TVS 961 RECALL....

[NorTriDuc]

The issue is .. do we know what the correct thread lock to use, or the correct torque setting, can we buy the new gasket that will be needed.. I hear there is a shortage of these, as demand has unexpectedly spiked.. finally of course if you own a newish expensive bike, do you want to void its warranty?..

Yes to all the above for me. But I understand your views.

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

The bikes now gone off, hopefully all will be ok.. bit worrying as today is Friday 13th..

Had a chat with the driver, he works for the collection company called WMD.. they store and transport lots of bikes for the manufacturers. He told me the 961s will be taken to their Gloucester base, where they will be stored for a day or two, until there are enough to fill an artic. At which point those bikes will be transferred to Solihull, where they will be fixed. Then the reverse will take place. He also said the average time from collection to the bikes being returned to their owner is about two or three weeks.

This is their website..https://wmblogistics.co.uk/

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

For those of you who have now got your 961 back, how long was it away for?

 

[bucksfizz]

For those of you who have now got your 961 back, how long was it away for?

Five weeks, for a two hour job...

 

[Fast Eddie]

For those of you who have now got your 961 back, how long was it away for?

Mine was done in just over 2 weeks, but then I was away for a week and a bit. All during the fabulous weather unfortunately !

I wonder if the difference in turn around time might be that some bikes need more rectification work doing? And if they do, it will most likely be compounded by part supply issues.

 

[BritTwit]

Mine was done in just over 2 weeks, but then I was away for a week and a bit. All during the fabulous weather unfortunately !

I wonder if the difference in turn around time might be that some bikes need more rectification work doing? And if they do, it will most likely be compounded by part supply issues.

Seems likely.
They would look over the bike and correct any, and all problems before returning it.
Saves them the embarrassing task of issuing another recall in the future.

 

[Stephen_Spencer]

Much more likely it’s a geography/logistics issues I think.

Some bikes in areas where transport directly to factory is more easily achieved, in smaller quantities - white van man.

Others from more difficult/far flung areas where bikes are being moved to a collection point until there are sufficient numbers to ship again via artic (or similar) to the factory.

With recall and return that could easily account for the difference in turnaround times, especially if they initially chose some ‘low hanging fruit’ to get some wins on the board.

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

The logic of their collection is odd.. people in Scotland, Cornwall and Lincolnshire had their bikes collected weeks before mine, when I'm only 2 miles from the M6 in Cheshire. I suspect that Norton gave WMB a list of names/addresses and left it up to them. Since they move all kinds of bikes up and down the country, they collected bikes whenever it matched their other deliveries. Or maybe its just random, who knows. I was told that bikes are returned via van, to the WMB warehouse in Gloucester. They are stored for a few days until there are enough bikes to fill an artic, at which point they go to Solihull to be repaired. The process is then reversed. I can see that if your bike is the first in after an artic full of bikes has left for Solihull, you'd have a longer wait, than if your bike was the last to go on that artic.

That said, all this upset could've been avoided, if the repair was done at first service, for all those recent PCP bikes. While everyone else, could've been informed and asked to book it in at the dealer.. 577 bikes to do, ten dealers, 2 hour job, can't be that hard to handle?

I'm now at two weeks and counting, fingers crossed I get it back sooner rather than later.

 

[Stephen_Spencer]

The logic of their collection is odd.. people in Scotland, Cornwall and Lincolnshire had their bikes collected weeks before mine, when I'm only 2 miles from the M6 in Cheshire. I suspect that Norton gave WMB a list of names/addresses and left it up to them. Since they move all kinds of bikes up and down the country, they collected bikes whenever it matched their other deliveries. Or maybe its just random, who knows. I was told that bikes are returned via van, to the WMB warehouse in Gloucester. They are stored for a few days until there are enough bikes to fill an artic, at which point they go to Solihull to be repaired. The process is then reversed. I can see that if your bike is the first in after an artic full of bikes has left for Solihull, you'd have a longer wait, than if your bike was the last to go on that artic.

That said, all this upset could've been avoided, if the repair was done at first service, for all those recent PCP bikes. While everyone else, could've been informed and asked to book it in at the dealer.. 577 bikes to do, ten dealers, 2 hour job, can't be that hard to handle?

I'm now at two weeks and counting, fingers crossed I get it back sooner rather than later.

Yep, on refelection they seem to have been super risk averse here - with no actual failures and a dealer network/service schedule at their disposal. That said if one or more did fail, at speed!

They obviously assessed the risk of failure as (far) greater than the risk/fall out from a national recall - opting to control it at factory.

Along with transportation delays, I suspect they’re also flat out. They had salesmen transporting bikes for example. Not forgetting that if the hints are accurate, they’re preparing to show new machinery at EICMA in a few months.

Quite a few reports of guys asking the factory to look at other issues, or complete a due service. They got a flat ‘no’ recall work only - use your dealer. So they appear to have been pretty focussed on turning them around ASAP, originally aiming for the end of May I think.

