Please tell me this is a JOKE!

First I have heard of this.
The article appears to state that Dominators and Commandos will be built in India for sale in India and other Asian markets.
Not for export to other markets (Europe, US, Etc)
I guess this agreement is another money maker for Garner.
 
Once they start making the bikes in India with the cheaper labor / manufacturing cost....all the rest of the Norton Commando and Dominators will follow and be shipped around the world.

Just like Royal Enfield.
 
I have always wondered how they could make money on the volumes produced at Donnington. Between this and Zongshen it looks like the overall company will be financially viable, which has to be good news. Will just have to check the history on any imported machines.
 
Glad mine is made in England too! As I’ve argued before, to me, that is important. However, as was argued by many on here, the reality is that the vast majority don’t seem to care / mind (Triumph, Ducati and others all seem to prove this) especially if it saves them a buck !

This article does say it’s for the local market. It is probably a way of getting around tax rules on imports which must make a 961 unimaginably expensive to 99.9% of all Indians.

It says Commandos and Dominators will be CKD. That stands for ‘Complete Knock Down’ whereby a complete motorcycle is built in Donnington, then completely knocked down, and then shipped out to India as a kit of parts to be re assembled there. It’s a very common dodge in the automotive industry to avoid import taxes etc.

I have worked with operations and supply chain topics in India and I can assure you that Norton face some significant challenges merging their products and business model with an Indian operations.

We’ll have to see how this unfolds.
 
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BritTwit said:
First I have heard of this.
The article appears to state that Dominators and Commandos will be built in India for sale in India and other Asian markets.
Not for export to other markets (Europe, US, Etc)
I guess this agreement is another money maker for Garner.
Click to expand...

Ponzi scheme. Finally made enough money with the 961 to dump it to the Asian market so he can concentrate on his "Dream Bike". I wouldn't doubt if they bail out of the US market. They aren't selling. Maybe one dealership keeps one or two in stock? Either that or wait eons. Sure, it may be considered "smart business sense" but it kind of pisses on the rest of the world market.
 
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Maybe Garner is looking ahead.

Maybe it won’t be that far in the future when the USA and Europe both basically outlaw the 961 due to ever more stringent emission laws.

But whilst the US and EU are huge markets, there are other huge markets out there, that, unlike the US and EU, are actually growing, and forecast to do so on a huge scale.

So, building some kind of alliances there is probably a sensible thing to do.
 
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Fast Eddie said:
Maybe Garner is looking ahead.

Maybe it won’t be that far in the future when the USA and Europe both basically outlaw the 961 due to every stringent emission laws.

But whilst the US and EU are huge markets, there are other huge markets out there, that, unlike the US and EU, are actually growing, and forecast to do so on a huge scale.

So, building some kind of alliances there is probably a sensible thing to do.
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I see this and the China deal as huge plusses. A 2 valve air cooled engine will soon not be allowed in DOT and Euro? Countries. Anything that keeps the 961 production going and infuses cash to Norton is a plus!
 
I have a Triumph built in Thailand! The quality, fit, finish rivals or beats anything from the Japs or US.
Not a single problem which is the norm for most!
 
This could be a way for Garner to clear the decks for V4 and 650 production in the UK. Ultimately they may decide to produce 961 components in Asia. Not so bad really. Triumph have been doing this with positive results for years.

Moving to the V4 and 650 opens possibilities of a new Command; Let’s say you take a new 650 lump, bore it out to 750cc. Then tart it up to give it a more classic appearance:

Epoxy coat on the cases to make them look sandcast
Engine covers with classic Norton insignia
Faux cooling fins, tastefully executed of course, on the head and cylinders
Classic Backbone/cradle/twin shock chassis
Classic bodywork, and tank to match
Get creative and hide the damn radiator

Voila – The new Norton Command II 750cc

The real benefit to Norton would be engine component commonality between the V4/650/750.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Glad mine is made in England too! As I’ve argued before, to me, that is important. However, as was argued by many on here, the reality is that the vast majority don’t seem to care / mind (Triumph, Ducati and others all seem to prove this) especially if it saves them a buck !

This article does say it’s for the local market. It is probably a way of getting around tax rules on imports which must make a 961 unimaginably expensive to 99.9% of all Indians.

It says Commandos and Dominators will be CKD. That stands for ‘Complete Knock Down’ whereby a complete motorcycle is built in Donnington, then completely knocked down, and then shipped out to India as a kit of parts to be re assembled there. It’s a very common dodge in the automotive industry to avoid import taxes etc.

I have worked with operations and supply chain topics in India and I can assure you that Norton face some significant challenges merging their products and business model with an Indian operations.

We’ll have to see how this unfolds.
Click to expand...

Hello Fast Eddie , Thanks for the CKD explanation. That must be frustrating to have to carefully build a bike up just to strip it back to parts again. How far must the strip back get ? Can they leave the wheels trued and assembled and the wiring still on the frame ? Motor/Trans complete less oil ? Yikes . !
 
