Norton After Sales service nightmare

forstephan

forstephan

Joined
Nov 24, 2012
Messages
12
Country flag
2012 NORTON 961 NIGHTMARE
I have ordered in April 2011 from Paradise Motorcycle in Paris my Norton Sport 961 Commando.
About a year later I had notice them that I will be to use it in California as I won’t need it any more for France.
in November my bike arrived in Paris. So I ask them to make sure it was running properly. Ask also to be fitted with Norton sports exhaust at the extra cost of 1100 Euros and to ship it by plane to Los Angeles. Everything paid for, I’m happy and got my Norton for my Birthday.
I bring it to be registered and pay for California sales taxes.
First impression the engine is very noisy.
About 300 miles later, the bike start smoking white when cold. I’ve talk to Paradise and they told me that they had injectors problem before…
I research who is the Norton Dealer in California and bring my bike to South Bay Norton.
They cannot see what wrong with it, but something not right in the engine.
I had to leave to go back to Europe and left the bike to them.
Matt Capri own South Bay and several world land records with Norton and triumph in Bonneville salt flats.
After opening the engine the valve guides are worn excessively and gas went in to the catalytic converter and clogged the exhaust. At this time Matt Capri has no support from Norton and all my emails to Paradise are rarely answered.
Matt Capri rebuild the engine better and make a custom exhaust system in order to please me when I will be back.
I’m back 5 months later and happy to see my Norton running well. Small detail, I got a $6000 bill to pay as Norton still not answer any questions regarding warranty.
At this time I understand that my bike is not street legal in the US, because only 2013 are but I got a 2012 in November … They knew about it, why did they sent me a 2012 in November, when I could have got a 2013 6 weeks later?
Paradise asked me to send them all the parts damaged included the clogged sports exhaust witch I did by UPS in order to make the warranty work, 3 years later still no news of my parts.
I’ve been constantly in contact with Stuart Gardner OWNER of Norton. Joe Adams General Manager Norton worldwide, Paradise…. They are all very nice, and offered me a replacement bike . But nothing was ever done.
later riding it at 3000 rpm the timing chain broke. The bolts holding the chain supports were not put properly with locktite and got loose, then the chain broke. Norton supplied a new chain at the cost of $250 still no warranty …
During those 3 years my bike is still not registered, it was all the time at Norton dealer and gracefully used as démo, or to promote the brand.
On November 2013 I finally got a phone call from Joe Adams , after we chat he offered to me to build me a new Norton for delivery in April.
It supposed to be better as they changed several components in the engine and gearbox.
April 2014, nothing
July 2014 the first Norton are delivered to South Bay , I've spoken with Norton and hope to get mine in the next shipment .
April 2015, I went to Norton factory in UK met with Mark Pinfield who is in charge of international relation.
Very nice person, he showed me my file and assure me that a brand new bike will be in the next shipment to the U.S. I should get it in the next 6 weeks.
July 2015 I've decided to ride my old Norton it for a week as I'm really frustrated just to see it when I go to the dealer, after about 300 miles a pushrods broke, apparently they are too short and it could happen.
August 2015 two new shipment went to the U.S. But still nothing for me.
September 2015 , Matt Capri has 2 bikes available on his floor, he is ok to deliver me one off them, but need Stuart Gardner green light. I wrote severals emails to Stuart and still no answer.
Matt Capri has been the only person who invested time and money to try to please me.
All the other keep avoiding all kind of responsibility.
Norton is a beautiful motorcycle but the company does not look to be at any level able to reborn the brand. The good thing is I own 6 others Motorcycles...
Kindest regards and ride safe.
Stephane Medam
 
Hello Stephan , Sounds really bad for you. Simon from the Norton Factory monitors this forum. He should read your story as well and then everyone will know at the factory. Was the bike brand new ? You said something about bad injectors . My advice is DO NOT give up. The factory will eventually come good and give you a replacement bike. Good Luck .
 
