Norvil diatribe

robs ss

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I just received a Norvil email having a go at anyone producing "Commando" parts...

BRITISH PATENT OFFICE REGISTRATION NUMBER : 2128766
COMMANDO is our registered trade mark. We registered the COMMANDO trademark with the British Patent Office on 7th April 1997 with the help of the Norton trademark holders.
Our trademark relates to Class 12 : Motorcycles; parts and fittings for motorcycles.
We have not given permission for anyone else to make use of our Commando trademark in respect of the manufacture of Commando parts for the Norton Commando's that were produced between 1967 and 1978. If you want to buy Genuine Norton Commando parts then be assured that this is what you will get when you buy from us. You can also get Genuine Commando parts from one of our approved dealers. If you are buying parts listed as Genuine Commando from any source other than directly from us then you are welcome to phone us on 01543 278008 to ascertain whether the supplier is approved to sell Genuine Commando parts or whether the part you are buying is a copy, fake or pirated item

What utter, unadulterated crap from someone who, in my experience, gives the worst, rudest service of any parts dealer I've experienced. Never again!
Anyone new to Norton - my advice is to steer well clear.
Cheers
Rob
 
Hang on a bit...
It looks to me like Classic Bike Magazine's "50 years of Commando" must be a fully biased/paid advert for Norvil!
All of the "50 years of Commando" section seems to steer anyone to Norvil and no-one else.
Frank Westworth appears to have sold his soul - or Les Emery has some very interesting pictures of him?
 
Everything I’ve bought from Norvil has been fine.

All 3 things !

Considering I’ve been buying motorcycle parts for over 35 years, that means I’ll have to buy something else from them in the next 5 years to maintain my ‘part every decade’ elite status...
 
I too have dealt with Norvil a couple times over the last 20 years or so ... no issues plus a nice lady answered the phone and was courteous...... heard the stories though ...
 
I have only ever dealt with Mick Hemmings for Norton parts. Who is better ?
 
I bought some stuff from them early on.
No problems at all but found a little better pricing at RGM, Rabers, Walridge and Britcycle Supply.

Glen
 
I guess I am niave about this, but I've been buying parts from Andover Norton thinking that they were the sorce for OEM Norton parts. Never even heard of Norvil. Will the "real Norton parts source" please stand up?
 
There is a continuous thread back to the original factory from Andover Norton, they hold the original drawings. Now after all this time they may not use the original supplier but compared to Norvil they are streets ahead. Norvil are bottom feeders using every trick in the book to make non genuine parts look genuine. Norvil have trademarked 'Commando' as a hijacking exercise and threatened the Norton Owners Club with legal action for allowing Andover Norton to advertise Commando spares in the NOC mag, cost them £600 for legal advice that told them Norvil were in the wrong.
 
so when is stuart garner getting his threatening letter? norvil never has a screw up on parts orders, if you are a lucky one to have to deal with them you will find out for your self it was your fault for ordering the wrong part
 
Parts for old Commandos must be very big business ? Or is somebody trying to establish a monopoly ?
 
so when is stuart garner getting his threatening letter? norvil never has a screw up on parts orders, if you are a lucky one to have to deal with them you will find out for your self it was your fault for ordering the wrong part
That was my experience too Bill - and when I had the temerity to suggest it may have been them who sent the wrong part I was taken aback by the spray of vitriol I received from none other than Les himself.
Too many other good & friendly suppliers!
 
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Well Put! A recent inquiry to Les was responded to with a caustic, vitriolic reply.
Whoa! Too many nice people to do business with than subject myself to this. Man
needs to retire badly.
Just my opinion.
You know, I really think my Commando (can I legally say that word?) is worth a whole
lot more than what other people think. Pride inflation?
 
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i was looking on his site this morning and seen where he claims his cut thread rod bolts are Superior to the rolled thread bolts from a competitor. all i have read and seen say's a rolled thread is superior in strength to a cut thread.
 
I have rebuilt a couple of commandos. The last one I got a camshaft for from Norvil. It was for a mark 3 electro. The cam came with instructions about how it had be assembled ,lubricated etc and all sorts of horror stories about the consequences of assembling it incorrectly. The motor was put together by a chap with 40 years experience.
I ran the bike over the summer of 2017. Nothing arduous - trips on the north york moors ,Scarborough that sort of thing. No motorways. I did just over 800 miles to run it in. The bike wasn’t ticking over very well. Having had a look at it there was nothing untoward. I was going to change the oil- second time after the rebuild anyway.I did that and there was swarf in the oil . That’s ominous so the engine was stripped down. I have never seen anything like it! Two lobes on the cam had virtually disappeared! Probably not much case hardening. I spoke to Emery , partly out of wanting to point out what had happened , and also for a proposal about a refund/ replacement. The guy has a script as far as I can tell. Everyone else’s stuff is junk and when his stuff fails ( which with the benefit of hindsight seems to be given) it’s your fault.
I had a bill for over a grand for the rebuild. The cam that came from Andover Norton has been fine and Emery refused to give me any money back. He works on the principle that’s its time consuming and expensive to get lawyers involved and you will just walk. A classic case of buyer beware.
It’s a shame that there are individuals out there who think we are all mugs to be relieved of a few pounds or work on the principle that we all have show bikes so any problems with what they supply only manifest themselves down the line. Spares manufactured to allow the thing to fire up a few times a year and that’s it are a waste of time. I use my commandos to go up to Orkney and round the Highlands as well as the Dales and north york moors. They have to be reliable and in the main they are.
 
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That type of service just Bites ... very sorry to hear your story ... not first time ‘bout this vendor .... while I dealt with him in past , it has been quite awhile ... I have no bad experiences to report .... but ! there have been way too many similar to yours .... too bad a Lawyer hasn’t taken them to task on his own account ... best advice is to draw line through their contact #, eh ..... ..... and welcome to our Forum, Alan ! great to see a real name not a screen nome de ...
 
That type of service just Bites ... very sorry to hear your story ... not first time ‘bout this vendor .... while I dealt with him in past , it has been quite awhile ... I have no bad experiences to report .... but ! there have been way too many similar to yours .... too bad a Lawyer hasn’t taken them to task on his own account ... best advice is to draw line through their contact #, eh ..... ..... and welcome to our Forum, Alan ! great to see a real name not a screen nome de ...
That type of service just Bites ... very sorry to hear your story ... not first time ‘bout this vendor .... while I dealt with him in past , it has been quite awhile ... I have no bad experiences to report .... but ! there have been way too many similar to yours .... too bad a Lawyer hasn’t taken them to task on his own account ... best advice is to draw line through their contact #, eh ..... ..... and welcome to our Forum, Alan ! great to see a real name not a screen nome de ...
Thanks for your note! Just sorting out the mk3 for this year.
Alan
 
I was told if you can't say anythin nice, don't say nuttin at all... so as far as Norvil is concerned i am biting my tongue and it hurts...
 
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