Why Norton should definitely continue to build the 961

I commented on a few of the posts they made a few months back about them needing to take a good look at Norton's history n the bikes like the big 4 16h etc and What Pa did with the Model 1 big 4 a bike for the masses which is pretty much how it was described in the original sales stuff in the 20s.

It's interesting to see a few months on they bought Ian Loram's collection so maybe they are listening I would have loved that big 4 of his!

As a younger rider in my early 30s who rides a 1927 16H flat tanker n did in winter till I had to send the mag off n 3 other Norton's inc a 650ss that gets used year round as well as a few other more modern bikes inc an ADV by Suzuki now while I'm unable to kick start a bike properly with an intermittent neck injury unless its the flat tanker.

I think they are majorly missing a trick at the moment there's a huge swing towards lightweight ADV away from the heavyweight GSA's from the insurance cost of running and actual usability of the bikes for what they are intended for.

The Himalayan is a case in point most of my friends my age are riding a Himmy and lots of older people are to it sits in a class of 1, closest in the UK is the 300 Rally by CRF which is much more off road focused.
I've got mates who have beemers and are ditching them for the Scram n Himalayan.

Lot's of younger riders are riding Chinese bikes to as that's what alot learnt on in the UK.

I'd love them to produce an affordable 16H and big 4 single in the respective cc's of 500 and 633. Could use the same chassis and bottom end design similar to what Norton used to do make the weight very light 150 wet or less basic suspension good chassis but with better fit and finish.

That's my take on how to get some youngsters onto them leave as much tech off give it a rugged look and make it usable with an accessible seat height 6 speed with the extra squirt that the Himalayan misses.

so to sum up id say 500 -633 single 150kg wet, 40hp ish, 20l fuel tank 80-100mpg like the new Honda's 820mm seat height tubeless wheels, single headlight an some stylish rugged looks with racks n retro styled luggage.

With bikes like the DR650 not being available in the UK and RE doing a 450 the opportunity is there to slot the 500 and 633 into the range.
 
I commented on a few of the posts they made a few months back about them needing to take a good look at Norton's history n the bikes like the big 4 16h etc and What Pa did with the Model 1 big 4 a bike for the masses which is pretty much how it was described in the original sales stuff in the 20s.

It's interesting to see a few months on they bought Ian Loram's collection so maybe they are listening I would have loved that big 4 of his!

As a younger rider in my early 30s who rides a 1927 16H flat tanker n did in winter till I had to send the mag off n 3 other Norton's inc a 650ss that gets used year round as well as a few other more modern bikes inc an ADV by Suzuki now while I'm unable to kick start a bike properly with an intermittent neck injury unless its the flat tanker.

I think they are majorly missing a trick at the moment there's a huge swing towards lightweight ADV away from the heavyweight GSA's from the insurance cost of running and actual usability of the bikes for what they are intended for.

The Himalayan is a case in point most of my friends my age are riding a Himmy and lots of older people are to it sits in a class of 1, closest in the UK is the 300 Rally by CRF which is much more off road focused.
I've got mates who have beemers and are ditching them for the Scram n Himalayan.

Lot's of younger riders are riding Chinese bikes to as that's what alot learnt on in the UK.

I'd love them to produce an affordable 16H and big 4 single in the respective cc's of 500 and 633. Could use the same chassis and bottom end design similar to what Norton used to do make the weight very light 150 wet or less basic suspension good chassis but with better fit and finish.

That's my take on how to get some youngsters onto them leave as much tech off give it a rugged look and make it usable with an accessible seat height 6 speed with the extra squirt that the Himalayan misses.

so to sum up id say 500 -633 single 150kg wet, 40hp ish, 20l fuel tank 80-100mpg like the new Honda's 820mm seat height tubeless wheels, single headlight an some stylish rugged looks with racks n retro styled luggage.

With bikes like the DR650 not being available in the UK and RE doing a 450 the opportunity is there to slot the 500 and 633 into the range.
which puts them in the Royal Enfield and Ural range. Plus they already produce smaller CC bikes for other markets

https://www.tvsmotor.com/Our-Products/Vehicles#set2
 
Mate, you talk with confidence that you know what is happening/should happen; you don’t.