TonyA said:
Hello Stephan , Sounds really bad for you. Simon from the Norton Factory monitors this forum. He should read your story as well and then everyone will know at the factory. Was the bike brand new ? You said something about bad injectors . My advice is DO NOT give up. The factory will eventually come good and give you a replacement bike. Good Luck .
Click to expand...

Tony, that may be good advice, it may not. How long should one persist for? Stephane's saga started four and a half years ago and he has had the bike for 3 years now...

I for one can certainly understand the frustration. I want my motorcycles to be a relief from the stresses of modern life... not a cause!

I hope it gets resolved, and quickly. Stories like this must be really damaging Norton, especially through lost sales, as I suspect many may be put off by such stories.
 
I suppose he can just sell the bike . I am not sure if the bike is running now or not. A bike with 300 miles and bad guides ? Push rods too short ? Clogged cats ? Yikes!! We don't know the whole story , and the early bikes had more problems. Norton needs to make good on this. For every dollar they spend in good will they make back 20. What would be easier a new power plant or a whole new bike ?
 
Hi, and thank you for your support.
Yes my bike was bought new, and was used as well to promote the Norton in the US for the past 3 years.
With the exchange rate, insurance and all the work done to it, i have spent over $35000 into it.
that is not the point as i just wanted to enjoy riding it in California.

there is a copy of the letter i got from Norton 18 months ago…

Hi Stephane

I wanted to clarify what was agreed between us regarding your motorcycle issues.

We fully appreciate the efforts that you have gone to in support of Norton, allowing your bike to be used at shows etc, and hope that this gesture of goodwill from Norton UK will enhance your Norton ownership experience.

We agreed to replace your motorcycle, with a new 2014 California spec Commando 961 Sport in Manx Silver, to arrive at Matt Capri’s by April 2014. Your current motorcycle would then become the property of Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd, and that you would contribute £1,000.00 to the exchange process.

I will discuss this with our US team and make sure your new bike is slotted in to the build schedule of US bikes accordingly.

Kindest regards

Joe

Joe Adams
International Business Manager

Norton Motorcycles

Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd
Donington Hall
Castle Donington
Derby
DE74 2SG
United Kingdom
 
Hold on to that letter . Are you going to France any time in the near future ? Stop by Donington and have a talk with them in person .
 
Thank you, as you can read in the letter, they are very aware of the situation and how much i have been a good support.
As for over a year my Norton was they only one in the US, and helped to take order of new bikes...
I went to the factory in Donington this year in April and they assure me that a brand new bike will be in the next shipment to the US.
 
This does not look good for Norton, or SouthBay.

Not good AT ALL.

Mentioning thousands and thousands of additional dollars to fix an already expensive NEW bike, with ZERO help from Norton; like it was $10 for a cheeseburger...

"Oh, yes, in order to get your warranty replacement bike, you must pay ANOTHER $1,000.00"

Yikes
 
As i've said earlier, Matt Carpri and South Bay were the only one to help me and tried to resolve my issues without any support from the factory.
It has been over 4 months that the pushrods broke and still no replacement parts.
Norton After sales service does not exist, witch also hurt the resale value of any of theses bikes.
 
I don't see how this company can survive treating a good customer this way. The 961 customers seem to be willing to give Norton all kinds of latitude when it comes to design mistakes, maybe more than they deserve. The flip side to all of that patience is that the company has to make things right for the customer in a reasonable portion of one's lifetime.
I read through all of the problems here and then see the British Government pouring money into Norton with Garner busy at off at the IOM his Rotax thing or planning new models and think "fix what you are building first"

The 961 is their best shot at success because there is nothing else out there like it . Customers will not only pay up for it, they will also tolerate problems that do not exist with other less expensive (and higher performing) motorcycles.

