the USA in three?. The slower pace of a classic Bike insists that you take more stops,travel the backroads and spend TIME meeting the locals and soaking up the flavour ,its not about the destination , the journey is what you will remember if you travel on the right roads. One motorway is very much the same as any other. I have crossed Europe over a dozen times ,the faster you go the more you miss.
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Sorry to bust in on your Norton Factory tour party, but the U.S. in 3 days?? Good luck with that. We DO have 50 States, you know. It would take you 3 days just to tour the East coast.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Anyway... if I might just remind that this is a discussion about a factory tour of the new Norton factory...
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Stay out of this fight :) !!. I did a factory tour in May, and and I love the "Cottage Industry" feel. I can't imagine how they make any money tho', but the parts Norton manufacture seem as good or better than any mass produced component and I don't think anyone who doesn't own one knows just how much Soul they have and if I win the lottery I might make Mr Garner an offer for a share in the worlds best "Man Cave", plus anyone going to the Factory should pay a visit to The Priest Hole for a stay or just Lunch.
 
Nope, you can’t keep me out of a good fight...

But... I completely agree with you about the above, I often tell folk that I just don’t see how SG makes it pay. If he pulls it off with the V4 and 650s he will really, really have pulled off a fantastic feat.

And yes, the frames,exhausts,etc that are fabricated on site are excellent. The huge CNC machining centres they have (turning out some 961 parts but really deployed for V4 and 650 parts) are really impressive too.
 
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