What’s the best none Norton Norton ?

Stephen_Spencer said:
Not difficult to be better looking than an 890 Tom! Not the 990 of course - goes without saying!

I reckon all bikers should at least have a go on a big adventure bike - if only on road. There’s a reason why they are the fastest growing bike genre!

Would Love to ride the Norden, not with this guy obviously - but beauty really is in the eye of the beholder!😳 She’s still a bit fugly - in a ‘blind cobblers thumb’ sort of way!

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I think maybe the big fully farkled ADV bikes are one new way to show off wealth & success …. what do I know
 
Yeah they are big and heavy, the crop of ~750cc and ~450lb bikes are quite good on the street and passable on the dirt (especially the Yamaha Tenere 700 and Aprilia Tuono 660, KTM/Husky). I now have the Tenere - well I got for my son, and Honda Transalp which is more street oriented, revvy and has lots of gizmos. The Yamaha might have been my choice but I got a great deal and it's a good commuter. It has a soft suspension w/o damping control unlike the Yamaha. There's always some compromise. I got both with under 400 miles and with thousands of $ worth of 'farkles' for 8900 and 10K respectively. Big savings for great bikes.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Starting this to take the ‘traffic’ off of other threads.

Ok, to get us started:

Indian FTR: Too heavy? Handling ??

Kawasaki Z900 retro thingy: Seriously? I mean they were called ‘UJMs’ back in the day, in part due to their bland capableness.

Thaiumph Speed Twin: ...

And...
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There really is only on that even comes close, that's the modern Triumph big twin in it's basic Bonneville configuration.

All else are totally different animals, be it Vs or inline 4s, that's NOT a "Norton-like" anything.
 
I figure any big twin fits this thread , sticking with the Ducati GT1000 , even has a fuel tank that can go soft 😉
 
Forgive me please if this thread is about newly manufactured
bikes . Forgiveness also if I posted this earlier in the thread - too many pages to search.
My running stable is down to three now . ES 2 , Commando and this …
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1990 Honda GB 500 . Certainly Nortonish in spirit - fun in the handling part too . The electric leg may come in handy as I have just had a small chunk of skin cancer on my right leg cut out and I don’t know how the kickstart thing will workout for a bit .
 
We collectively agreed long ago in this thread that anything goes, bike wise. We’ve had posts ranging from Harley to Husqvarna. It might be a machine that the poster owns or just admires. If it’s Norton like that’s great too.

The thread has met its aim by FE to unclutter other threads - you’ll note that he mentions the Z900RS in the OP.
 
Okay, why not. My son's '02 Ducati 916 S4 Monster Fogarty replica

What’s the best none Norton Norton ?
What’s the best none Norton Norton ?

It's about to be for sale after a L-O-N-G sleep while he was stationed in Germany then moved back to Texas, I built my barndo, etc.

Should be running tomorrow if all goes well...

Will smoke my 1200 Kawasaki which is no slouch and I've had at 145 with throttle left. This one is geared to do 160 fairly easily.

Asking book value with original tank (2 dents).
 
OK, here's a more legitimate alternative NON-Norton Norton - 1992 Yamaha TDM 650 "Bug Eyes, with a casual nod to the JPN via it's "bug eyes".

850, 4-stroke, twin, chain drive, 2 wheels.

Apart from that, it's QUITE non-Norton; but, a GREAT alternative! One of the easiest bikes to get to 120 MPH that I have ever ridden, and I've ridden a BUNCH of bike capable of 125+...

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grandpaul said:
OK, here's a more legitimate alternative NON-Norton Norton - 1992 Yamaha TDM 650 "Bug Eyes, with a casual nod to the JPN via it's "bug eyes".

850, 4-stroke, twin, chain drive, 2 wheels.

Apart from that, it's QUITE non-Norton; but, a GREAT alternative! One of the easiest bikes to get to 120 MPH that I have ever ridden, and I've ridden a BUNCH of bike capable of 125+...

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They never really caught on in Blighty but the Continentals loved them. My mate had one and thought it was great, but the price of a brand new one was way over the list price of all it's competitors in the field, I think that was the main reason for low sales . I don't know who at Yamaha did the pricing for their bikes but I remember looking at a 660 single and it was three and a half thousand pounds dearer than the 650 BMW single at the time and they wouldn't budge on the price so guess who got my money.
Shortly after that they had a shake up and the prices tumbled, but too late for a lot of customers, they must have lost thousands of sales.
 
grandpaul said:
OK, here's a more legitimate alternative NON-Norton Norton - 1992 Yamaha TDM 650 "Bug Eyes, with a casual nod to the JPN via it's "bug eyes".

850, 4-stroke, twin, chain drive, 2 wheels.

Apart from that, it's QUITE non-Norton; but, a GREAT alternative! One of the easiest bikes to get to 120 MPH that I have ever ridden, and I've ridden a BUNCH of bike capable of 125+...