So how about letting them open the gates before you decide their fate. Call me old fashioned!
How the hell do you know what I know and don't know.
I will not be deciding their fate, TVS will do that. The clock is ticking and I would be surprised if they go to the wire like BSA did prior to announcing a bike.
If they don't use the TM within a certain timescale they can be challenged for it and they would find it real hard to defend it these days. The clock started ticking the last day garner sold a bike.
TVS are not into wasting money, they are hard on making money. 100 million is a lot to recoup, even selling 7000 units a year. The margins on motorcycles is minimal, so I really don't see them breaking even in 10 years, let alone show a profit.
The current management at Solihull are under the cosh from the TVS owners - they really want to see results, if anything that pressure it hindering not helping Solihull.
 
How the hell do you know what I know and don't know.
I will not be deciding their fate, TVS will do that. The clock is ticking and I would be surprised if they go to the wire like BSA did prior to announcing a bike.
If they don't use the TM within a certain timescale they can be challenged for it and they would find it real hard to defend it these days. The clock started ticking the last day garner sold a bike.
TVS are not into wasting money, they are hard on making money. 100 million is a lot to recoup, even selling 7000 units a year. The margins on motorcycles is minimal, so I really don't see them breaking even in 10 years, let alone show a profit.
The current management at Solihull are under the cosh from the TVS owners - they really want to see results, if anything that pressure it hindering not helping Solihull.
Madnorton (we have cross-posts, answering one before reading the last)

You sound like you have an ‘in‘ to what is happening in Solihull, from your last sentence above.

Honest questions; not written with sarcasm - Are the management at Solihull just the wrong people for the job and showing some level of incompetence, or are TVS holding them back in some way or providing poor direction? - and - Can you answer that without making any assumptions?
 
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You have that right . They must be having lots of issues getting the parts they want. Or if the V4 comes first then the 961 must wait. It must be difficult unwinding all of the problems they have. At the rate this is going it could be next year before we see anything ready. When is the big show in Birmingham (NEC) November ?
Usually it is November Tony yes. And it comes fast! Only 6 months away. And already 6 months since the last one…

At the last show they really emptied the cupboard in terms of showing us bikes that we cannot buy. I can’t recall a time when a manufacturer showed ONLY unavailable bikes on the stand! They wouldn’t even take orders, only ’expressions of interest’.

My reason for reminding all of this is; they simply cannot do it again next time surely? They’ll lose so much face if they did. They’ll also lose face if the don't show up (they’re practically next door). So they really have to have saleable bikes by then or I suggest the public will really start to ‘switch off’…
 
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One of these in lined Manx silver gets my vote!!


Seriously though, I do hope the Norton brand eventually emerges much the same as the Tannoy hi fi brand has, who supplemented their high end home and studio ranges with 'budget' home cinema and hi fi speakers (available at Currys, Comet discount stores et al) yet still produce the desirable and expensive monoliths (stereoliths?) they've always been famous for....

Alas Goodmans, on the other hand, appeared to go the 'budget badge engineered' route, the name tied to all manner of low end cr*p that killed their reputation stone dead...
 
How long did it take Garner to have a bike ready for the public to purchase?

From the day it was announced he and Norton were back in business to the day orders were being taken?
And. How long from when orders were being taken to the time the buyer received his new bike?

Does anyone recall this?
 
One of these in lined Manx silver gets my vote!!


Seriously though, I do hope the Norton brand eventually emerges much the same as the Tannoy hi fi brand has, who supplemented their high end home and studio ranges with 'budget' home cinema and hi fi speakers (available at Currys, Comet discount stores et al) yet still produce the desirable and expensive monoliths (stereoliths?) they've always been famous for....

Alas Goodmans, on the other hand, appeared to go the 'budget badge engineered' route, the name tied to all manner of low end cr*p that killed their reputation stone dead...
Yes Norton will be the High End of the Hi Fi Stereo . Anything out there now in that price range is nice . So lets hope they can be better than the others .
 
2 years I think. Purchased in 2008 and bikes by 2010 .
That's right.
2010 was when the first problematic units were sold.
There were some serious issues: under sized pistons, crank bearings, cam chains, etc.
I believe the "Swindler" was a 2010 bike.
The owner was the first to make a very public stink about the 961's reliability, and lack of factory (SG) support.
 
TVS are (or already have) producing a limited run of the 961 'classic', I know nothing about trademark law but I would presume the act of selling this Norton badged bike would reset any time clock on use of the brand name?
 
