Norton Motorcycle Instagram

BritTwit said:
Perhaps, but I'm betting that while becoming very agitated and disappointed at Norton's apparent slow go policy, these Norton same owners/fans will still be fans when the bikes do finally begin to roll out of the facility.
Now, they will pout, scream, stomp their feet, etc, but if the bikes are turned out well, all will be forgiven.
Because Norton will be back!
Come on, we all know this, let's stop kidding ourselves, we're all Norton masochist.
Yes, otherwise we would only own Hondas.
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At least we know the Honda(Harley, Yamaha, Ducati, Triumph, etc) are well built!!
 
BritTwit said:
Perhaps, but I'm betting that while becoming very agitated and disappointed at Norton's apparent slow go policy, these Norton same owners/fans will still be fans when the bikes do finally begin to roll out of the facility.
Now, they will pout, scream, stomp their feet, etc, but if the bikes are turned out well, all will be forgiven.
Because Norton will be back!
Come on, we all know this, let's stop kidding ourselves, we're all Norton masochist.
Yes, otherwise we would only own Hondas.
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I beg to differ.
Seriously, Are you in the market if Norton today were to offer a bike for sale? Would you really go buy a V4? Or even a classic? I’m asking a serious question here.
 
Voodooo said:
I beg to differ.
Seriously, Are you in the market if Norton today were to offer a bike for sale? Would you really go buy a V4? Or even a classic? I’m asking a serious question here.
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Without a doubt, if there were valid, actual, and positive customer feedback that the machine was problem free.
This is why I say that TVS/Norton has to resolve the issues plaguing the 961 before anyone will buy one.
A 6 month longterm test by MCN, or Cycleworld or another publication would go a long way to allaying prospective buyer's fears.
I'll never be able to afford the V4, but if I could, the same reasoning would apply.
 
BritTwit said:
I think this photo shows that Norton have their heart in the right place.
But it is a Norton, so in keeping with tradition, should be a bit more provocative.
Maybe the rider could wear a leather cat suit, and high heels.
Just saying...
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or at least make it look like the tires were scuffed from riding!
 
Voodooo said:
I beg to differ.
Seriously, Are you in the market if Norton today were to offer a bike for sale? Would you really go buy a V4? Or even a classic? I’m asking a serious question here.
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Yes, yes, yes and yes! Cos it’s a Norton!

Knowledge of and affinity with the Norton marque may not be strong in the US as you state (I don’t know), but it remains so in the UK. I think most discerning buyers are smart enough to differentiate between Garner Norton and Birmingham Norton - if spending that amount of money prospective buyers will do their due diligence. If Norton produce a line-up of reliable (attractive - never been an issue) bikes and provide adequate support then they will sell IMO.

I don’t know, but do you need to be British to understand the relationship between a British biker and a British bike manufacturer - especially Norton and Triumph? I’m asking a serious question here.
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Yes, yes, yes and yes! Cos it’s a Norton!

Knowledge of and affinity with the Norton marque may not be strong in the US as you state (I don’t know), but it remains so in the UK. I think most discerning buyers are smart enough to differentiate between Garner Norton and Birmingham Norton - if spending that amount of money prospective buyers will do their due diligence. If Norton produce a line-up of reliable (attractive - never been an issue) bikes and provide adequate support then they will sell IMO.

I don’t know, but do you need to be British to understand the relationship between a British biker and a British bike manufacturer - especially Norton and Triumph? I’m asking a serious question here.
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I’m not saying Norton is not known. But how many 50+ year old buyers are running out to buy a sport bike?
Please don’t say it’s a special bike. I know it’s expensive, but owning a $44k bike can be had in other brands as well. Each owner feels their purchase is special to them.

I mean I wouldn’t go spend $44k usd on a Harley, but others do.

I just don’t see why TVS refuses to advertise, sell merchandise and provide more info as progress is being made. They didn’t design these bikes from scratch, we don’t even know what “improvements “ they made that they claim.

I make a better steak than any restaurant and yet I can’t sell them like a top chef.
 
I would definitely buy a Superlight! Heck… if they actually fix the 961 I could even be tempted back onto one, at a stretch.

But I still agree with Voodoo, I wouldn’t buy one blindly, it has to be a fundamentally good motorcycle and priced ‘reasonably’ (that doesn’t mean ‘cheap’… I know it’s premium, but if they make everything 50% more than Garner asked then forget it).

