Norton IoM TT

I've attached some photos I took of the Norton"s at this years TT. They sounded great with their open pipes

So did you put down a deposit ? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Thanks for pix.
Not too many folks can say they've seen a Norton at the IoM these past decades...

I see on their website, dated June 18th, they have just shipped the first new Nortons to Canada in thirty years.
They seem to be quite stubborn about folding their tent, in fact they seem to be expanding it in spite of all of the dire predictions given by various naysayers.
I wonder if British Italian MCs in near me in Vancouver might get one or two? Probably already spoken for.

Glen

The new investment in commando might have produced a result ? I never believed in commandos until I used that motor, it has got a lot to recommend it. And if they've solved its problems, the sky is the limit.

The engine in last years IoM TT race 'Norton' was an Aprilia V4 engine, in an alloy Spondon frame.
And this year the 'SG2' race bike had the same.... ?
But with, reportedly, electrically adjustable Ohlins suspension.

At least this year it gained a bronze replica.

Rohan said:

The engine in last years IoM TT race 'Norton' was an Aprilia V4 engine, in an alloy Spondon frame.
And this year the 'SG2' race bike had the same.... ?
But with, reportedly, electrically adjustable Ohlins suspension.

At least this year it gained a bronze replica.

Click to expand...

Hard to know, or give advice to anyone who has the money, exactly what do you advise after seeing “Norton’s” success at the 2103 TT in gaining a bronze replica, which bike do you put a deposit down on ?
A Norton or an Aprilia :?: :shock:

Bernhard said:

Rohan said:

The engine in last years IoM TT race 'Norton' was an Aprilia V4 engine, in an alloy Spondon frame.
And this year the 'SG2' race bike had the same.... ?
But with, reportedly, electrically adjustable Ohlins suspension.

At least this year it gained a bronze replica.

Click to expand...

Hard to know, or give advice to anyone who has the money, exactly what do you advise after seeing “Norton’s” success at the 2103 TT in gaining a bronze replica, which bike do you put a deposit down on ?
A Norton or an Aprilia :?: :shock:

Click to expand...

Both?

Ken

Ugh, any sane adult knows full well the race was good for Aprilla points only, so fact is the Norton Iconic label was just carried around on it for show and media attention, so a success in that sense but absolutely nothing us Norton lovers could point to with any pride of connection on continuity. If-n was me holding the Norton rights I'd go straight to Polaris and have them create a retro looker that's all state of the art inside and powerful enough to be competitive right out the box. Could even have some oil and water cooling added but disquished not to jump out at you but make ya go oh yeah why didn't Norton do it that way.

Doesn't Mr Garners Co have some ownership in Spondon frames ? (Alloy spar frames).
And them experimenting with electrically adjustable Ohlins suspensions in the TT
suggests that at some stage in the future, both these features may be on the road bikes.
I'll have 2 of those Nortons, please.

I've added some more pictures of the Norton in the paddock (pits). Hopefully they will come through as larger images than the last time.





I can't seem to get the images larger when posting, sorry.

pouchy750 said:

I can't seem to get the images larger when posting, sorry.

Click to expand...

You seem to be linking to the thumbnail images, not the enlarged ones ?
e.g.


Great pics, thanks for those.
That is SG hisself there, isn't it. ?

Can I put down a deposit on this one.
Ride now, pay later ??

Bernhard said:

Hard to know, or give advice to anyone who has the money, exactly what do you advise after seeing “Norton’s” success at the 2103 TT in gaining a bronze replica, which bike do you put a deposit down on ?
A Norton or an Aprilia :?:

Click to expand...

Given that the Aprilia V4 won the World Superbike Championship, was it last year, with Max Biaggi aboard, the Aprilia is not exactly an unproven quantity ??
And Aprilia had a very strong contingent in the now-departed GP125 and GP250 series, so were not in uncharted territory with winning there either.....

It will be interesting to see if Nortons can develop their bike to anything remotely like that level of success.
The IoM TT is not really supported by anyone at the manufacturers/factory level these days, being almost a private/dealer funded shoestring effort.
Perfect breeding ground for improving the breed, without a monster outlay ?!!

Rohan said ...."Perfect breeding ground for improving the breed, without a monster outlay ?!!"

My thoughts exactly. The IOM has always put a high premium on high speed, stability, and stamina. Probably why the British manufacturers were so good for so long, at least the manufacturers that raced there were.........
cheers
wakeup

I suggest that when you start talking about bikes with V4 motors, you are going off topic. For one thing, they have at least twice the number of valves, so the BMEP is much higher. Also the internal loads on cases , bearings, rods and cranks are much lower, for a higher power output. You are comparing apples with oranges. It would make much more sense to discuss a particular capacity class in the BOTT.

Perhaps you haven't been reading this thread, Alan ?
This 'Norton' has an Aprilia V4 engine in it.

Like it had at last years IoM TT too.
This is old news, whereyoubeen ?

Stuart Granger [Stuart Garner?] was there & I had a long chat with him about production delays & he said they were employing more people to keep up with the demand.

I also chatted with his right hand man (who's name escapes me at present) about the 2013 Norton being a test mule for the new NORTON V4 race / street engine.

Hopefully the pictures are bigger this time, if not I give up!

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/775.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/806.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/816.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/788.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/800Norton.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/054.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/053.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/052.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/051.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/050.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/049.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/pouchy750/048.jpg

This is what you are after, add

Click to expand...

after

Norton Motors original idea with an Aprillia V4 is likely to be linked with their aborted discussion of going to MotoGP, where the so called CRT class is being led by bikes based higher spec versions of the same Aprillia V4 engine in specialist racing chassis' of a higher spec than the Spondon item.

Aprillia clearly make a good race motor. Spondon have a huge amount of experience and past success, but are not considered top flight today.

One might question why Norton persevere when they clearly have other issues to attend to?, but hey, they will need to develop something to sell alongside the 961 in the future that will appeal to a wider market, won't they?

If you do want to see Nortons at the IoM there will be no shortage in August at the Classic TT......might even include the odd twin snce there is a suitable class

The Norton continget will probably include a certain 4 Valve Manx, the developer of which is causing some consternation in the UK classic scene with what could amount to a financial threat to the grass roots of UK classic racing because he is unhappy that it has been declared ineligible at club race events.

'If you do want to see Nortons at the IoM there will be no shortage in August at the Classic TT......might even include the odd twin snce there is a suitable class :'


I suggest there needs to be 'thunderbike ' capacity classes in classic racing which cater solely for bikes with four stroke, air cooled , two valve, up to three cylinder motors. Until that happens there will never be a level playing field for commandos or any other old technology bikes. If you believe that an old style two valve twin will beat a two stroke or four cylinder bikes, or twins with four valves per cylinder , all other things being equal - you've got rocks in your head. A 500cc Paton will absolutely cream most other four stroke bikes of less than four cylinders. And two strokes beat the Paton. We should love commandos for what they are - the limit of the old technology. We should not make them try to be something else. I love my Seeley 850, however I don't fantasize about it. I suggest that for what it is, the 961 is superb. It should be raced against 1000cc air cooled Ducatis such as the Paul Smart Replica, and the newer Triumph twins. If we want the 961 to be something else we should abandon the design, start again from scratch and build something modern.- A 1000cc Paton ?

Who said anything about racing a 961 ???