Norton V4SS

Is the Norton V4 powerplant an Aprilia? With the early affiliation and rebadged Aprilias racebikes used by Norton at the IOM, I assumed that at least the engine of the Norton V4 was a rebadged Aprilia.
Given the recent events, this could be a good thing if it is.
It would also have a good chance at decent reliability.

Glen
 
Ricardo have been working with Aprilia, Norton and Zongshen on engine design. 2 V4's and 3 650 twins between the 3.
 
Keep an eye on the valve clearances, the Norton V4 has the same valve train issues as the Aprillia V4 its derived from. Once the valve clearances become tight but not corrected the valve heads will fall off the valve stem and cause
Pity they didn't go to hydraulic valve lifters, this problem would not have arisen, OTOH being Italians they might just have screwed it up all the same. . . . . .
 
Pity they didn't go to hydraulic valve lifters, this problem would not have arisen, OTOH being Italians they might just have screwed it up all the same. . . . . .
What’s wrong with Desmo ?
 
Is the Norton V4 powerplant an Aprilia? With the early affiliation and rebadged Aprilias racebikes used by Norton at the IOM, I assumed that at least the engine of the Norton V4 was a rebadged Aprilia.
Given the recent events, this could be a good thing if it is.
It would also have a good chance at decent reliability.

Glen
Nobody knows Glen. However I was told last week by a now ex-Norton dealer who is also an Aprilia dealer, that he supplied the gearbox parts to Norton from Apilia. That was from the dealer principle. I am guessing the blocks etc are Aprilia. Maybe some machjnjng to the head. I know a guy who's and ex-Aprilia tech so might take it to him to get his opinion. But hey the Aprilia V4 is a fantastic engine (I had a 2016 Tuono Factory) so no bad thing in my opinion if it is a modified Aprilia.
 
There were 2 last week but can't find it now, don't use twitter but I was looking at notnorton motorcycles and notnorton moto but you can easily get lost in all the interlinking between accounts.

Ah I think I know what u are talking about now. There were some pics on a Twitter account called The Truth About Norton or something like that. Those pictures were Commandos or Domis. Trust me, they're are not enough V4SS on the road (I only know of 3 others) and I'm fairly sure mine is the highest mileage at 400 miles). Only 36 have been registered in the UK.
 
Ah I think I know what u are talking about now. There were some pics on a Twitter account called The Truth About Norton or something like that. Those pictures were Commandos or Domis. Trust me, they're are not enough V4SS on the road (I only know of 3 others) and I'm fairly sure mine is the highest mileage at 400 miles). Only 36 have been registered in the UK.

Well I would still look out for valve clearances with an initial check now and then more frequently, only get the engine serviced by an Aprilia V4 specialist, its the Aprilia 1000 V4 with the banks of cylinders at a wider angle and bored out. Hence why the gearbox is common, the crankcases will not be due to the wider angle but the basic structure will be the same and so much the same V4 Aprilia faults plus the ones put in by inexperienced assemblers to contend with.
 
Well that's one way of keeping the warranty claims low, these owners must be gutted.
 
Like I said in the other thread, surely this is theft on the part of the 9 plaintiffs... and it is miss selling / fraud of some kind on the part of whomever they sold bikes to that contained second hand parts... and it is a HMRC / VAT issue as they have sold some parts twice?
 
Like I said in the other thread, surely this is theft on the part of the 9 plaintiffs... and it is miss selling / fraud of some kind on the part of whomever they sold bikes to that contained second hand parts... and it is a HMRC / VAT issue as they have sold some parts twice?
All true Nigel but there is no way the finances will cover 9 lots of £44000 - they can’t pay £300000 to HMRC! Plus the fraud claims from new owners with second hand parts attached to new bikes and the original owners suing Norton....
If SG and SS don’t go to prison it will be incredible
 
If this has been done behind closed doors then virtually impossible to pin the blame on one or more individuals, each and everyone of the employees could have done it and deny all knowledge, very very sad.
 
If this has been done behind closed doors then virtually impossible to pin the blame on one or more individuals, each and everyone of the employees could have done it and deny all knowledge, very very sad.
Mark,
As you know, the service area and build area are separated. It is clear that parts moving from service dept to build would be seen by all at Donington - SG residence overlooks the green between the two buildings. Definitely not behind closed doors. The fitters/technicians inthe build section work directly under SS
This is beyond unacceptable - the guy reclaiming the remnants of his bike will have a hell of a job getting it back to looking like a prestige bike and he will get f*** all from Norton
 
From what I understand, most suppliers insisted on pro forma terms with Norton. As cash became increasing tight, as completed V4's came in for service or warantee, parts where taken off and used to complete other bikes in order then to get full payment from others. Maybe they could have pulled this all off and delivered all the bikes in time but it was a very bad decision that has now seriously backfired. I do hope BDO/Metrobank can put this situation right for these "Owners". Perhaps I was lucky not to have had parts taken off mine and fixed on other 961's in order to have pulled in final payments from others.
 
Mark,
As you know, the service area and build area are separated. It is clear that parts moving from service dept to build would be seen by all at Donington - SG residence overlooks the green between the two buildings. Definitely not behind closed doors. The fitters/technicians inthe build section work directly under SS
This is beyond unacceptable - the guy reclaiming the remnants of his bike will have a hell of a job getting it back to looking like a prestige bike and he will get f*** all from Norton
The bike in the video was wheeled out of the main building. It could have been put there by BDO or it could have been parked there awaiting its warranty paint (service area is far too small to stockpile bikes awaiting parts). This bike could have had it's forks and other bits removed by any one of the technicians and put in the back of a car. It is impossible to say at this stage at what level the pilfering was authorised or known about. A techie about to lose his job would know how and where to shift several sets of Ohlins on the black market to feed his family.
 
The bike in the video was wheeled out of the main building. It could have been put there by BDO or it could have been parked there awaiting its warranty paint (service area is far too small to stockpile bikes awaiting parts). This bike could have had it's forks and other bits removed by any one of the technicians and put in the back of a car. It is impossible to say at this stage at what level the pilfering was authorised or known about. A techie about to lose his job would know how and where to shift several sets of Ohlins on the black market to feed his family.
Is this yet another attempt to cling on to the illusion that the great and holy SG "knew nothing about this"? The man is a criminal- accept the facts.
 
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