Where to service in Colorado future warranty issues

Hello all !

I am new to this forum and wanted to say hello to all. Also I am new buyer of 961SF, in negotiations with dealer for possible delivery late april 2016.
Reading posts on your site, I do see that warranty issues do come around, and are handled promptly by factory via dealer. My questions if anyone can provide answer is, as I am Colorado and there are no official dealers here what would I do if issues arise ?

Would they ship parts to me directly?

If dealer needs to approve, would I be out of luck?

I never had Norton, so this sparse network of dealers is new to me. It will not push me away from bike, but I need to know what to expect.

Thank you all.


Current
2015 BMW R nineT

Past
09 Ducati 1198s
05 HD Deuce
01 KTM 640 Six Days
95 Kawasaki KLX650
88 Tomos 50cc

There will be several new dealerships opening in the near future. There is a new US Distributer in town!

Hello Vmcore , What dealer are you buying from now ? MCC Chicago ?

If you do end up working on the bike yourself check out Colorado Norton Works. Matt has some hands on experience with the 961 engine and has specialty tools and upgrades. He knows his stuff and everything else like brembos and such loads of experience.. Perhaps he could help if Norton sais you can choose a mechanic...
http://coloradonortonworks.com/

There are manuals on there for download too... :mrgreen:

Welcome to the Norton Family.

Thank you guys. I am hopeful for more dealers for sure. My concern was/is how will factory approve something if dealer has no had a chance to review issue.

In past, my 1198s did have some issues, but it was dealer that stamped approval for warranty work, and it got done.
So if no dealer is in days travel around, what do we do?

I am working with Teammcc.com guys at this time.

Hello Richard-7 , Is it possible that CNW Matt Rambow can become a Norton Dealer ? He is so busy now and it would take time away form the classic builds . But you never know.

vmcore said:

I am working with Teammcc.com guys at this time.

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Welcome aboard! I chose MCC as well. Their customer service is top notch. Sounds like you'll take delivery on your 961SF before I do (too much ice and snow at this point). Good luck to you.

Peter

TonyA said:

Hello Richard-7 , Is it possible that CNW Matt Rambow can become a Norton Dealer ? He is so busy now and it would take time away form the classic builds . But you never know.

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I'm just throwing the idea out there. I really don't know his schedule or his interests as far as that goes. But it would be cool.

vmcore said:

I do see that warranty issues do come around, and are handled promptly by factory via dealer.

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Not sure where you saw THAT...

Unless it has just very recently started to be the case.

Of course, this is not the case with every or any particular dealer; just that the record has shown the factory is less than stellar with dealer support. LONG (several months) delays for certain parts, new owners getting zero riding time in 6 months, etc...

Hey guys,

The idea of working more actively with the 961's is certainly on my mind but at the same time I have to look closely at how the shop is set up and what we could do to enter that service end of that market.

The shop was recently remodeled and it's really set up for what my main focus is. This being rebuilding the vintage Commandos and offering parts and services for those. Everything in the shop is dedicated for these machines and even though the new Norton are somewhat related, it would really mean to change things a bit. There is definitely a full house with the Vintage Commandos and I am constantly working on streamlining the process of getting them through the shop more efficiently.

One of the main issues is always staffing. As it is, I am running very lean with a small staff (2.5 plus myself) and taking on another service would definitely require more people. This is extremely hard to find, especially considering our location in rural South Western Colorado

This leads into logistics. Our location is not very friendly to get to. Sure, we are in the middle of some of the best riding roads in the country but not really close to any major city. 8 hours to Denver, 7 to Phoenix, 5 to Salt lake and 5 to Albuquerque.

So taking on another model at this time is not really feasible. Having said that, I just last week had a good conversation with Matt Capri and I will most certainly not rule anything out. I think we can all agree that the new Norton is finally here to stay and if it gets to a point where it will make sense to start working closer with them and do the vintage machines as well, then I will definitely re-visit the idea.

Of course, I will keep offering support for the 961 in the form of parts and modifications. It has been great working together with one07 since Richard and I are on the same page when it comes to creating quality parts. John at STS may also have some interesting developments in the future for these machines and I will definitley want to add them to my inventory of available parts

Thanks

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

http://www.coloradonortonworks.com

Quote:-Reading posts on your site, I do see that warranty issues do come around, and are handled promptly by factory via dealer.

