The use of the term Premium is difficult unless ya qualify what it means. Are we are talking about price, quality, manufacturers reputation or all of these things? By what scale? For cost/quality maybe: Entry level - Premium - Luxury? If so, where is the 961 placed? Yes, I’d generally put MV/Ducati in premium also; Brough etc would be in the luxury category I suppose. An imperfect descriptor/scale at best. What about flagship bikes from other manufacturers. They all have Chinese/overseas parts no doubt!
With the 961 and V4SV/CR lineup and Norton’s approach to marketing/sales, its pretty clear which end of the market they are currently aiming for (rightly or wrongly); whether ya view the 961 as premium or not, by some other measure, is personal opinion I suppose.
Are the parts/components on the new 961 sub-standard in some way? Ohlins, Brembo, braided hoses, billet, carbon - those engine/sprockets covers don’t look cheap etc, or are we talking about performance? If not marketed (and priced) as premium then how should the 961 be marketed?
I hadn’t heard of Norton Birmingham warning-off aftermarket suppliers - I guess if it’s the likes of carbon companies reverse engineering products that Norton sell themselve, that may be understandable. If not, for what type of items/products?
Yes it would be awesome if Norton would put the time, effort and funding into: explaining/ presenting each change made; detailing which components will fit our bikes and which won’t; provide any technical/functional/interface implications and answering the raft of associated questions that would undoubtably follow. Doing so whilst avoiding any liability that may be associated with parts or advice, for bikes they did not build nor have any obligation to support. And probably revealing at the same time that they have grossly exaggerated the changes to distance new from old models. I guess we could accept the decision. Or not.
I’ve just requested a price for seat components - I received the standard explanatory response that we’ve seen before. In short, only parts that Norton Birmingham has sourced and tested for their 961 are available for purchase (95% compatability?). I guess they will prioritise parts required to build new bikes for sale - that will likely lead to delays I would think; we’re not talking about a mainstream manufacturer here.
Cheer leading for TVS in my overly optimistic way (as some may characterise) or giving a balanced opinion? We’ve all got one - an opinion that is
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www.brough-superior-motorcycles.com