I guess if at the start, with the geography of the recall and commitment to pick up-drop off, ithey’d have said the recall would take between 2-6 weeks that would have been reasonable.

Sounds like comms has been poor though, so those left at the end are super frustrated. Listening to some on FB though, the PCP deal has attracted a few that really should have bought a Honda!

 

[City Garage]

Once everyone realizes the 961 is just a placeholder until the other products are rolling....don't expect spares and support to last for many years.

 

[Stephen_Spencer]

Once everyone realizes the 961 is just a placeholder until the other products are rolling....don't expect spares and support to last for many years.

Agreed CG, always thought the same (ref placeholder), although there is chatter about it being retained; dealers asking for continued sales etc. Seems very unlikely though, given an inability to export.

Placeholder or no, Solihull sales have certainly been great news for us red headed stepchildren!

 

[City Garage]

Agreed CG, always thought the same (ref placeholder), although there is chatter about it being retained; dealers asking for continued sales etc. Seems very unlikely though, given an inability to export.

Placeholder or no, Solihull sales have certainly been great news for us red headed stepchildren!

Not selling enough to continue sales. Dealers like them right now because they are getting subsidies from TVS

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

The 961 is a relatively simple bike, there's not much that can't be repaired / replaced in the years to come, short of engine cases/crank and rods. In 20 plus years time most current owners (including me) will be long past caring anyway!

When, or if, it goes out of production, TVS will have put an additional thousand or so bikes on the road, they along with the Donny bikes make up a decent population of 961s in the UK. That number of bikes should encourage aftermarket spares and independent mechanics to service them. Like old Harleys and old Ducatis, I feel the 961 is the sort of bike that gets rebuilt, rather than scrapped.

 

[NorTriDuc]

The 961 is a relatively simple bike, there's not much that can't be repaired / replaced in the years to come, short of engine cases/crank and rods. In 20 plus years time most current owners (including me) will be long past caring anyway!

When, or if, it goes out of production, TVS will have put an additional thousand or so bikes on the road, they along with the Donny bikes make up a decent population of 961s in the UK. That number of bikes should encourage aftermarket spares and independent mechanics to service them. Like old Harleys and old Ducatis, I feel the 961 is the sort of bike that gets rebuilt, rather than scrapped.

I don’t see this EVER happening. The interest isn’t strong enough for the aftermarket to produce special parts for this bike. It’s hard enough now to find spares. If the parts for a commando are hard to come by, imagine a Domi or Street 961. Good luck now or in the future.

 

[City Garage]

The 961 is a relatively simple bike, there's not much that can't be repaired / replaced in the years to come, short of engine cases/crank and rods. In 20 plus years time most current owners (including me) will be long past caring anyway!

When, or if, it goes out of production, TVS will have put an additional thousand or so bikes on the road, they along with the Donny bikes make up a decent population of 961s in the UK. That number of bikes should encourage aftermarket spares and independent mechanics to service them. Like old Harleys and old Ducatis, I feel the 961 is the sort of bike that gets rebuilt, rather than scrapped.

Yeah, that's already proven it's not going to happen. The aftermarket had the opportunity when the bikes were selling in the USA, where it would be a hot market for the aftermarket if it were to happen. TVS won't sell another thousand unless it's to other markets, as they can't sell the ones they have now. Also, with this latest recall, do you think people are lining up to buy them?

 

[Bevelheadmhr]

The 'aftermarket' already provide alloy tanks, because there is demand, more bikes sold means more demand for service/parts in the future. The US is very different from the UK, we have all the Donny bikes sold in the UK and now the TVS bikes. Compare that to the few sold in the US over a much longer period.

We know there are 577 bikes impacted by the recall, which is not all their production, so they are well on the way to selling a thousand in the UK. The 961 is only sold in the UK so other markets don't matter. The well known issues with the Donny bikes along with the terrible company reputation meant they never sold well here. I suspect there are far more TVS 961s in the UK already, than the Donny bikes. Also, a few of those bikes will be crashed/broken for spares each year, another source of spares into the future. Hasn't Stuart already build a few complete bikes from spare parts?

Lots of bikes get recalls, I don't think it'll make much difference to potential customers. Just look at the 2025 ZX6R... they may need a new engine..

 

[Fast Eddie]

The 'aftermarket' already provide alloy tanks, because there is demand, more bikes sold means more demand for service/parts in the future. The US is very different from the UK, we have all the Donny bikes sold in the UK and now the TVS bikes. Compare that to the few sold in the US over a much longer period.

We know there are 577 bikes impacted by the recall, which is not all their production, so they are well on the way to selling a thousand in the UK. The 961 is only sold in the UK so other markets don't matter. The well known issues with the Donny bikes along with the terrible company reputation meant they never sold well here. I suspect there are far more TVS 961s in the UK already, than the Donny bikes. Also, a few of those bikes will be crashed/broken for spares each year, another source of spares into the future. Hasn't Stuart already build a few complete bikes from spare parts?