Norton should be far more open. For example, with the V4, they should be telling the world what they’ve changed, they should be showing videos of the chief engineer showing us the improved parts, telling us what they’ve done and why its better. These bikes, by definition, appeal to petrol heads. It’s not difficult to feed a petrol head with info to get him / her excited, show us some nice conrods, pistons, etc and we’ll be drooling…!

They made a BIG deal out of telling the world about the flaws in the original V4… it’s just bloody common sense to make it an EVEN BIGGER DEAL to tell the world what you’ve done to fix that lemon you told the world about… isn’t it…?
 
I suppose the obvious answer is that they can't be under too much pressure from above to move things along faster. It's not like they are a new startup company desperate to get a return on their investment to keep the banks off their backs. I know us Norton fans are impatient to see something rolling out of the factory but the rest of the world ticks along, reads about the new v4/961 being worked on then turns the page to the next news story. And hey Nigel - must be something wrong with us buying our sports bikes at 50+ years old.....
 
BritTwit said:
Without a doubt, if there were valid, actual, and positive customer feedback that the machine was problem free.
This is why I say that TVS/Norton has to resolve the issues plaguing the 961 before anyone will buy one.
A 6 month longterm test by MCN, or Cycleworld or another publication would go a long way to allaying prospective buyer's fears.
I'll never be able to afford the V4, but if I could, the same reasoning would apply.
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Can you miss out MCN ,the Sun of motorcycle press.
 
In the spirit of the old British bike manufacturers Royal Enfield sent a couple of Himalayas to the South Pole last year (met Dean Coxton at the Norton factory btw) so what epic stunt could Norton stage to prove the reliability of the 961? Any bright ideas?
 
Clive said:
In the spirit of the old British bike manufacturers Royal Enfield sent a couple of Himalayas to the South Pole last year (met Dean Coxton at the Norton factory btw) so what epic stunt could Norton stage to prove the reliability of the 961? Any bright ideas?
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Trip around the Birmingham ring road?

If that’s not too ambitious ;)
 
Actually, you could easily plot a route from Lands End to John O Groats that clocked 961 miles.

Doing that in a day would be a good PR stunt.

A group of riders with a prize for the one who gets closest to exactly 961.00 miles.
 
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Clive said:
I suppose the obvious answer is that they can't be under too much pressure from above to move things along faster. It's not like they are a new startup company desperate to get a return on their investment to keep the banks off their backs. I know us Norton fans are impatient to see something rolling out of the factory but the rest of the world ticks along, reads about the new v4/961 being worked on then turns the page to the next news story. And hey Nigel - must be something wrong with us buying our sports bikes at 50+ years old.....
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I’m not saying 50+ year olds won’t buy it. But the 50+ crowd isn’t going to keep the lights on that state of the art Norton factory.

Do you really think the V4 is going to sell that many bikes to make TVS a profit and to profit them to continue to make other models?

Sorry for my frustration and disappointment, but as FE said, show us and tell us the improvements and progress. Flaunt your achievements and labors.

News and advertising sell.
Being quiet doesn’t.
 
'...Knowledge of and affinity with the Norton marque may not be strong in the US as you state (I don’t know), but it remains so in the UK.....'

Ain't necessarily so, IMHO......

We're used to 'badge engineering' as the UK car industry thrived on it: Rolls/Bentley, Jaguar/Daimler, Standard/Triumph, the Rootes group with a multitude of names and body styles on common chassis pans, the mighty BL, of course, etc. etc... And at the risk of sounding xenophobic they were, at least, all from our own back yard..

To me, any 'new' bike with a 'Norton' badge will be just that, a bike with a Norton badge on it, and will sink or swim on what's behind or under the badge..

I wish them well, though....

(I do recognize the tenuous links between the 961 and what came before, but all else I have no affinity with solely because it shares the name)
 
EstuaryBoy said:
To me, any 'new' bike with a 'Norton' badge will be just that, a bike with a Norton badge on it, and will sink or swim on what's behind or under the badge..

I wish them well, though....
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I was first attracted to the 961 by the looks. The badge was a big bonus and to be able to get a personalised ‘yes we can do that for you’ service counted for a great deal. All this despite the lack of technology and middling power. It would be interesting to ask owners to what degree the badge would have affected their purchase if it was,say, Royal Enfield, BMW, Honda, Jinlang, Lexmoto for an identical bike. I would find it difficult to answer honestly.
 
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