V4 + 961

peebee

peebee

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Oct 30, 2011
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Having read the thread about the V4 situation here are my thoughts about the Donnington 961 range, you may disagree. I think we are entering a period like I encountered twenty years ago with my Rotary Norton when spares and dealers started to become sparse and expensive, but unlike the Donny bikes the rotary was uber reliable and never let me down once in over 80k miles. Slowly the market place changed and people started to hang on to their Rotaries because the only other option was selling them at a loss on the original purchase price, which I think is starting to happen now. The only option for a Donny owner seems to be either sell to a dealer who of course needs to make a profit and so offers less than you want or try and find someone in a diminishing market of dedicated Norton owners who unfortunately have already seen all the bad reports about them and spend accordingly. Forget buying as an investment that boat sailed years ago and won't return for a long long time.
It all comes down to the spares situation, once parts start to become rare they become more expensive and TVS haven't helped the situation with giving little or no information about interchangeability of parts , in fact TVS have got off on the wrong foot altogether with new buyers, they have a terrible after sales attitude it seems all they are focused on is ploughing straight ahead making new models and leaving owners in their wake to sort things out. As I said I saw this with the Rotary era and I believe it is now happening with the old 961s it's unfortunate but sooner or later the choice will have to be made to sell or keep (for a long time).
Luckily or otherwise this situation won't bother me as I am mid way through my seventies with a TVS Norton and rushing downhill at breakneck speed towards the the big black hole of infinity.🙄
 
peebee said:
Having read the thread about the V4 situation here are my thoughts about the Donnington 961 range, you may disagree. I think we are entering a period like I encountered twenty years ago with my Rotary Norton when spares and dealers started to become sparse and expensive, but unlike the Donny bikes the rotary was uber reliable and never let me down once in over 80k miles. Slowly the market place changed and people started to hang on to their Rotaries because the only other option was selling them at a loss on the original purchase price, which I think is starting to happen now. The only option for a Donny owner seems to be either sell to a dealer who of course needs to make a profit and so offers less than you want or try and find someone in a diminishing market of dedicated Norton owners who unfortunately have already seen all the bad reports about them and spend accordingly. Forget buying as an investment that boat sailed years ago and won't return for a long long time.
It all comes down to the spares situation, once parts start to become rare they become more expensive and TVS haven't helped the situation with giving little or no information about interchangeability of parts , in fact TVS have got off on the wrong foot altogether with new buyers, they have a terrible after sales attitude it seems all they are focused on is ploughing straight ahead making new models and leaving owners in their wake to sort things out. As I said I saw this with the Rotary era and I believe it is now happening with the old 961s it's unfortunate but sooner or later the choice will have to be made to sell or keep (for a long time).
Luckily or otherwise this situation won't bother me as I am mid way through my seventies with a TVS Norton and rushing downhill at breakneck speed towards the the big black hole of infinity.🙄
Click to expand...
As I always said, TVS does not care about parts sales to Donny owners. They never have, never will.
People are now saying to go through a dealership to purchase parts. Great, a middleman who has a hard time getting or understanding what parts you may need.

TVS knows damn well what will or will not fit Donny bikes. Yet they refuse to tell. The dealership parts department, forget it, they don’t know either. So then you take the gamble of getting a part that may or may not work. At your expense.

It still to this day blows my mind that TVS refused to sell any Donny parts they had when they purchased Norton. We all know that they had spares with the company purchase. They could have sold off the Donny parts as a AS IS NO GUARANTEE NO WARRANTY NOT LIABILITY sale.

If you owe a Dominator, may as well give up and just park it. That’s what I did.
 
Everything on a tvs bike will retro fit a euro 4 Donington bike...although you may need associated supporting parts eg if you order a brummy re-release battery box, you'll need the splash mat, and tank fixings too.
 