That's right.
2010 was when the first problematic units were sold.
There were some serious issues: under sized pistons, crank bearings, cam chains, etc.
I believe the "Swindler" was a 2010 bike.
The owner was the first to make a very public stink about the 961's reliability, and lack of factory (SG) support.
Yeah but with a very limited team of people and even smaller budget. I’m not excusing Garner, but he got the ball rolling.

What would Norton be today without Garner?

Would Norton even be in business today?
I doubt it.

Would TVS of still resurrected the brand?
I doubt it.
 
TVS are (or already have) producing a limited run of the 961 'classic', I know nothing about trademark law but I would presume the act of selling this Norton badged bike would reset any time clock on use of the brand name?
I would assume the same. Trouble is, they ain’t sold non yit !!

Does making stuff but not selling it count praps ??
 
Truly, Garner is the only reason that the Norton product is even mentioned today.
I'm sure TVS want the dust of this conviction to settle, before they begin advertising any new Nortons.

When Dreer's Norton operation wrapped up in 2006, Cycle World magazine wrote the company's obituary and signaled that it was probably destined to happen from the start. There was a lot of office intrigue at the headquarters in Portland. Some of Dreer's partners were never on board for a completely new 952/961 motorcycle. Some wanted Dreer to just build an "improved" 750/850 twin. Just re-engineer the crankcases for added strength, maybe a stronger crank, better ignition. That's it. The story about this is published on line. It rivals the idiocy of the Combat 750 decisions made by the original factory back in the 70's.

Garner showed up in 2008, and bought the 961 prototypes, Intellectual properties, and trademark.

The next chapter about the Norton saga will be written by TVS.
Let's hope it's a success story, and not another tragedy.
 
I would assume the same. Trouble is, they ain’t sold non yit !!

Does making stuff but not selling it count praps ??
I agree, if they "sold" the 40 mystery bikes why haven't we seen them or parts availability? I still ask this question which no one has an answer. How many 961's actually got made/sold? Count up the member on this forum that "actually " have one and its not a large number.
 
We understandably keep coming back to the ‘how many are there out there’ question - it really would be great to know; my guess is that we never will. Suspect one of the many reasons for the delay in TVS getting going has been the requirement to unravel Garner Norton‘s parlous record keeping.

Not sure we can judge ownership on membership of this forum either; there are surely many more out there. Those that don’t know that we are here and those that choose not to join. Example would be Gary with the 75k CR that I’ve referred to on the site before - he has three 961’s. For some reason he will not join despite my protestations - some people just don’t engage in the online space. Many as we know are older, as is the owner base.

I think Garner burnt the golden ticket. All of that support, money and good will that was lavished on Norton at the start, from the government, press and Nortonistas and he decided to engage in criminality. Yes he gave us the 961, but imagine what he could have achieved with a more professional team and if he had played with a straight bat!

I still remain very hopeful that TVS has a plan that will work in the medium to long term; there is bound to be turbulence at the outset. Think FE is spot on though - they need to bring bikes and good news to the NEC.
 
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We understandably keep coming back to the ‘how many are there out there’ question - it really would be great to know; my guess is that we never will. Suspect one of the many reasons for the delay in TVS getting going has been the requirement to unravel Garner Norton‘s parlous record keeping.

Not sure we can judge ownership on membership of this forum either; there are surely many more out there. Those that don’t know that we are here and those that choose not to join. Example would be Gary with the 75k CR that I’ve referred to on the site before - he has three 961’s. For some reason he will not join despite my protestations - some people just don’t engage in the online space. Many as we know are older, as is the owner base.

I think Garner burnt the golden ticket. All of that support, money and good will that was lavished on Norton at the start, from the government, press and Nortonistas and he decided to engage in criminality. Yes he gave us the 961, but imagine what he could have achieved with a more professional team and if he had played with a straight bat!

I still remain very hopeful that TVS has a plan that will work in the medium to long term; there is bound to be turbulence at the outset. Think FE is spot on though - they need to bring bikes and good news to the NEC.
You are right as many of our customers are older and dont visit the forums. But we have spoken to a few dealers here and the numbers sold are very low. And because as Stu pointed out VIN's are all over the place so it becomes a Shelby America issue of skipping and hiding.
 
I agree, if they "sold" the 40 mystery bikes why haven't we seen them or parts availability? I still ask this question which no one has an answer. How many 961's actually got made/sold? Count up the member on this forum that "actually " have one and its not a large number.
I’d say the 961 is more rare than a Vincent black shadow. But the 961 is without the fame.
 
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