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This is why I pitched the TRX850....same engine. A 270° parallel twin, dry sump, five speed box...sound familiar?
 
Yep TDM 850 was a great bike - remember looking at it quite closely when it first came out. It would be the TRX 850 for me though, sportier stance and a little more powerful Like that styling better too; bit of a cult classic.

Good call on the Norton comparison, for obvious reasons. Would quite like one in my garage!

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I always thought they had a lot going for them and used to want one for myself, however I really don't even see that many of them around this neck of the woods anymore. (Yokohama). Cj
 
I agree. The TDM 850 will run and run however it is a very top heavy bike choice for most of us old farts.
My clubmate had one with a top box fitted and the thing beat him up badly three times. The tip overs were always at slow speed or stationary. Two were at the gas pumps. The last one broke his collar bone and hospitalized him.
I convinced him to sell it and replace it with an 865 T100 Bonneville. It was lighter than the TDM, although still on the heavy side.
The Triumph sat lower and carried its weight lower. He had no problems with tip overs with it.

Not a TDM but a frail old guy on an Adventure bike having an adventure.
Adventure bikes are too tall for most folks and really awful for anything slow and the least bit tricky.
This rider would probably have ridden right thru on a Harley fatboy or a GSXR

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Clive said:
Hmmmm I know we're talking personal taste here but in my eyes I think we're going a bit too upright in this thread. Anything which puts my nose more than 15 inches above the front mudguard is a motocross bike in my eyes
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Get exactly where you’re coming from Clive, that’s my preference also. As long as I can continue to ride the 961 in CR form I will; a good number of years yet I reckon. Then adjustable clip-ons and incrementally raise them. Result👍. That said it’s not a bike for touring (for me).

The crop of adv/pseudo adv bikes are pretty impressive - but I guess you gotta ride one to understand fully. I’m not talking fully loaded BMW GS XX Adv size here - might as well take the car!

But many Adv’s are super capable road bikes, able to scratch with the sports bikes - then adjust suspension, add luggage, ride around the continent. The reason they’re so popular.

With road tyres and sports settings I’m quicker through the twisties on the 990 than the 961. Definitely personal taste though - ya gotta be willing to put up with the fugly facade of most adv bikes!! They’re not bought for beauty!! Must dig out my Ogri T-shirt!😄

Extreme example below, but ya get the ‘drift’ - literally!

 
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worntorn said:
I agree. The TDM 850 will run and run however it is a very top heavy bike choice for most of us old farts.
My clubmate had one with a top box fitted and the thing beat him up badly three times. The tip overs were always at slow speed or stationary. Two were at the gas pumps. The last one broke his collar bone and hospitalized him.
I convinced him to sell it and replace it with an 865 T100 Bonneville. It was lighter than the TDM, although still on the heavy side.
The Triumph sat lower and carried its weight lower. He had no problems with tip overs with it.

Not a TDM but a frail old guy on an Adventure bike having an adventure.
Adventure bikes are too tall for most folks and really awful for anything slow and the least bit tricky.
This rider would probably have ridden right thru on a Harley fatboy or a GSXR

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That video was simply lack of skill/off road experience.

Slime in water is real.

A brief test walk is in order for those unsure of terrain.

That GS rider tried to steer as if on dry pavement.

JMWO

And yes, I agree with you, ALL adv bikes are top heavy.
The engineering point of diminishing returns.
Long travel suspension gobbles up high speed desert terrain.
It dictates high seat/CG.
It is a liability at low speed.
Compromise. Engineering is full of it.
I had a woods ride 5 years ago where I showed up with my '75 DT400.
All the foot-of-travel riders were snickering/grinning.
As we traversed slow, technical trails of round, mud slicked rocks, I began to snicker (inside my helmet) as 5 of 6 hit the ground.

Horses for courses.
 
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Yep, no doubt adv bikes carry their weight higher up by virtue of longer travel suspension - I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily always the liability it may appear when on road though (depending on the machine).

There are heavier adv bikes that carry their weight very well and lighter ones that manoeuvre like a bus! Depends how it’s configured, sprung and equipped. Noting that generally, overall weight between road and adventure bikes can be very similar.

Wheels and tyres are critical obviously. More dirt oriented adv’s (21 x 18) not as manouverable as more road orientated (19 x 17). Fit motard wheels (17 x 17), as many do, even better again. My KTM 990 Adv is way easier to manoeuvre at low speeds than the 961 for example. Same wet weight.

Seat height is an issue for the vertically challenged and will likely become more difficult to manage as we age; all pretty obvious I guess. Admittedly though, lots of the adv bikes today are little more than sports tourers with more upright ergos (that will never see the dirt). These benefit some older guys by virtue of increased comfort and versatility, more so than any negative related to weight up top.
 
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