Latest on Norton

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Richard Simpson Mark II
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Latest on Norton

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

The man with no shame.

Congrats to John Hogan for keeping on the case!

https://www.superbike.co.uk/article/stu ... on-holders
Jak*
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Re: Latest on Norton

Post by Jak* »

I think the recent announcement of Mahindra purchase of the BSA name and their intention to produce motorcycles with that name in England alongside TVS’s purchase of Norton is interesting. These companies are already large players in the motorcycle industry and are not buying these names due to some rosy tinted view of the past. Presumably they have a business plan which will make them a worthwhile investment. Given that there would be no advantage to them producing motorcycles for the EU market in the UK rather than India and the UK market is small and already well catered for in terms of brands I wonder what their plan is.
Previously makes like CCM and Norton as low volume manufacturers would have been exempt from some of the EU legislation, eg Euro 5, and therefore able to sell in these markets, I am not sure that is still the case. There may be a few customers in the UK who value home manufactured products, but then which do you go for, a bike made by a UK manufacturer in the Far East, or a bike made by a British brand owned by an Indian company but built in the UK. I would be surprised if either Norton or BSA could produce bikes in the UK as good as the current Enfields at the same price, Triumph obviously can’t.
Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: Latest on Norton

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

I suspect both are looking at the massive North American market.

H-D is lurching from one disaster to the next...there's a big segment of the American bike market right there looking for a 'heritage' brand to replace H-D. H-D got very mired in politics...'Harley riders for Trump' then Trump said Harley was a 'terrible company' for relocating some production abroad. Plus the 'cheap' Harley got hammered by the Enfield 650. The Enfield to me is one of the most significant bikes to be launched in the last few years.

Back in the 1960s, BSA-Triumph nearly put H-D out of business (only orders for police bikes kept it going). I'm not sure how well Triumph does in the USA, but different parts of the USA were better markets for some British brands than others....for instance Triumph sold in the West Coast, BSA on the East Coast.
Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: Latest on Norton

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

John at Super Bike has got another story on this

https://www.superbike.co.uk/article/nor ... efect-list

Norton V4...the most expensive scrap heap in the world
daveuprite
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Re: Latest on Norton

Post by daveuprite »

Just read this in MCN:

Norton owners’ misery continues
The latest swing in the Norton hope-ometer of news appears to now be pointing in a fixed direction – the firm says they cannot now repair the original generation of V4SS that was supplied to just 55 customers of the old firm. The extent of the problems uncovered as the new Norton business re-engineers the bike to make it production-ready has proven too much, and owners are now being told to seek redress via the liquidators. We get the latest straight from the horse’s mouth, with new CEO Robert Hentschel.


What a mess. What on earth did the old Norton do to those Aprilia V4 engines to cock them up so much? They seem to work OK in the Aprilia RSV / Tuono!
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Re: Latest on Norton

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

I wonder how much longer Skinner can hang onto his job?

The traditions of the old British motorcycle industry were certainly recreated by Norton at Donnington Park...and not in a good way.

I wonder if the way forward wouldn't be just to buy an Aprilia 4V and put it in the Norton chassis? I think the aprilia is pretty solid mechanically, although the valves need doing quite regularly, and the engine probably isn't as solid as the old Rotax ones.

Or maybe the owners won't care...the bikes were aimed clearly at collectors/speculators, so were bought to polish rather than ride.

I did do some work for a guy who said he was thinking about buying one...I was going to try to talk him out of it, but it turned out he'd already paid for it upfront, so I let it go. I wonder if his bike was ever delivered, or if Stewie just took the money and put it as a deposit on another Aston Martin.
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