In reality they may not build it then strip it, they may just put all parts directly into a kit. Often however, very low volume builders with less robust internal processes will actually build the vehicle up, as it’s a good way of 100% comfirmimg that everything is present and it all fits together properly. Bigger automotive firms just put the parts directly into kits these days.
I’m not sure how far they have to strip back to be honest. I would definitely guess that the wheels would not remain on the chassis. I’m pretty sure the engine and power train would be kept at one complete unit though.
 
All of this is commonly done by Ducati, KTM, BMW etc. not to mention the Auto world to get around tarrifs and open new markets that otherwise are not available!
 
BPHORSEGUY said:
I have a Triumph built in Thailand! The quality, fit, finish rivals or beats anything from the Japs or US.
Not a single problem which is the norm for most!
Click to expand...

We'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. I've been playing around with Thaiumphs quite a bit and they do not rival a HD. They do a lot for a low price but the finish is not all that great. They are loaded with medium grade plastics. That said, plenty of bang for the buck. Still a good bike with a decent reliability rating. The UK triples are superb. I'm up close with those Harleys almost on a daily basis and their build quality is excellent. Buddy has an 08 with 60K on it. No breakdowns or niggle
 
Britfan60 said:
We'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. I've been playing around with Thaiumphs quite a bit and they do not rival a HD. They do a lot for a low price but the finish is not all that great. They are loaded with medium grade plastics. That said, plenty of bang for the buck. Still a good bike with a decent reliability rating. The UK triples are superb. I'm up close with those Harleys almost on a daily basis and their build quality is excellent. Buddy has an 08 with 60K on it. No breakdowns or niggle
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Curtis, my Triumph is surrounded by a garage full of Harleys ( and 1 Norton ) so I know what I am talking about. There is very little plastic in my '17 Bobber which was voted Cruiser of the year by Cycle World and MCN. I guess you'll just have to disagree with all my 30 year hardcore HD friends and the 2 mags who absolutely love the Bobber also! All my Indian friends say the hand painted tank on my Bobber is better then their Indians except for Steve and his Elite but that is $36000.00 and has 20 coats of hand rubbed paint, maybe better then a CVO!
None of them want to get off the Bobber!

Any way I was not talking about materials, I was talking fit, finish, Paint and overall build quality. It was designed in the UK and the geometry and handling are superb.

My point is simply that if you build something somewhere else, all is not necessarily lost. The Bobber is my 31st bike and definitely in the top 5 and since you are talking Harleys there are eight on that list!
 
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How funny, back in the day (70’s onwards) - made in England stood for shoddy build quality and was to be avoided aka British Leyland etc. Made in Japan was the opposite. Now we’re seeing different tiers of made in China as they move away from their low Labour cost economy - in my line of work I see a lot of designed in the USA, made in China now from high end US brands. India and Indonesia are probably going to fill the gap with time.

End of the day only Stuart knows what’s going on, this thread is just speculation. But Norton is a business at the end of the day and Stuart has shown he’s not afraid of rolling the dice.
 
You’re right of course Ian, we are only speculating, but that’s all we can do!

And I also think you’re right about Stuart, he’s certainly not been afraid of rolling the dice and whilst many, myself included, have questioned some of his methods and decisions, at the end of the day it’s him that’s got himself where he is today inc being CEO of Norton, not any of us.
 
You got the Bobber already? And 30 other bikes? Well ok then. Guess you won that argument. I really don't care for the triple tree and dials area on the Bonnies and the Thruxton. Felt cheap to me. Already scratched up at the dealership. The Bobber a cruiser? But whatever floats yer boat. Over 30 bikes. Damn. Now I'm just jealous. HD is pretty much what the majority of my riding buddies own with a few Aprilia and Ducs in there. Not my style of riding, actually. Its a barker lounger on wheels. Maybe when I have more time to go more than 200 miles in a day.
 
After reading the article again it appears that this must be the best way to sell Norton Bikes in India and Asia . The infrastructure is already in place with the JV company. The concern I have is who will take care of all of the warranty issues ? I suppose that the JV Company must have dealers and they will get them trained .
 
Britfan60 said:
You got the Bobber already? And 30 other bikes? Well ok then. Guess you won that argument. I really don't care for the triple tree and dials area on the Bonnies and the Thruxton. Felt cheap to me. Already scratched up at the dealership. The Bobber a cruiser? But whatever floats yer boat. Over 30 bikes. Damn. Now I'm just jealous. HD is pretty much what the majority of my riding buddies own with a few Aprilia and Ducs in there. Not my style of riding, actually. Its a barker lounger on wheels. Maybe when I have more time to go more than 200 miles in a day.
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Curtis I'm not trying to win anything were all just expressing opinions. And that is 31 bikes over about 45 years of riding. I think there are 6 in the garage at the moment, including a custom that is 32 years old and has survived about 20 other bikes passing thru. It has been to Daytona, Sturgis, Laconia, just about everywhere so of course is is my favorite, and yes a Harley!
I ordered the Bobber last October and received it in February, its going on 3000 miles and has been my go to bike all year!

And speaking of time to go more then 200 miles in a day..... you're retired??? I have done a couple of 300+ mile trips on the Bobber "my little bar hopper" including Mt. Equinox just a couple of weeks ago!
http://www.triumphbobberforum.com/f...er-general-discussion/3513-make-your-own.html
 
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