Stu Bodycote said:
Everything on a tvs bike will retro fit a euro 4 Donington bike...although you may need associated supporting parts eg if you order a brummy re-release battery box, you'll need the splash mat, and tank fixings too.
Click to expand...
The trouble is that Donny bikes now have a stigma attached to them, you would be surprised how many people I come across that think they know everything about the 961 yet have never ridden one let alone owned one. This sometimes miss information is now wide spread amongst the ignorant of the biking world, but they are trying their best to nail the 961 coffin shut, so maybe new buyers will probably go for a TVS one or even a used TVS one rather than a Donny. I went through this with the Norton Rotary, every man and his dog had a bad opinion of them and like I said we covered over110K miles together and hand on heart not once did it break down on me and the only reason I sold it was because of the spares situation. Hells bells even people in the NOC started having a go saying they weren't "REAL" Nortons FFS. ( don't worry that's coming next for the 961's). "There's nowt as queer as folk" as mi dad used to say.😏
 
Stu Bodycote said:
Everything on a tvs bike will retro fit a euro 4 Donington bike...although you may need associated supporting parts eg if you order a brummy re-release battery box, you'll need the splash mat, and tank fixings too.
Click to expand...
What about euro 3?
Aren’t the 2017 and older bikes euro 3?
I have a 2016 Commando sf and a 2016 Domi naked. Neither have ABS. The commando doesn’t have the Evap but the Domi does.
My vins 10th digit on both bikes is a G for 2016 but I thought the Naked’s were 2017?
USA models.
 
Voodooo said:
What about euro 3?
Aren’t the 2017 and older bikes euro 3?
I have a 2016 Commando sf and a 2016 Domi naked. Neither have ABS. The commando doesn’t have the Evap but the Domi does.
My vins 10th digit on both bikes is a G for 2016 but I thought the Naked’s were 2017?
USA models.
Click to expand...
And do you think TVS will tell, or sell you bits and guarantee them.?
 
peebee said:
And do you think TVS will tell, or sell you bits and guarantee them.?
Click to expand...
I gave up with TVS Norton long ago. Too much bs.
Some had luck getting parts, I didn’t.
Sadly, both of my 961’s just sit in the corner.
 
And yet the Donny 961's are still selling for high prices, plenty seem to be going for £9 to 10K on Ebay. Even with their well known problems. Perhaps new owners don't know about the spares situation and assume any TVS Norton dealer can service their bikes? Or maybe the issues are now so well known and solutions available, at a cost.. i.e porous tanks Vs a TAB2 alloy replacement. Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I feel most problems can be solved. There is a thread on here with lots of info on alternative parts and what else can be used if the OEM part is not available.. starter motors, solenoids, relays etc.

Certainly, I'm considering buying a Donny bike to mod if prices fall enough, and I will deal with any problems that may arise... but they haven't dropped enough yet.
 
Bin the evap system....it does nothing for the bike, is stand alone and looks bloody ugly. Remove it all and cap off the spigot on the throttle body. I've removed loads of them now.
The parts of the tvs Norton that will fit pre euro 4 bikes, are the same parts that a Donington euro 4 bike will fit.
I'm using my home brewed Domi a bit now, and initially from the two places I visited, it did prompt the arm chair experts to preach war and peace to me over Donington Norton. But since that, everywhere I've been it's caused a big stir....people love it, and it gets invited to events now also. It may not be an official Norton, but it's doing its part in promoting the platform.
The Dominator range still demands strong money....18-20k for a base model, up to 30k for an ss and 40k+ for a Domiracer.
They're still a firm favorite with collectors, with one of my customers having five 961s in his bike collection. Collectors you won't see on pages like this or the social media pages, as they don't have any problems with their bikes, as they're not in use....just display pieces.
 
