Wow. Where do I start?

Brought the bike in almost 5 weeks ago for an oil leak from the starter and automatic downshifting from 5th to 4th. They sent a detente spring and said that should do the trick. Ok. Picked up the bike today. They said oil is now leaking a very little from the seam in the crank case so they temporarily put some ugly gray sealant on the seam until they call the distributor and Norton to find out what to do about that. Ok. So I rode the bike home for now. It still downshifts from 5th to 4th but with a host of groovy new symptoms, like, letting off the throttle and it hangs up at 2400 RPM and almost slams you into the car in front of you unless you slam on that beautiful front Brembo and do a nose dive to let everyone think you can't ride for shit. There's a really nice grinding and slapping sound going on too. Maybe I should pass the hat for that lovely music I'm playing. So here I thought I'd be smiling on the way home because I finally got my ride now that Summer is coming to a close, but instead, I wanted to puke. This beautiful looking, awesome sounding, wicked handling Norton is a real piece of shit. I'm sorry this is not what you fans want to hear, but I think I'm done. I might need to get a lawyer. Let's see how this pans out. I was one of the biggest fans until all this crap started. Oh yea....she's idling now at 1700 RPM, 500 to fast, but so what.

There's always the lemon law! Did they take the throttle bodies off, something went back on wrong!

Britfan60,

I totally understand your frustration with all the crap that you have encountered!

Owners of these bikes should be able to enjoy trouble free riding for the price that they have paid. I have also had some issues my 961 but nothing as bad as your experience. I hope you can get the dealer/distributor/Norton Corp to address these problems and resolve them quickly.

Did the dealer tell you exactly what he had to be do to replace the detent spring? Did they have to remove the primary cover? Remove the clutch? The clutch hub? I'm wondering if the repair work was the cause of the new leak. This is something that I have never heard happening to a 961. Considering that prior to taking the bike into the dealer, there was no crankcase leak, this sounds like the result of poor workmanship on the part of the service folks. Also, your idling problem almost sounds like perhaps one, or maybe both O2 sensors are disconnected from the EFI/ignition system.

Best wishes on this.

They had to take of the primary cover. Don't know about the clutch. I waited for an hour and a half to pick up a bike that was supposedly ready for pickup. I called them and asked if it was road tested. They said yes, but its obvious to me they didn't get on the highway. Around the block doesn't cut it. Their going to pick the bike up this time. I'm pretty sure my season on that bike is shot. I'm just disgusted. There are 2 other Nortons in for service. Ones receiving a new motor that's sitting in a crate. That's 3 out of 10 of the first delivery. In my book, that's unacceptable. God speed to those that aren't having problems. What a damned pity. Such an awesome bike to ride. If they don't resolve this, I'm going BMW 1200 RT. Too bad its a year wait for the Nine T. At least I still got my 79 Bonnie to have a little fun with.

Sounds like the dealers retarded . Deal with the Factory Direct . Ring up GARDNER . - Freight It .

File a report with the motor dealers association .

seems odd that since it is a baker gearbox, that parts did’t come from the states, for a much quicker delivery. sounds like you are getting the same bullshit i have been hearing from Matt Capri at SBNT.... they were supposed to have another batch of 6 bikes by now, claimed that every month would b six for him and the other 4 should go to GP or monroe... think i am gonna go in and get my deposit back. this reminds me of the GM diesel conversion that was done in the early 80’s customers ; did the development, with a ton of them junked due to an endless aray of problems. GM failed to stand behind their warranty or admit it was a piss poor design. side note, matt is bragging about the big bore kit for the 961 !!! shit, they can’t get them to run properly as is.

Britfan, I think you need to contact Norton direct mate, Im a bit dubious that your dealer knows what hes doing.

The new symptoms you describe sound like something wasn't put back on right.... They obviously didn't road test it properly. I would class that as 'unfit for purpose' as its now dangerous to ride, and speak to a lawyer.

Hang on!

Once all of those (and it takes a while) problems are solved, it is a very solid bike.
I lost a few riding seasons on the Norton too. That's why you need more bikes. The wife will understand!

dimitri said:

Hang on!

Once all of those (and it takes a while) problems are solved, it is a very solid bike.
I lost a few riding seasons on the Norton too. That's why you need more bikes. The wife will understand!

Click to expand...

now you all know why I sold my 961 3 years ago .........................................

Matt Spencer said:

Sounds like the dealers retarded . Deal with the Factory Direct . Ring up GARDNER . - Freight It .

File a report with the motor dealers association .

Click to expand...

Ah, Matt he used to be a "Gard-ner", not now Stuart Garner has a big house and selling so/so motorcycles out of the "coach house" which is funded by his many other business interests.. Just wait for the "factory" branded kevlar jeans and riding apparell etc..... I pity the next bloke who decides to invest/buy the Norton name...

Richard Barks said:

dimitri said:

Hang on!

Once all of those (and it takes a while) problems are solved, it is a very solid bike.
I lost a few riding seasons on the Norton too. That's why you need more bikes. The wife will understand!

Click to expand...

now you all know why I sold my 961 3 years ago .........................................

Click to expand...

I could have sold mine also 3 years ago. But i did not want another person to get trough the problems i was going trough with the bike.

Now, a few years later, i am really glad i kept it. It is a bike with a story. In a short time, it became 'my' bike. With all of its imperfections. Something no Honda, Yamaha or even modern Triumph can do these days. And... it is basically trouble free now. (But it keeps having an attitude)

Must admit, i lost my patience a few times along the way.

olChris said:

I pity the next bloke who decides to invest/buy the Norton name...