Lots of bikes get recalls, I don't think it'll make much difference to potential customers. Just look at the 2025 ZX6R... they may need a new engine..

The alloy tanks are hand made mate… so no tooling or investment required to go into ‘production’ for 961 tanks specifically.

CGs point is that the number of 961s is low and that will be a barrier to investment for design and tooling.

Anything that’s genuinely hand / custom made can, of course, be made for 961s, and many generic parts will be possible to fit as well.

But outside of custom made and generic, options will be very limited.

Regarding the recall affecting sales, I believe the market has a short memory and will move on from the recall relatively quickly BUT only if the bikes prove to be otherwise reliable. If they’re not, then the issues and the recall will combine to hit the brands reputation negatively.

 

[City Garage]

The 'aftermarket' already provide alloy tanks, because there is demand, more bikes sold means more demand for service/parts in the future. The US is very different from the UK, we have all the Donny bikes sold in the UK and now the TVS bikes. Compare that to the few sold in the US over a much longer period.

We know there are 577 bikes impacted by the recall, which is not all their production, so they are well on the way to selling a thousand in the UK. The 961 is only sold in the UK so other markets don't matter. The well known issues with the Donny bikes along with the terrible company reputation meant they never sold well here. I suspect there are far more TVS 961s in the UK already, than the Donny bikes. Also, a few of those bikes will be crashed/broken for spares each year, another source of spares into the future. Hasn't Stuart already build a few complete bikes from spare parts?

Lots of bikes get recalls, I don't think it'll make much difference to potential customers. Just look at the 2025 ZX6R... they may need a new engine..

You mean the 3 "handmade" tanks? That's not an aftermarket part, that's a custom gas tank made by a craftsman. And it's taking a year or so to get that as well.

You missed the point. When the 961 was first introduced and "WORLD WIDE" sales were underway, aftermarket manufacturers didn't do anything because there is no profit in small-run bikes.

Also only a very very small percentage of owners of any motorcycle(except Harley) really spend that much modifying, so again, why would an aftermarket build anything for the 961?

So lets say they sell 1000 bikes how many of those people are going to buy a specific aftermarket part? 1%-5% So, who is going to make 50 of something a 961 owner can't live without?

Tooling for any parts wouldn't be worth the cost because there would be little demand. The only thing of real interest to people is the exhaust or maybe if a part is 3D printed

Mirror and turn signals covered by RIzoma or chinese knock offs

Exhaust systems- covered by Zard and others that make slip ons

Handlebars and grips- name your company

Brake and suspension upgrades are not really needed

ECU tuners and air intake kits- again, not really needed because they are tunable

 

[City Garage]

The alloy tanks are hand made mate… so no tooling or investment required to go into production.

CGs point is that the number of 961s is low and that will be a barrier to investment for design and tooling.

Anything that’s genuinely hand / custom made can, of course, be made for 961s, and many generic parts will be possible to fit as well.

But outside of custom made and generic, options will be very limited.

Regarding the recall affecting sales, I believe the market has a short memory and will move on from the recall relatively quickly BUT only if the bikes prove to be otherwise reliable. If they’re not, then the issues and the recall will combine to hit the brands reputation negatively.

Well, I guess I didn't need to type out my response!! Next time, type quicker, Eddie!

 

[Stephen_Spencer]

Even without the Solihull bikes we managed to keep our Donny bikes on the road. Not sure I can remember many of us that were off road for extended periods waiting spares - courtesy of CG, Stu, Ollie, EBay, the alternate parts list and beyond.

Now we’ll have another 1000(ish) 961’s in circulation, inside warranty period and with 100% spares provision (they’re still building them from the ground up) out for X-years. I think future OEM parts provision may not be as dire as we might expect; notwithstanding access problems through Norton.

Aftermarket parts are a different proposition of course, but what parts are we talking about?

Custom stuff as mentioned: the TAB tank - they’ve sold a good number by the way (and it does’t take a year): 961 carbon wheels - from Rotobox: 961 exhaust - multiple suppliers. 961 seat - multiple styles/suppliers.

All of the generic (aftermarket) stuff is a given as mentioned, from headlights, handlebars and resevoirs to clutch slaves, starters and brake disks.

So what aftermarket parts might we want - not many threads bemoaning the lack of too much. Some of the carbon is an issue, luggage of course, but multiple solution have been found. A fairing of some sort - (very) few seem even remotely interested (mainly due to the style/genre of the bike).

We’ve alway managed, with a bit of ingenuity and collaboration. Given the Solihull situation I only see things getting a little easier from here, noting Stu has also confirming virtually 100% spares compatability between Donny any Solihull 961’s. I suspect some further aftermarket products will surface over time.