New Dominator Naked, euro 3, photo taken 30th November 2016 at the factory.
V4 + 961
 
I was sure I had Natalia, my better half, stood by the first Domi Naked at the Norton summer ball, August 20th 2016....which was given to SG's missus for her 30th. But I can only find this picture.....I recall the Naked being parked to the other side of the reception hallway.
V4 + 961
 
Bevelheadmhr said:
And yet the Donny 961's are still selling for high prices, plenty seem to be going for £9 to 10K on Ebay. Even with their well known problems. Perhaps new owners don't know about the spares situation and assume any TVS Norton dealer can service their bikes? Or maybe the issues are now so well known and solutions available, at a cost.. i.e porous tanks Vs a TAB2 alloy replacement. Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I feel most problems can be solved. There is a thread on here with lots of info on alternative parts and what else can be used if the OEM part is not available.. starter motors, solenoids, relays etc.

Certainly, I'm considering buying a Donny bike to mod if prices fall enough, and I will deal with any problems that may arise... but they haven't dropped enough yet.
Click to expand...
You think that half of their original price is good?
 
Were they not around £11K when launched? Plenty of bikes are worth a lot less than 50% of their new price after more than ten years.
 
Stu Bodycote said:
Everything on a tvs bike will retro fit a euro 4 Donington bike...although you may need associated supporting parts eg if you order a brummy re-release battery box, you'll need the splash mat, and tank fixings too.
Click to expand...
I think the spares issue has always been more about access than compatibility. Although TVS has made changes they are limited - many of which we’re aware of, courtesy of Stu and others.

With some workarounds already in development like the battery box example, this’ll only get clearer over time. Things may get a little stickier if conducting ‘open bike surgery’ and looking at some internals - these seem (very) limited though.

Access is the main issue. The dealer network may work in owners favour if you are UK based and especially if near a dealer. Standing in front of the spares guy and striking up a personal relationship (which you could’nt do at the factory) you are much harder to deprioritise than your email. The opposite may be the case if overseas, where that extra layer will likely lead to delays, at best - given our low priority status.
 
peebee said:
And do you think TVS will tell, or sell you bits and guarantee them.?
Click to expand...
I know they won’t. I tried getting parts for over 3 years and after multiple attempts and run arounds, I completely given up.
 
Stu Bodycote said:
Bin the evap system....it does nothing for the bike, is stand alone and looks bloody ugly. Remove it all and cap off the spigot on the throttle body. I've removed loads of them now.
The parts of the tvs Norton that will fit pre euro 4 bikes, are the same parts that a Donington euro 4 bike will fit.
I'm using my home brewed Domi a bit now, and initially from the two places I visited, it did prompt the arm chair experts to preach war and peace to me over Donington Norton. But since that, everywhere I've been it's caused a big stir....people love it, and it gets invited to events now also. It may not be an official Norton, but it's doing its part in promoting the platform.
The Dominator range still demands strong money....18-20k for a base model, up to 30k for an ss and 40k+ for a Domiracer.
They're still a firm favorite with collectors, with one of my customers having five 961s in his bike collection. Collectors you won't see on pages like this or the social media pages, as they don't have any problems with their bikes, as they're not in use....just display pieces.
Click to expand...
The Commando TVS parts do me no good for a Domi.
 
Stu Bodycote said:
New Dominator Naked, euro 3, photo taken 30th November 2016 at the factory.View attachment 115762
Click to expand...
Mine and the other that was ordered here in the US arrived July 27-2017 after a 7 month wait.
I don’t see myself ever getting rid of it, and probably won’t ride it again.
 

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Voodooo said:
It still to this day blows my mind that TVS refused to sell any Donny parts they had when they purchased Norton. We all know that they had spares with the company purchase. They could have sold off the Donny parts as a AS IS NO GUARANTEE NO WARRANTY NOT LIABILITY sale.

If you owe a Dominator, may as well give up and just park it. That’s what I did.
Click to expand...
Hi Voodoo , I thought New Norton destroyed all the old Donington inventory ?
 
TonyA said:
Hi Voodoo , I thought New Norton destroyed all the old Donington inventory ?
Click to expand...
That’s my point, they could have sold us donington owners the parts as is, no liability, no warranty. I would have signed every contract they laid out.
 
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