Hello from Norton UK

Dear Simon,

Glad to see I can communicate with the U.K. Factory. I own a late 2012 961 Sport Commando bought from Egli Racing in Switzerland. Although living in France near Geneva, I was given the opportunity to acquire one of these beauties without having to wait. Paradise Motos in Paris at that time did not have any available and could not guarantee the delivery date. In brief, I had a few problems on the engine that were sorted out by Mr. Egli himself, including a temporary repair of the hydraulic lifters as these had a dangerous factory default. The only way to cure for this would be a replacement of the cylinders. The total bill for the fixing of the few problems was in the range of 3,500 Swiss francs, normally covered by the warranty, but in fact paid by myself and never reimbursed for the reason Norton UK all knows too well. All I am asking is how could I finally obtain a pair of new cylinders from the factory? Shall I come to Donington (am ready to do that if needed) or can these be sent to Paradise Motos under my name and the manpower covered by the (now defunct) warranty?

Simon seems quiet these days.

Anyone know if he is still active / responding on this forum?

He was checking on the forum 30 minutes ago if that helps?

Thierrymarc said:

Dear Simon,

Glad to see I can communicate with the U.K. Factory. I own a late 2012 961 Sport Commando bought from Egli Racing in Switzerland. Although living in France near Geneva, I was given the opportunity to acquire one of these beauties without having to wait. Paradise Motos in Paris at that time did not have any available and could not guarantee the delivery date. In brief, I had a few problems on the engine that were sorted out by Mr. Egli himself, including a temporary repair of the hydraulic lifters as these had a dangerous factory default. The only way to cure for this would be a replacement of the cylinders. The total bill for the fixing of the few problems was in the range of 3,500 Swiss francs, normally covered by the warranty, but in fact paid by myself and never reimbursed for the reason Norton UK all knows too well. All I am asking is how could I finally obtain a pair of new cylinders from the factory? Shall I come to Donington (am ready to do that if needed) or can these be sent to Paradise Motos under my name and the manpower covered by the (now defunct) warranty?

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Hello,

Please contact Thierry at Pardise or alternatively direct an email towards stephen.green@nortonmotorcycles.com

Kind Regards

Simon

Hi Simon,
Good to know you could bring some advise and assistance to the owners.
My Commando 961 Sport has been supposedly built in late 2012. Since my purchase in 2013 I experienced many problems until the barrel, rings and pistons were replaced at the UK factory in late 2015.
Since this replacement I'm experiencing from time to time the following incident when starting the engine: a loud mechanical clank and huge shock occurs when pushing the start button as if the starter device was engaging wrongly into the engine sprocket.
What do you think?
Kind regards,
BlueBird Belgium

There is a chance the Starter solenoid contacts need replacing. There may not be a strong enough connection. See STARTER SOLENOID Manual. CNW (Colorado Norton Works) has all the items you need :mrgreen:

Hello Simon

Has the 961 piston design changed in any way between the Iron sleeved cylinders and the Nikasil cylinders?

Simon

Please give us the intake and exhaust valve diameters
rocker arm ratio
cam lift &duration specs at .040" checking clearance.

Hi Simon

I bought a 2014 961 in October last year and apart from the noisy transmission and it sounding like a tractor I do like the bike. I took it for its annual service and was tempted by the UK Sales Manger Steve Dimascio at the Factory to trade in for a new 961 Sport ( I didnt even think that the Factory did part exchanges but I thought why not). I promptly received the proforma invoice via email requesting the agreed balance. I rang the next day to pay and was promptly told a new policy now existed and no part exchanges. It seemed most strange and suggested to me that Norton did not want their own bikes back. I have all the emails and paperwork (should any Norton senior management wish to contact me) but it demonstrated to me a very odd way of dealing with customers.
Incidentally this compliant in no way reflects on the Service team which I found most helpful but begs some serious questions about senior management at Norton.

Not that I even live close by, but it would seem with ramped up production, they would be more factory than dealership selling preowned bikes. I could be wrong of course.

I agree with Britfan, if the factory took in and re-sold used bikes, I believe customers would put great expectations on the factory re upgrades, warranty, etc. They'd practically have to rebuild them before turning them around. It would divert them from their core business, which, it seems, they are improving upon recently.

Hi Simon, I have just read with interest an article written by A.Cathcart.
A couple of questions,
1. Have Mahindra made an approach to buy Norton ?
2. Can you confirm what % of parts on a Norton is now British as the list from Asia seems to be every increasing ?

Thank you

961Story said:

Hi Simon, I have just read with interest an article written by A.Cathcart.
A couple of questions,
1. Have Mahindra made an approach to buy Norton ?
2. Can you confirm what % of parts on a Norton is now British as the list from Asia seems to be every increasing ?

Thank you

Click to expand...

I'm interested in this also.

Also, is the article writen by A Cathcart you read online? I'd like to read this also.
Thanks.

Perhaps if they start sourcing the best parts from all over the world like other companies do, it will become a better bike and the company will be profitable?

Glen

Hello Simon. As you know, I am in need of an upgrade from map code# 77 for my 2015 961 Sport (you already have the VIN). It is possible I am not getting very far with the 2 dealers closest to me because they don't have donor bikes on hand. I am just wondering if it would be possible to ship my ECU to the factory for this. The delay due to shipping is irrelevant at this point because it is already close to the end of my riding season.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

Simon
I have a 2016 SF. So far my problems have been electrical. First problem was the turn signal indicator in the tach which I found to be a broken wire where the left and right wire are crimped where they come to a "Y" and go into one wire before the plug connection into the tach. I cut away the shrink tube and soldered the 3 wires together and put dielectric grease and re shrink tubed the wires. All is well now.

My new problem is the green "N" neutral light flickers off and on only while riding between 1000-3500 rpm. I have counted over 25-30 times in a mile that it does this. I have so far removed the speedometer cup and checked the connections, wiggled and tugged the wires, put dielectric grease on all electrical connections and grounds, checked the neutral switch connection, shifter free play and made sure all fuses were tight. I checked continuity from the plug to the neutral switch connector and wiggled the wiring and I still can not get it to duplicate the problem when the bike is at a sit still. Once I ride the bike it acts up again every time. All this started once the bike hit the 100 mile mark on the odometer. It now has 150 miles on the bike. My last thought is maybe the neutral switch detent is weak and the engine vibrations cause it to flicker? Any ideas? Where can I get a electrical diagram?

Thank you Scott.

Hello Scott , aka "Voodooo" . Check your email dude !

TonyA said:

Hello Scott , aka "Voodooo" . Check your email dude !

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Tony!
Thank you very much for the email!
This helps a lot!

By the way, I just paid for my subscription. I was ignorant to the fact. Thank you for pointing this out. I appreciate your help again!
Scott.

Are they still selling bikes - I hear rumblings that they have sold out.

From the lack of replies, then I assume I am the last to know!! warranties now underwritten in Shanghai or New Delhi - what a bummer, didn't see that one coming!!