The new new Nortons

[KungFooBob]

A friend of a bloke in my bike club had a test ride at the Norton factory, the MD even came down to have a chat.

I don't think he's anyone special, so I assume you can just book test rides from the hq.

[Demannu]

Soapy tenner says they go bust before the inevitable slew of warranty claims come flooding in

[The Spin Doctor]

A friend of a bloke in my bike club had a test ride at the Norton factory, the MD even came down to have a chat.

I don't think he's anyone special, so I assume you can just book test rides from the hq.

Tests from the Norton HQ in Solihull... https://nortonmotorcycles.com/hq-test-ride/

They were also doing a 'bring a bike to you' service which I think covered the Commando... that was certainly going in the spring (I mentioned it on my webcast a couple of months back) and though it's not mentioned on the website I haven't heard that it's stopped... maybe worth asking.

[Skub]

I'd be happy to let others break the ground of ownership before splashing my own readies.

[Bustaspoke]

Soapy tenner says they go bust before the inevitable slew of warranty claims come flooding in

I doubt it this time,they seem to have finally got decent owners.
I do think that the black cloud left by the previous chancer that ran Norton will be around for a while & I'm not sure what sector of the market the new owners are targeting.
Anyone seen a new Norton outside of a showroom?

[Taipan]

Didn't even know they'd been relaunched. Just had a quick shufti and the V4s are gorgeous!

[The Spin Doctor]

Soapy tenner says they go bust before the inevitable slew of warranty claims come flooding in

TVS own Norton now. I don't think lack of cash is a problem.

[Bigjawa]

I'd be happy to let others break the ground of ownership before splashing my own readies.

Yup, they could be fantastic, but i suspect thay thy could well be a dose.

Soapy tenner says they go bust before the inevitable slew of warranty claims come flooding in

TVS own Norton now. I don't think lack of cash is a problem.

Having money and parting with it to fulfil warranty claims are two totally different things, Ford have all the money in the world and people are having to go to court after their car engines went bang. If Norton have to pay out a fortune in warranties, they'll be conveniently binned by TVS.

[Cousin Jack]

They certainly look good, but they are more than a bit spendy, and the reputation of the last owner still hangs over them. Not for me.

[Taipan]

They certainly look good, but they are more than a bit spendy, and the reputation of the last owner still hangs over them. Not for me.

Probably not for me either but a £100 million investment from TVS does show commitment!

[The Spin Doctor]

Having money and parting with it to fulfil warranty claims are two totally different things, Ford have all the money in the world and people are having to go to court after their car engines went bang.

I don't actually disagree with that but I've heard plenty of horror stories about K*M ownership and people still buy those

If Norton have to pay out a fortune in warranties, they'll be conveniently binned by TVS.

I think TVS are in this for the long game. If you look at how 'British' brands have been acquired by Indian companies over the last few years, there's a clear strategy behind it to develop a premium brand to market to India. It's a rapidly growing market for top-of-the-range machines.

The days when all Indian companies could build were ratty 100s are long gone. This is above all a flagship bike to show off the company and I think the idea they'd punt out something unreliable and end up with corporate egg on face is highly unlikely. Obviously I'm guessing as much as anyone but I think they'll turn out reliable since the V4 has been completely re-engineered. It may look almost the same but there are so many detail changes they may as well be completely different machines to the horror stories the Garner era Norton turned out.

Think VF750 and VFR750...

[Horse]

The days when all Indian companies could build were ratty 100s are long gone.

From the car world IIRC there is (or recently was) a car on the market in India that achieved 0* in EuroNCAP testing.

[Demannu]

Not wishing to sound too disparaging about Indian business models, but their go to solution for a problem is to throw people at the problem, rather than looking at WHY there's a problem in the first place.
A mate who designed some serious hi tech pipe inspection kit, had to go there to install it in a factory. They had a 80%+ failure rate of inspected pipes, the Indians asked if there was any way around the failure rate (apart from making better pipes)

[Supermofo]

I read in MCN that they have a new shop in the Bike Shed
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/nor ... es-return/

This sort of wanky bollocks would put me off even if I did have the money. A bike shop with 1 bike but lots of designer gift bags, even looks like they have jewellery cases with bags in??