Norton needs to put the 961 right for all past and present purchasers before embarking on a plan to compete with the likes of Suzuki, Triumph, Yamaha, Honda and all of the others who are now so proficient at building turn key motorcycles. There are scads of new bikes available which give trouble free performance in bucketloads and keep doing it for a long time. Entering that fray will be a completely different prospect than building the 961, which came with beautiful styling (thanks Kenny Dreer) that set it apart from the crowds. You can only get along on looks for so long, the thing has to work properly. And don't expect the owners to figure out how to fix it, which seems to be Norton's current plan, if there is one.
Hopefully someone at Norton reads this.
I had money ready and my eye on a local new SE that was fairly severely marked down in price, but bought another old bike instead. I know the old bike can be made reliable and has a good parts supply, not sure about the Norton.

I do hope Norton starts to properly look after all of you 961 owners, you deserve better and it would be great to see the company survive and thrive.

Glen
 
Well said, Glen. It appears to be a "luck of the draw" sort of thing when you buy one of these. I consider myself pretty damn lucky most of the time and I hope it continues with the purchase of my Sport. :shock: But of course, I do feel badly for the unfortunate ones I have read about here.
 
It seems the '13,'14, and' 15 models have far fewer problems then the '10, '11 & '12 models. Most of us see Norton heading in the right direction!
 
I've had my bumps and bruises. Still have a few to mend. That being said, as much as a pain in the ass it is, things get a little brighter with each visit and I do love the bike.
 
forstephan said:
2012 NORTON 961 NIGHTMARE
I have ordered in April 2011 from Paradise Motorcycle in Paris my Norton Sport 961 Commando.
About a year later I had notice them that I will be to use it in California as I won’t need it any more for France.
in November my bike arrived in Paris. So I ask them to make sure it was running properly. Ask also to be fitted with Norton sports exhaust at the extra cost of 1100 Euros and to ship it by plane to Los Angeles. Everything paid for, I’m happy and got my Norton for my Birthday.
I bring it to be registered and pay for California sales taxes.
First impression the engine is very noisy.
About 300 miles later, the bike start smoking white when cold. I’ve talk to Paradise and they told me that they had injectors problem before…
I research who is the Norton Dealer in California and bring my bike to South Bay Norton.
They cannot see what wrong with it, but something not right in the engine.
I had to leave to go back to Europe and left the bike to them.
Matt Capri own South Bay and several world land records with Norton and triumph in Bonneville salt flats.
After opening the engine the valve guides are worn excessively and gas went in to the catalytic converter and clogged the exhaust. At this time Matt Capri has no support from Norton and all my emails to Paradise are rarely answered.
Matt Capri rebuild the engine better and make a custom exhaust system in order to please me when I will be back.
I’m back 5 months later and happy to see my Norton running well. Small detail, I got a $6000 bill to pay as Norton still not answer any questions regarding warranty.
At this time I understand that my bike is not street legal in the US, because only 2013 are but I got a 2012 in November … They knew about it, why did they sent me a 2012 in November, when I could have got a 2013 6 weeks later?
Paradise asked me to send them all the parts damaged included the clogged sports exhaust witch I did by UPS in order to make the warranty work, 3 years later still no news of my parts.
I’ve been constantly in contact with Stuart Gardner OWNER of Norton. Joe Adams General Manager Norton worldwide, Paradise…. They are all very nice, and offered me a replacement bike . But nothing was ever done.
later riding it at 3000 rpm the timing chain broke. The bolts holding the chain supports were not put properly with locktite and got loose, then the chain broke. Norton supplied a new chain at the cost of $250 still no warranty …
During those 3 years my bike is still not registered, it was all the time at Norton dealer and gracefully used as démo, or to promote the brand.
On November 2013 I finally got a phone call from Joe Adams , after we chat he offered to me to build me a new Norton for delivery in April.
It supposed to be better as they changed several components in the engine and gearbox.
April 2014, nothing
July 2014 the first Norton are delivered to South Bay , I've spoken with Norton and hope to get mine in the next shipment .
April 2015, I went to Norton factory in UK met with Mark Pinfield who is in charge of international relation.
Very nice person, he showed me my file and assure me that a brand new bike will be in the next shipment to the U.S. I should get it in the next 6 weeks.
July 2015 I've decided to ride my old Norton it for a week as I'm really frustrated just to see it when I go to the dealer, after about 300 miles a pushrods broke, apparently they are too short and it could happen.
August 2015 two new shipment went to the U.S. But still nothing for me.
September 2015 , Matt Capri has 2 bikes available on his floor, he is ok to deliver me one off them, but need Stuart Gardner green light. I wrote severals emails to Stuart and still no answer.
Matt Capri has been the only person who invested time and money to try to please me.
All the other keep avoiding all kind of responsibility.
Norton is a beautiful motorcycle but the company does not look to be at any level able to reborn the brand. The good thing is I own 6 others Motorcycles...
Kindest regards and ride safe.
Stephane Medam
Click to expand...


