Tell Dr Bob.
I’m sure he needs a good laugh.
Why do you assume that the 961 owners are not the target buyers? Who is then?
How many classic Norton owners bought a 961?
Are you thinking the 20, 30 and 40 year olds are going to run out and buy a new Norton?
You seem to say you agree with many of us that TVS way of handling things is lackluster now, but that’s not what you mean or actually believe yourself. You been cherry about Dr bob since day one.
What will your thoughts be if they don’t have anything new to show at the NEC?
What if the bike display is the same as last time?
I’ll be the first to say this and I said it before, TVS has turned me off to the Norton brand and it’s very unlikely I’ll every buy another.
TVS sucks at building up the brands excitement and their lack of attention and news is driving potential buyers away.
How are you to draw customers in when the customer doesn’t even know you exist?
It’s also very unlikely that they will have a dealer network available outside of the UK anyhow. At least for many more years. That’s from their own posting on Instagram.
Or perhaps, they don’t plan on any new ICE bikes and will only offer the 961 classic and the SV bike. All while they are working in the dark on a new EV line up.
Hey Voodoo,
I choose to view the situation at Norton with some optimism. Norton looked dead and buried (potentially forever) until TVS stepped in investing heavily. They elected to maintain production in the UK, opened a new facility in an historic area and hired/re-hired a large number of local people. This is all good news right?
I think I’ve been pretty consistent in my commentary. We are all a little frustrated with waiting for news and with the drip feeding of information (some more than others), but I trust that they have a plan - albeit slow to reveal itself.
You choose to view things in an entirely different light - your prerogative entirely mate. With respect though, that is generally with a predominently negative biase. I have read some commentary, the volume and content of which has made me question my own ownership - so who knows what that may do for potential buyers. We do want Norton Birmingham to succeed right?
I’m quite sure that Dr Bob/Norton/TVS are not trying to f@#k us all over, deceive or con existing or future owners - they are simply trying to make a business succeed. Only time will tell whether their approach works or not.
Norton are setting their market closer to home initially I guess, testing the waters like any start-up (for want of a better term) but planning to expand. That’s what you would expect them to do right. Not prudent to start setting up international dealerships networks until the business is established. TVS are not new to business.
We SG 961 owners number a couple of thousand. Some will have turned off Norton like yourself and will look elsewhere. Some will have committed financially already - these bikes are expensive; some (I think many) will not be willing to take a hit on their 961 and spend even more on another new Norton (like me for example). How many does that leave? I also think, from a commercial perspective, Norton may have worked a little harder to garner our support if we were seen as a rich vein for future sales.
I guess (and really hope) that they are thinking much bigger picture than that. They have mentioned a model range that has ‘something for everyone’. Of course they will be looking for premium buyers, but I suspect plan to release less expensive models (Atlas/others) looking for new buyers. Plenty of those 20-40 year olds you mention who might fancy looking way cooler on a reasonably priced Norton than they do on a ubiquitous Jap clone or Duc for that matter; look what Triumph has achieved.
My thoughts only and only time will tell. I for one am willing to wait.
!?
