New Norton review

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There is a matchup of the new Norton 961 with the Triumph Thruxton in Classic Bike magazine. The Norton comes off well. Of course, the comparison was between a $8,800 Triumph and a $20,000 Norton. The magazine mentioned that there are nine U.S. Norton dealers, four being on the west coast. If the new Norton can be delivered or actually purchased off the show room floor, they may well have a hit on their hands.
 
Still $20K is in the category of high end buyers. Probably OK as for the number of units Norton plans there will likely be enough of this type buyer to sell all the motorcycles they produce. The real competition for the 961 won't be Triumph, though. More like Ducati.
 
There is one thing which is very clear for Australia and others now that we are involved in free markets and globalized economy. That is that we must move upmarket in the quality sense and charge higher prices to justify our overheads . The new Norton is probably very good value for money. Personally I would never buy a Ducati, as much as I love looking at them - they remind me too much of Ferraris.
 
acotrel said:
There is one thing which is very clear for Australia and others now that we are involved in free markets and globalized economy. That is that we must move upmarket in the quality sense and charge higher prices to justify our overheads . The new Norton is probably very good value for money. Personally I would never buy a Ducati, as much as I love looking at them - they remind me too much of Ferraris.

Gasp, like a Ferrari!
Dunno why you would say that. My 848 cost 10k brand new, and it's as user friendly as any of the jap bikes I've owned. I had a GSXR before the Duke, and when I was looking for a replacement, I tried a few Jap replacements, a Triumph, and just took a test ride on the Ducati as the dealer is local to me. I(as you) expected it to be too focussed, and uncomfortable and fragile. Quite the contrary, I came back from the test ride and traded my GSXR in for it. It's done me for commuting, sunday rides and weekend trips round the uk, and never missed a beat. With approx. 110bhp, its got a big pussy cat of an engine which is torquey as hell, and unlike the 1198, is not at all intimidating. I would guarantee, if you like the feel of a commando, you would love this engine. Honest, ask my mates :)
 
acotrel said:
There is one thing which is very clear for Australia and others now that we are involved in free markets and globalized economy. That is that we must move upmarket in the quality sense and charge higher prices to justify our overheads . The new Norton is probably very good value for money. Personally I would never buy a Ducati, as much as I love looking at them - they remind me too much of Ferraris.

I wouldn't buy a Ducati either, but for the a different reason. Still most of the population of prospective 961 buyers will likely compare it to Ducati and the perceived value will make the decision. Coolness in the case of motorcycles is a "value" which I would give to Norton if for no other reason that exclusiveness and brand.
So why does Ducati reminding you of Ferrari make you not want the Ducati?
 
Why would anyone buy a car which has to be sent back to the factory in Maranello for minor tuning ? A friend of mine had a business specializing in Ducatis. He told me that most of the problems come from guys trying to fix the bike themselves . He used to pull the motors apart in front of the customer so they could see the damage, and no bill was ever under $5000.
 
I can't comment on Ferrari servicing, however comparing Ducati to Ferrari is not imo a fair comparison. Servicing costs and intervals for Ducati's are pretty similar to jap, German and pseudo british manufacturers nowadays, and gets done at a local dealership, or specialist. You have to accept that it's a modern consumer product, and if you want to do the belt services etc yourself, then you'd have to invest in the proper tools and parts, bit like owning a commando. If you are stupid enough to feck up a 10k motorcycle because you wanted to save a few hundred pounds, then that's your responsibility.

You've got me getting all protective now :)

In summary, you seem to be saying that Ducatis are exotica like Ferraris are. I disagree, they are now just like any other modern motorcycle, reliable, fast, clean. If that's what you want, then it's perfect.
 
It's hard for me to imagine that a bike shopper WITHOUT some built in prejudice for/against any mark could objectively select the Commando over a Ducati unless the goal is specifically to pay more and get less. :)

Oh well, OTOH, HD has been doing that for years with great success. So why shouldn't it work for "Norton."
 