Dear Stephane

As you have probably seen in my other posts I've recently been put in charge of all tech issues that are being posted on Access Norton , I've noticed your recent post and I am sorry to hear about the problems you have had. This is not acceptable and I have taken them straight to Stuart (CEO / Owner Norton Motorcycles). He has just spoken directly to Matt Capri (South Bay Norton) and we have resolved all the issues and have a new bike already in the USA and available for you. Please contact Matt , ASAP, to sort details of the new bike collection.
On behalf of myself, Stuart and all of us here at the factory please accept our sincerest apologies for the extended time delay in resolving this issue, we're all working hard to ensure we don't let anybody down and improve our factory support for all owners.
Hopefully my direct contact and replies from here at the Norton factory will give yourself and all other owners a simple and direct way to communicate should you have any problems or concerns that our dealers are unable to rectify.

Best Regards

Simon
 
That certainly is the right thing to do. Hopefully this is the beginning a turn around for customer service in the US.

Stephane
Let us know if this is finalized. As you put in an earlier post, this was suppose to be settled already. It will be nice to see if it is actually taken care this time.
 
Dear Simon, I will be really pleased and will keep everybody updated shortly as Matt Capri called me today and told me that he should get a motorcycle available for me next week.
kind regards.
Stephane
 
Hi Simon, I am not a 961 owner - yet.
I emailed the factory in 2011, I believe as I was concerned about the lack of info coming out of the factory, I didn't get a reply, maybe I didn't expect one, not sure.
I think a flow of info is v important especially with some of the negativity around.
I think that having a voice on the forum is massively important, 3 specially with a relatively niche market.
Are you able to give an approximate idea of lead time for the mk11 model.
Keep up the good work, ou already seem to have helped with long running niggles.
 
On this question that peter12 asked ...

peter12 said:
Are you able to give an approximate idea of lead time for the mk11 model.
Click to expand...

Simon - having just ordered my Sport last month, is it likely that I will receive a MkII? Especially given the backlog? :)