“Outfitting the space with a tailored mix of both bespoke and vintage furniture perfectly encapsulates Norton’s past, present and future,” Tentis said – having also designed the showroom.


There are a few dealers about

In addition to their swanky London pad, partnerships have also been announced with Krazy Horse London, P&H Motorcycles in Crawley, Via Moto in Sheffield, Thor Motorcycles in Bodmin, and Oakmere Motor Group in Cheshire. All of these will cover test rides, servicing, repairs, parts, accessories and more.

[Horse]

A mate who designed some serious hi tech pipe inspection kit, had to go there to install it in a factory. They had a 80%+ failure rate of inspected pipes, the Indians asked if there was any way around the failure rate (apart from making better pipes)

Was that in the UK? ie One of the JLR group factories?

[Bustaspoke]

I read in MCN that they have a new shop in the Bike Shed
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/nor ... es-return/

This sort of wanky bollocks would put me off even if I did have the money. A bike shop with 1 bike but lots of designer gift bags, even looks like they have jewellery cases with bags in??

“Outfitting the space with a tailored mix of both bespoke and vintage furniture perfectly encapsulates Norton’s past, present and future,” Tentis said – having also designed the showroom.

I bet Thaiumph are cursing,missing out on a opportunity like that

[The Spin Doctor]

Not wishing to sound too disparaging about Indian business models, but their go to solution for a problem is to throw people at the problem, rather than looking at WHY there's a problem in the first place.
A mate who designed some serious hi tech pipe inspection kit, had to go there to install it in a factory. They had a 80%+ failure rate of inspected pipes, the Indians asked if there was any way around the failure rate (apart from making better pipes)

If you own a baby KTM, you've bought an Indian motorcycle.

Ditto Royal Enfield.

The RE and Norton R&D departments are in the UK, but the machines are all put together in India.

Of course, we have a similarly huge failure rate of pipes in London under the streets... sewers and watermains are leaking all over the place but it's because many went down in the Victorian era when they didn't think about how to build them to be replaced. With enough cash it would be easy enough to rip out the old ones and replace with better... but it would cost a fortune and bring London to a halt.

So there's a policy of placing a collar around the fracture, then tightening it up. Then the hole's refilled and we end up with a patched road. The usual result of restoring water pressure is to blow the main at the next weakest point... so the patching team moves up the road and the farce repeats itself.

After chasing leaks up the hill from the big main at the bottom to the village where I lived at the top for thirty odd years, Kent County Council has finally decided the entire main needs to come up. It's going to take over six months with a full road closure. And that's just one road. I can imagine if there was a chronic issue like this in a factory, there would be an investigation of other solutions first.

[Bustaspoke]

The RE and Norton R&D departments are in the UK, but the machines are all put together in India.

Norton built a brand new purpose built factory in Solihull the other year.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/482777/n ... y-opening/

[The Spin Doctor]

The RE and Norton R&D departments are in the UK, but the machines are all put together in India.

Norton built a brand new purpose built factory in Solihull the other year.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/482777/n ... y-opening/

You're right... I was writing complete rubbish there... Nortons are indeed put together in Solihull. I meant RE and Norton have their R&D here but the ROYAL ENFIELD assembly line is in India.

The point I was trying (confusingly) to make was that we're happy buying the Royal Enfields - they've gone from nowhere to top-sellers in a couple of years so someone's doing something right.

Then there's BSA too, also with R&D in England - as I mentioned on my webcast a few days back, they've just attempted to register the names Bantam, Lightning and Thunderbolt... which implies a complete range of machines in the works to go with the Gold Star single.

[Demannu]

A mate who designed some serious hi tech pipe inspection kit, had to go there to install it in a factory. They had a 80%+ failure rate of inspected pipes, the Indians asked if there was any way around the failure rate (apart from making better pipes)

Was that in the UK? ie One of the JLR group factories?

It was UK, iirc it was Unicorn. Sadly no more, the bloke that owned it died and my mate wasn't interested in running the business and I seem to remember some American conglomerate wanting the patents/license to manufacture the gear