You have got to be taking the pi$$

Once they have your money Norton could not give a flying fark what happens to you or the bike.

Paint peeling of the oil cooler and no polished engine pack that was paid for, a resounding silence from Norton or Fraser the importer, I am confident the dealer is chasing it but its a year now.

Skiddy
YMMV

skidmark said:

Quote:-Reading posts on your site, I do see that warranty issues do come around, and are handled promptly by factory via dealer.

You have got to be taking the pi$$

Once they have your money Norton could not give a flying fark what happens to you or the bike.

Paint peeling of the oil cooler and no polished engine pack that was paid for, a resounding silence from Norton or Fraser the importer, I am confident the dealer is chasing it but its a year now.

Skiddy
YMMV

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Hello Skiddy,

Sorry to hear you feel that way, but I can assure you this is not the case. We take warranty issues seriously and aim to rectify any issues promptly, a fact that I think a lot of the board members here have started to witness. Norton has, in fact, just had 2 of its senior members of staff return from 6 days working in Sydney with the Fraser's network in an effort to strengthen our relationship and service our customers needs in Australia and New Zealand.

Could you please PM with the details of your problem so that I can chase it up and find out where it went wrong in the chain.

I look fwd to your response.

Nice hearing from you, Simon. I am sure you have plenty of important things to do besides field these questions. We appreciate your presence - thank you!

contours said:

Nice hearing from you, Simon. I am sure you have plenty of important things to do besides field these questions. We appreciate your presence - thank you!

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I agree , thanks to Simon.

Thanks for helping me out, Simon. My dealer called today. They got 2 calls from Norton in one day. That's progress.

Just an update

Thanks Simon for the offer to look into my problems. I wrote to Simon last week as well as chasing my dealer.

No response as yet but I am fully confident that things are moving in the background.

Skiddy

greetings from a 15 961 owner in CO, i thought i was alone, nice to see some company

so, i purchased my bike at RPM cycle in Dallas, waited 3.5 years for it, made the drive and picked it up. 172 miles later the ECU died, i told them it was the ECU but Norton USA made me take it back to a dealer after screwing around for 2 months, closest was RPM in Dallas. 5 minutes after we got the bike on the stand they told me my ECU was dead and it was telling 1 injector to fire at 100% all the time (exactly what i diagnosed). ha, could have just mailed me one. RPM was awesome in every respect though, no complaints with them at all.

so, long story short, i had to go to a dealer

anyway, perhaps we need to get a CO norton 961 rally going, small group, but.... im just north of Denver

mike

ps, have under 400 miles on the bike still. not my only bike, but was down for a long time

In all fairness to Norton, of course you have to go to a dealer for warranty related issues, regardless of the distance. When a car has problems, do you think a manufacturer is just going to send out parts based on a customers claim? We'd all have a garage full of spare parts now, wouldn't we? I'm sorry for your bike issues. I feel your pain. At least I'm close to the dealership and my niggles get worked out. You're going to have a great time on that bike.

The good news

Norton has opened a dealership in Florida (Tampa) and I believe is looking at another in Daytona

I believe Matt Capri is actively seeking many more qualified dealer. In my opinion, any large city with a Ducati, BMW, or other exotic motorcycle dealer is a possibility. With Matt as the new US distributor, his income possibilities are in sales volume. Hopefully there is new attention from Norton UK as to the support problems that have plagued the US market. With the support issues solved (?), Matt may have a better chance of recruiting new dealers.

Denver is certainly a big enough town to have a Norton dealership.

John

Britfan60 said:

In all fairness to Norton, of course you have to go to a dealer for warranty related issues, regardless of the distance. When a car has problems, do you think a manufacturer is just going to send out parts based on a customers claim? We'd all have a garage full of spare parts now, wouldn't we? I'm sorry for your bike issues. I feel your pain. At least I'm close to the dealership and my niggles get worked out. You're going to have a great time on that bike.

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totally agree with that. i was trying to get them to let me at least take it to Erico for professional diagnosis, didnt expect them to listen to my educated diagnosis even though i do run a vintage moto shop. i was trying for Erico since i knew John and Van Epps were actually good friends from way back.

all in all, its not a terrible drive to Dallas, but local sure would be nice. i also dont want the brand to become to watered down by having a dealer on every corner, i like the uniqueness