Click to expand...

Can honestly say buying a 961 2 years ago was one of the best decisions I ever made!

olChris said:

Matt Spencer said:

Sounds like the dealers retarded . Deal with the Factory Direct . Ring up GARDNER . - Freight It .

File a report with the motor dealers association .

Click to expand...

Ah, Matt he used to be a "Gard-ner", not now Stuart Garner has a big house and selling so/so motorcycles out of the "coach house" which is funded by his many other business interests.. Just wait for the "factory" branded kevlar jeans and riding apparell etc..... I pity the next bloke who decides to invest/buy the Norton name...

Click to expand...

OlChris, do you actually own a 961?

Im your 'next bloke' who has invested in the Norton name and I don't want or need your pity.... I put my money where my mouth was and bought one, now loving every minute of it by being out on it every chance I get, rather than making snide comments on a forum. I want Norton and Triumph to succeed, hence there is now one of each in my garage....

Some bikes have had issues, yes. I expect mine to have issues, I also expect them to be sorted by Norton and or Krazy Horse. Its the same with many new bikes, Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 camshaft? Triumph Explorer 1200 Head change? BMW 1200 RT rear suspension? The Norton hasn't had any issues like these.... The bikes seem to have individual issues to a certain degree, Britfan has serious issues which are exacerbated by distance, parts delivery and I think a poor dealer making it worse. If he was in UK he would chuck it in a van, drive to Donington, unload outside Michels workshop and say 'fix it' . But he cant do that, hence this saga.

Im pretty sure we are very lucky to have the factory here, as its 100 miles door to door for me. But likewise I wouldn't buy a new Guzzi again, as their backup is awful unless you are in Italy, same thing.... Would I buy a 961 if I lived in the USA? Probably not, yet, Id have an Indian.

Sounds like the dealer is the problem.

sounds like the bikes weren’t really ready for sale . lacking some development time ?? or proper development. who really knows. norton hired some ex triumph personal in the eng. depts.

If it was the first year of the 961 I would agree, but they have been sold in UK since 2010. I would expect any design or QC issues to have been ironed out by now. I was always told 'never buy any new vehicle in its first year of production'... when I was a yoof. This bike is 4 years old now, in Japan they would be looking at a facelift.... I haven't seen many SE's about here in any case. Im sure a lot of them never see the light of day.

Some posters on this and UK forums have racked up decent mileages by now with no issues at all, or all issues sorted out. I think Britfan has either a bad un', what used to be called a 'Friday afternoon Special', in the bad old days of the British car industry, Rover, British Leyland etc, or hopefully something simple that can be fixed with minimum of fuss, although possibly not by his current dealer by the sounds of it. Although we could be giving them a hard time without knowing the full story. Is there a Norton dealer in USA with a good reputation? Im not up to speed with who sells them in USA. The backup in UK is excellent, but then it ought to be.

FYI, I used to work at a bike shop in England and still have close friends there. Ive taken the 961 there and they've all had a go on it and all like it. The boss builds race Aprilia engines for race teams and individuals and is a world class engine builder/bike engineer. He likes the 961 because it is appears simple and looks easy to work on, They specialise in rebuilding old Brit Iron which is basically what the 961 is, with some modern goodies bolted on and a very good styling job. The fuelling is a common injection programme but I cant remember the name of it? I don't think its Bosch any more... He wants to have a play with mine and build a proper Stainless exhaust and Dyno it with a fuelling fettle up. I told him hell have to wait until its out of warranty...!

Some bikes have had issues, yes. I expect mine to have issues, I also expect them to be sorted by Norton and or Krazy Horse. Its the same with many new bikes, Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 camshaft? Triumph Explorer 1200 Head change? BMW 1200 RT rear suspension? The Norton hasn't had any issues like these.... The bikes seem to have individual issues to a certain degree, Britfan has serious issues which are exacerbated by distance, parts delivery and I think a poor dealer making it worse. If he was in UK he would chuck it in a van, drive to Donington, unload outside Michels workshop and say 'fix it' . But he cant do that, hence this saga.

Im pretty sure we are very lucky to have the factory here, as its 100 miles door to door for me. But likewise I wouldn't buy a new Guzzi again, as their backup is awful unless you are in Italy, same thing.... Would I buy a 961 if I lived in the USA? Probably not, yet, Id have an Indian.[/quote]

Dozer, you are dead on. I love that bike and really hope these issues can get resolved. I couldn't even get a loan because the loan company never heard of Norton..so I paid cash. That hurts even more. I'm sorry to sound like such a spoil sport and don't mean to trash the Norton. Its just anger and frustration. The long distance is a real bitch and you're right. I'd just chuck it in a van and drive it right over to Donnington, but unfortunately, that's a bit far from NY. I've calmed a bit (still brooding like a baby) and will try to go with the flow to see if this gets resolved. Meanwhile, I just bought a totally restored Bonnie T140 D and the restoration is spectacular. Just took a nice beach run for about 60 miles and it really cooled me off. I'm ready to deal with the Norton problem. Hey guys.....its a great bike and although a little jealous, I wish you all the best. Hell, I'd even buy another one.

As usual it's anybodies fault but Garner's. We're all just jealous and/or can't afford one, right BP? Maybe we just want the real thing. I hope they get it sorted for ya Britfan60.

Got any pics of the bonnie?

Britfan60, you’d buy another one ?? gluten for punishment eh ??