Interesting Jean, and something I have thought about a lot. The whole idea of bringing a brand new ( ie Dreer/Garner Nortons) bike to the market place is fraught with pitfalls. Look at the myriad companies which produce parts for existing bikes which do very well and then name the successful companies which have brought complete bikes to the market since, say, 1970. Erik Buell would be a standout here. I own a '99 X1 which I absolutely love and is a great complement to the two Commandos in my garage. The Hinckley Triumphs are another. Any others who have succeeded don't even spring to mind. MV can't qualify as they were ressurected with the huge resources of an existing company. Mr Garner's problem is that he has to produce a bike economically which will sell in the marketplace and , here's the catch, conform to all current legislation and be able to be modified to conform with future legislation without cutting the guts out of the bike's character. I mean, who wants to ride a quiet Norton? Nobody I know. Has anybody here ever seen a Harley with stock pipes? If you have it'll get into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Have a look at Guzzi's V7. A forty year old Norton will eat it for breakfast. Having ridden a Hinckley Triumph, it doesn't go any harder than my "73 850s.
It's interesting that Classic Bike just ran an article on why classic bikes are selling much better than modern sports bikes. Over the top performance, complexity, parts prices, lack of owner servicability, and the expense of servicing and keeping it in tyres are some of the negatives. And, of course, depreciation, the big killer. My Nortons depreciate? Don't think so. The other thing is that modern bikes have a generic feel to them to a large extent, but the people who ride all the big Japanese current bikes think they are all so different because that's all they ride. A mate of mine has a Hayabusa which I've ridden a few times. I twist the throttle a few times, have a bit of a laugh and then it's like riding a fridge. Bores the hell out of me.
Commandos survive and thrive because they are such a fun bike. They never fail to put a huge smile on my face. They DESERVE to survive. So it becomes logical to me that to improve the parts available to keep them running ever more reliably by using better materials and closer tolerances will only make the experience better. Also, generally, we don't have to worry about noise and emissions regulations. At this stage, we'll be fitting peashooters for a long time.
I just hope we don't get to the stage where the bikes become so valuable that they aren't ridden ( like, say, Vincents).