Norton invite

Don’t listen to a thing MCN write, it’s absolute garbage and they do not tell the truth about Norton, and everything is rosy, we all know it certainly is not.
It is a shame that they do not report the truths about norton and very annoying that they are always protecting them
I for one if I knew what I was getting myself into would of never of bought one.
 
The English Motorcycle press were gagged and controlled by the manufacturers back in the 50's and 60's - do not think for one moment that has changed today. The motorcycle journo's are just a bunch of fence sitters that try to please all the people all the time. Only Bennett's insurance were brave enough to raise the Zongshen / Ricardo tie up in the UK, I suspect that MCN will be 'barred' from testing that bike.
MCN only have a loyalty to the manufacturers that supply them with test hacks, they don't give a dam about the buying public and their readers. When anything goes sour, they can then say 'what a shame and a sad day' and 'it has come as a surprise'
MCN, not even worthy of placing under the Norton to catch the oil drips. Ohh, and if you lend them a test hack, then fit it with a tracker - you would be surprised where the bike visits.
 
At least they were at the IOM . It seemed like they were not prepared for it last time though . 135 mph from a entry level 650 twin is very good . MCN said the frame and suspension worked well too.
 
The truth is that all specialist publications, whether it’s cars, motorbikes, hi-fi, handbags or anything else all have a vested interest in keeping their advertisers & manufacturers happy. You learn to read between the lines where product reviews are concerned. But at least MCN are supporting Norton, even if you have to take some of what’s written with a pinch of salt...
 
At least they were at the IOM . It seemed like they were not prepared for it last time though . 135 mph from a entry level 650 twin is very good . MCN said the frame and suspension worked well too.

Yes Tony, part of me wants to applaud them because ‘at least they went’.

But, sadly, the other part of me thinks that ‘Attendance’ isn’t really good enough and to me at least, this years performance just looked like an under funded / under focused attempt that fell way, way, short of the pre event hype.
 
Just like the arrogance of expecting a special case to be made when turning up with a 1200 for the road racing in Ireland. Yet more crap planning, to little to late comes to mind.
If he was serious about racing he would have the 650's competing in a lesser UK series throughout the year to gain experience and reliability, instead of being the joke on the island. To get a finish this year was something, Honda racing did not even achieve that previous year.
 
The Racing costs are booked to a separate company , every £ spent also gets booked as an asset of a £ in the main company. House of cards accounting.
 
Danno, what are you reading?

As far as I know there has only been one road test, and that was in the Motor Cycle News.

Norton are claiming 84bhp. MCN estimate 75bhp at the rear wheel. Whichever way you cut it, it’s a lot more than 46!

They wouldn’t have said this if it had 46bhp:

“It’s geared for around 135mph on the limiter in 6th, but what matters is sub-90mph performance, and it happily charges up to the thick end of that with as much aggression as anyone really needs on the road“.

Read the test here:
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/norton/atlas-650-ranger/2020/

The first quote was yours. I'd love to see a 650 with 84 bhp, but I think that's a pipe dream. No dyno test and they could "claim" anything. A comparo with the Atlas, an Enfield, a Kaw W650 (think they upped the displacement) and maybe one of the smaller-cc Triumph twins would be more telling.

MCN article was more of an impression than a test.
 
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The 84 ponies may be a bit optimistic, but I don't think by much.

Comparing the Atlas’ engine to the Kawa and Enfield is a bit like comparing apples and oranges.

The Norton motor is a DOHC, liquid cooled, high compression, short stroke motor. The other 2 are air cooled, SOHC, low compression machines designed for leisurely riding. Probably it would be better to compare the Atlas HP to the BMW GS 800 Twin. Then 84 ponies don’t seem so unlikely. The GS is a 20+ year old design, has a longer stroke than the Atlas so the Atlas would rev higher and make its power at a higher rpm.
 
Also, for any given capacity, a short stroke motor equates to a bigger bore which in turn allows room for bigger valves & better breathing. All good design philosophy & not something you'll find on a typical Panther... ;)
 
The Racing costs are booked to a separate company , every £ spent also gets booked as an asset of a £ in the main company. House of cards accounting.
Looks like someone has been reading, well spotted, surprised others out there have not read this which is in the public domain.
 
Also, for any given capacity, a short stroke motor equates to a bigger bore which in turn allows room for bigger valves & better breathing. All good design philosophy & not something you'll find on a typical Panther... ;)

Right.
And where better breathing is concerned, the Atlas motor has down draft intake ports feed by an overhead airbox, not classic style horizontal ports with tight inner radius.

The Atlas engine design is thoroughly modern by today's standards, capable I would think, of achieving modern performance figures.
 
Well, I’m pretty sure it will come in under 84bhp when all said and done.

And I’m very certain it’ll be way more than 46bhp!

Other than that, I guess well just have to wait n see.

As has already been said, it is a thoroughly modern engine. It is more than half of the V4 which pumps out over 200bhp (allegedly)...
 
The top Super Twins machines powered by Kawasaki ER6-N engines, suitably modified are producing many more horses than 84.

These are all private owner/entrant efforts, and the Norton factory thus far is struggling to even get close.
What are they spending their money on, re stocking the chairmans coctail cabinet ?
It's hardly been spent on development.

They'll get there in the end, no doubt, after all, they had the priviledge of starting with a clean sheet of paper, whereas the rider/entrants using the Kawasaki engines had to make do with a production engine and not one specifically designed for racing.

Perhaps Norton's should engage some of these people to do their racing development work for them.
 
The carbon clad V4 is being promoted across all social media platforms today saying that production will start in the coming weeks... maybe this is linked to the invite.... a limited edition of 50 badged as the 'Manx Norton' perhaps ?!?
 
Norton must have a link established with a new investor,given a share option/loan or a tech suiport.
No more news this week so far or clue to the mixed heritage statement .
I may just have to do the 400 mile trip to the factory on Tuesday & find out for myself, well I did do 9,500 miles in the first 4 months of having the bike.
Day one in this shot , riding 200 miles home in the rain
Norton invite
Norton invite
 
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