I will probably buy the 961 if i ever see one in person and its for sale. It is supposed to be good quality, and (obviously) i love Nortons. I had a 2010 Ducati Streetfighter back in '11...sold it in '12 An absolutely fantastic bike in ALMOST every sense. It had 2 major shortcomings. 1: Plastic fuel tanks that would expand with STUPID E10!!! gas and cause fitment problems in a couple of different ways. Some found if they removed their tank it wouldnt go back on. Ducati's fix for this (after a lawsuit) was to make new tanks slightly smaller, so as they expanded, they would ..fit....right. Insane. The other thing was the low end fueling. Horrible. Even with an aftermarket piggy back ECU and some tuning i could never get it quite right. It would surge like crazy at parking lot speeds and while cruising like 40-50 through town. The only solution to fueling is a fully aftermarket ECU and custom tuning. Otherwise, i think it was a great bike, and absolutely gorgeous, but those two problems compelled me to get rid of it.
 
As it happens, in today's market, there are only a few contenders for "retro café" bikes-

Thruxton is probably the best value for performance, half the cost of a new Commando
Nortons are RARE and overpriced, good performers and good looking
Guzzis are underpowered, so-so in the looks department, great price point
RE Bullets are WAY underpowered (but may be the least expensive), so-so in looks, unless you like little thumpers

Now, for those who argue that the new Commando crosses over to the "naked sportbike" class, then the Ducati monster is about the only other serious contender at just over half the price of a Commando, and they're in showrooms everywhere.

Put the new Commando up against a Kawasaki ZRX 1100 you can buy used for about $2,500 - $3,500 and the Rex will leave it in the dust without breaking a sweat (although not as cool, it's still fairly retro as the KZ's big brother) It's hard to win an argument against a ZRX if some of the criteria are "cheap" and "fast".

I don't like the fact that Canadian dealers got bikes before US dealers, unless they have proof they put up deposits first. it ain't right; just another mis-step for Gardner.
 
Canada got them first because the Bureaucrats cleared the red tape away quicker than in the US, amazingly enough.
Still a little bit to go to totally clear the California hurdle I'm told.
And I am deeply sorry that Canada got them before the US, it should ALWAYS be the other way round, as it is with most new models/inventions/whatever. :roll:

Glen
 
worntorn said:
And I am deeply sorry that Canada got them before the US, it should ALWAYS be the other way round, as it is with most new models/inventions/whatever. :roll:

Glen
Yeah, everything happens slower in Canada. 'Seems like you're at least five years behind the rest of the modern world. Oh, wait; that's Idaho! :mrgreen:
 
I dont think so, the other two 961s that came into British Italian were ordered and paid for way back. They only received three bikes out of fifteen total in the shipment, the rest went to other Canadian dealers.
Might be more on the way soon tho, Garner says they are up to 50 staff now and plan to be 150 this time next year.
I think there are plenty of people who will shell out twenty grand for a high end hand built motorcycle. Harley certainly has found scads of customers for its products, which are mass produced, quite expensive, mostly low performance and not particularly high end.
So there can be tremendous strength in a brand, no wonder Garner paid a lot for the Norton name.
He might be looking pretty shiny about this time next year.

Glen
 
worntorn said:
...Still a little bit to go to totally clear the California hurdle I'm told...

According to Norton/Garner, they cleared all US import hurdles many months ago; the news bit was posted here in the other new Norton thread.
 
I remember Peter Howes (Canada Norton) mentioning they were Canadian certified sometime before they made it through the California testing. I think it's on a video posted in the long thread here.
 
I seriously doubt that anyone wanting a new Norton actually compares it to other bikes, more like you have no problem with 20K and want a Norton, period.

that would be me, ready and waiting with the cash, as soon as I can buy one here in the USA.
 
I believe they are over $30000 (2 vintage Commando's) here so a test ride would be first priority.
Someone I spoke to last week suggested four were pre sold,should have asked for an update as I was down at Frasers on Friday (Ducati / Harley Davidson / BMW and Norton it seems)

http://www.bikesales.com.au/news/2013/f ... rton-37508
 
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