Cafe Racer in Brisbane

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Nov 6, 2014
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After lurking on here I finally took delivery of mine yesterday, ordered December 2011.
First - minor problems, peeling paint on the oil cooler that the dealing already submitted as a warrenty claim, the ordered and paid for polished engine cases weren't and the gear level knob fell off on the way home.

Otherwise a very happy bunny, I have a Bonnie and a thruxton and this feels a lot more planted on the road, engine is noisy but seems more powerful than the thrux which is running 36mm flat slide carbs and a TTP ignitor.

I'll report more once I get some more km's on it.
Skiddy
 
hey Skidmark
Im on the Gold Coast picked my bike up last monday
red sports 961 big weekend riding
just had first service 1000km on tues this week
No hastles with bike so far love it
keep in contact and should catch up
im at canungra most saturday mornings
cheers
Paul
 
Congratulations! Must be very gratifying to get it after waiting four years. And I thought my six month wait was an eternity! Although I had been wanting one for years before I placed the order.

Yeah, the engines are noisy...and I love it.
 
150km's then no longer happy. Starter motor has eaten its self.
I was having an intermittant graunching noise, not speed or engine speed related, make a noise for 10-20 seconds then back to normal. Stopped, and it went away, slow down and all back to normal. Sounded like mechanical interferance of an electrical item, I though the fan may be hitting something.
Got to work, and there is no fan so that wasn't it.
Wont start either and there is a electrical smell in the air.
Call the dealer, and its into a van and away. Allegedly stripped the teeth on the motor and bent the bit that engages it. No answer why.

A test of a manufaturer is how they deal with the problem, so we'll see.

No problem with the dealer (Rocker Classic motorcycles in Redcliffe) who are keeping me advised of what is happening, most parts are on their way from Frasers in Sydney except a gasket thats got to come from the uk.

Skiddy
 
Wow. Sorry to hear that. I had to wait a month for a gasket. I had one of the first 10 in the US, so I think Norton and the US rep was unprepared for breakdowns. Had to get a new gearbox shortly after. A total of 4 months. I think that since shipments are becoming more frequent, they might be getting their act together. I hope you part comes in soon. All the best. I'm still smiling, (after having a few rants) hopefully you will too.
 
It seems the starter assembly's reliability is problematic.
There are several owners on the UK NOC site that have experienced starter issues as well.
I'm not entirely certain how the system works, but it appears that when you press the starter button, the pinion gear is extended from the starter into the primary to mesh with the clutch hub gear. If the two don't mesh properly, a grinding sound can be heard. I imagine that this is not good for the starter or the pinion.

It appears that most owners encounter an issue with these bikes. Once resolved, they are fine.
So once repaired, you should be back enjoying your CR.

Cheers
 
skidmark said:
150km's then no longer happy. Starter motor has eaten its self.
I was having an intermittant graunching noise, not speed or engine speed related, make a noise for 10-20 seconds then back to normal. Stopped, and it went away, slow down and all back to normal. Sounded like mechanical interferance of an electrical item, I though the fan may be hitting something.
Got to work, and there is no fan so that wasn't it.
Wont start either and there is a electrical smell in the air.
Call the dealer, and its into a van and away. Allegedly stripped the teeth on the motor and bent the bit that engages it. No answer why.

A test of a manufaturer is how they deal with the problem, so we'll see.

No problem with the dealer (Rocker Classic motorcycles in Redcliffe) who are keeping me advised of what is happening, most parts are on their way from Frasers in Sydney except a gasket thats got to come from the uk.

Skiddy


I'm not sure if this is a known problem or not but it is a potential problem that should be noted.
The RING GEAR (the gear that the starter in driving) can come loose as it is held on with five shoulder bolts and threebond. The problem, in my opinion from an engineering view is, the shoulder bolt diameter is not counter-bored into the ring gear with a tight enough tolerance (this could be only on some bikes and not others), so with every start only the thread, which isn't as strong breaks. Once one breaks, it wont take long for all to break as the others are now taking more load. If they and or when they all break, then the gear can spin and JAM!!! I personally think that the dealers should be inspecting each bike when they come in and assess if this will be a future issue or not.

TO CHECK;
Remove the primary cover and see if the ring gear can move on the bolts, if it does, DO NOT START IT!!! CALL YOUR DEALER!!!!

Hope this helps others to prevent this problem.
 
Richard is correct,it is a known problem for the ring gears to fall off and cause a huge amount of damage and rear wheel lock up when they fail.It happened to my Sport.The reason for the bolt failure is,the teeth cut on the ring gear aren't quite the correct pitch,hence the noise when initially pressing the starter button.This causes damage to the ring gear,stripped teeth.If you continue the ring gear will fall off as the bolts not designed to cope with side load.This was all explained to me when I had my ring gear fall off last summer,I was shown the problem by a Norton mechanic,it only took a couple of months to get it fixed.
 
Update
Allegedly all the parts are now in Redcliffe, but they need a tool which while may be available in Sydney they are making their own involving an Xj900 clutch plate.
No ETA for it being on the road so 1 month rego and insurance down the pan.
Skiddy
 
Latest,
Bike is back together starting as it should. The motor was apparently engaging on its own volition which caused it to die not a mechanical problem.
During test rides it has again done the same so they are looking at relay etc to try and find the why. Any suggestions from this greter resource?
Skiddy
 
We are back on the road, I rode to work this morning and it feels great, also quieter, they have changed oil to 20/50.

Apparently there was a fault in the wiring loom that caused the motor to try to engage. There is a bit of a smell of BS but I think access to this forum makes me more cynical of any thing from Norton.

Anyway back on the road, Rocker motorcycles have now to try and get the warranty costs reimbursed that included all the dismantling the starter motor and a battery as well as an auto electrician to hunt down the problem.

Skiddy
 
Great news Skidmark.
It's begining to seem as though these bikes are pretty little riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
Someone somewhere always chimes in with yet another problem.
Lets hope these issues are getting ironed out back at the factory, so future owners won't have to deal with them too.
The brand is taking a hit out on the net from all of the problems that have been encountered, and the response from Norton.

Regards
 
"It's begining to seem as though these bikes are pretty little riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma"

Or perhaps we should rejoice in the unique foibles of a hand made product, like the blemish in a diamond that makes it sparkle.

Or perhaps we should just get out and ride the damm things.

Skiddy
 
That’s the spirit, just ride the damn thing! It’s what they’re made for.
Actually, while I’m waiting for my replacement starter (week 7) I probably could still ride my 961.
Just run-bump start the mother, Cossack/racer style!
Show some style and flair for the public at the local gas station, or restaurant parking lot. :lol:
 
BritTwit said:
That’s the spirit, just ride the damn thing! It’s what they’re made for.
Actually, while I’m waiting for my replacement starter (week 7) I probably could still ride my 961.
Just run-bump start the mother, Cossack/racer style!
Show some style and flair for the public at the local gas station, or restaurant parking lot. :lol:

Now, that is the spirit LOL
 
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