Peter
 
NortonFactoryUK said:
forstephan said:
2012 NORTON 961 NIGHTMARE
I have ordered in April 2011 from Paradise Motorcycle in Paris my Norton Sport 961 Commando.
About a year later I had notice them that I will be to use it in California as I won’t need it any more for France.
in November my bike arrived in Paris. So I ask them to make sure it was running properly. Ask also to be fitted with Norton sports exhaust at the extra cost of 1100 Euros and to ship it by plane to Los Angeles. Everything paid for, I’m happy and got my Norton for my Birthday.
I bring it to be registered and pay for California sales taxes.
First impression the engine is very noisy.
About 300 miles later, the bike start smoking white when cold. I’ve talk to Paradise and they told me that they had injectors problem before…
I research who is the Norton Dealer in California and bring my bike to South Bay Norton.
They cannot see what wrong with it, but something not right in the engine.
I had to leave to go back to Europe and left the bike to them.
Matt Capri own South Bay and several world land records with Norton and triumph in Bonneville salt flats.
After opening the engine the valve guides are worn excessively and gas went in to the catalytic converter and clogged the exhaust. At this time Matt Capri has no support from Norton and all my emails to Paradise are rarely answered.
Matt Capri rebuild the engine better and make a custom exhaust system in order to please me when I will be back.
I’m back 5 months later and happy to see my Norton running well. Small detail, I got a $6000 bill to pay as Norton still not answer any questions regarding warranty.
At this time I understand that my bike is not street legal in the US, because only 2013 are but I got a 2012 in November … They knew about it, why did they sent me a 2012 in November, when I could have got a 2013 6 weeks later?
Paradise asked me to send them all the parts damaged included the clogged sports exhaust witch I did by UPS in order to make the warranty work, 3 years later still no news of my parts.
I’ve been constantly in contact with Stuart Gardner OWNER of Norton. Joe Adams General Manager Norton worldwide, Paradise…. They are all very nice, and offered me a replacement bike . But nothing was ever done.
later riding it at 3000 rpm the timing chain broke. The bolts holding the chain supports were not put properly with locktite and got loose, then the chain broke. Norton supplied a new chain at the cost of $250 still no warranty …
During those 3 years my bike is still not registered, it was all the time at Norton dealer and gracefully used as démo, or to promote the brand.
On November 2013 I finally got a phone call from Joe Adams , after we chat he offered to me to build me a new Norton for delivery in April.
It supposed to be better as they changed several components in the engine and gearbox.
April 2014, nothing
July 2014 the first Norton are delivered to South Bay , I've spoken with Norton and hope to get mine in the next shipment .
April 2015, I went to Norton factory in UK met with Mark Pinfield who is in charge of international relation.
Very nice person, he showed me my file and assure me that a brand new bike will be in the next shipment to the U.S. I should get it in the next 6 weeks.
July 2015 I've decided to ride my old Norton it for a week as I'm really frustrated just to see it when I go to the dealer, after about 300 miles a pushrods broke, apparently they are too short and it could happen.
August 2015 two new shipment went to the U.S. But still nothing for me.
September 2015 , Matt Capri has 2 bikes available on his floor, he is ok to deliver me one off them, but need Stuart Gardner green light. I wrote severals emails to Stuart and still no answer.
Matt Capri has been the only person who invested time and money to try to please me.
All the other keep avoiding all kind of responsibility.
Norton is a beautiful motorcycle but the company does not look to be at any level able to reborn the brand. The good thing is I own 6 others Motorcycles...
Kindest regards and ride safe.
Stephane Medam
Click to expand...


Dear Stephane

As you have probably seen in my other posts I've recently been put in charge of all tech issues that are being posted on Access Norton , I've noticed your recent post and I am sorry to hear about the problems you have had. This is not acceptable and I have taken them straight to Stuart (CEO / Owner Norton Motorcycles). He has just spoken directly to Matt Capri (South Bay Norton) and we have resolved all the issues and have a new bike already in the USA and available for you. Please contact Matt , ASAP, to sort details of the new bike collection.
On behalf of myself, Stuart and all of us here at the factory please accept our sincerest apologies for the extended time delay in resolving this issue, we're all working hard to ensure we don't let anybody down and improve our factory support for all owners.
Hopefully my direct contact and replies from here at the Norton factory will give yourself and all other owners a simple and direct way to communicate should you have any problems or concerns that our dealers are unable to rectify.

Best Regards

Simon
Click to expand...
BRAVO!!!!
 

Similar threads

W
Norton self service update
Replies
12
Views
483
Wardude
W
baz
UK postal service
Replies
17
Views
606
cjandme
C
marshg246
New DMV Nightmare
2
Replies
31
Views
2,408
grandpaul
grandpaul
S
Levels of service from our parts pushers
Replies
7
Views
472
SteveBorland
S
marshg246
Recommend Cylinder Boring Service in the US.
Replies
17
Views
1,251
seattle##gs
S
Back
Top