Hello from Norton UK

Hopefully that means not much longer till my set of shorties gets sent to NY?? Still waiting for a clutch cover too. Where is that being made? Almost three months and counting.

DODGY DEN said:

Motad went out of business early in the year and the exhaust are now made in house at Norton.
Lucky old me who has had the long open pipes on order for 2 months can pick a set up on the next Tuesday 1/8/17 .

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WOW , Motad out of business , that's astonishing and unfortunate ! Maybe the Norton made exhaust will be even better ! The Motad website is still up and going.

I was at the factory today and can assure everyone they were hard at work fabricating new exhaust systems!

Hi Ian What were you buying?

Nothing, on holiday in the UK. Be rude not to drop in.

I c an see a V4 with your name on it

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. Norton will now have full control of quality so thats a nice feeling.

I saw a naked Dominator getting ready to be shipped to someone in the States - pretty sure it's someone on the forum. Here's a few more pics from the visit, plus one from the store in London. Stayed the night at Priest House also owned by Stuart/Norton a minute down the road - so have done my bit to keep Norton chugging on.



To the left is where the assembly process begins with a trolley slowly making its way down picking parts for the build. Engines are built on site as well.



The evolution from the original Kenny Dreer design to the final UK Norton design.



Kids posing beside the TT bike - although not included in the tour I did spot the building where the TT or V4 project is housed, there was a bit of action going on inside...



No.1 Domiracer and the James Bond bike.



New CNC machining area.



Dominator getting the final touches at the end of the line.



Yours truly at the Norton store in London buying some things I probably don't really need...

The factory was very accommodating in fitting me in for a tour at quite short notice and on a day and time of my choosing. Had a chat with Stuarts partner and did spot Stuart at one point - but was perhaps wisely steered clear . I can assure everyone here that I was quite candid in expressing both the things we all love about Norton and the things we all wish the factory could improve on... It's clear the 961 has improved over the years and continues to do so - its probably reached a point where a bigger manufacturer might deem it ready for release... It's just a few niggly little things that need to be sorted now.

But the factory seemed busy enough and presented itself in a professional manner which was good to see.

Love the pics man !

Thanks so much for sharing. My dad and I are almost ready to release some fixes that will make your bike run so good it will blow your mind. I cant describe how good and how much power my bike has now. More to come. Soon NO MORE niggles.

Yipeee. Bring it on Richard.

richard-7 said:

My dad and I are almost ready to release some fixes that will make your bike run so good it will blow your mind. I cant describe how good and how much power my bike has now. More to come. Soon NO MORE niggles.

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:shock: Don't tease me, big fella!!

Hello Richard
I just got a 961 Sport, and I live hundreds of miles from a Norton dealer although I have dealt with a couple for some parts. I tried buying a seat from Norton UK and was first told it was available but then told that Norton UK was not going to ship parts internationally to individuals, and that I should order through a dealer which I did.
I am ok with that but I know many on the forum are used to going direct. I was working with Olivia.
I as others are looking forward to new bits to make the riding and ownership experience better.
Thanks for your attention and support

I'm on vacation in the U.K. and dropped by the factory completely unannounced. Clem and 'Liv in the sales area could not have been more accommodating, lovely people with passion for the brand. 'Liv is a graduate of their Norton Academy and is very articulate and knowledgeable. Clem took a couple of hours out of his day to show us around the facility from fabrication through final assembly.

Thank you both for your hospitality.

I hate to break up the praise party, but why is it so difficult to purchase parts lately?! Honestly, it makes me nervous. All I want is a corrected length oil dipstick which from any other manufacturer would have been provided for free in the form of a recall. Regardless, I was informed I needed to go through my closest Norton dealer. I believe it has been over two months since MCC tried to place an order for me. Still no status at this point in time. What does this imply for ordering vital parts in the future?!

Seems to me that the service you guys get is highly, in fact almost totally, people dependant. You recently had people in positions at Norton who were given the time and recourses to handle the spares topic and who cared about you, the customers.

Unfortunately, most of these have left / been fired / moved on internally.

Being so people dependant like this is a sign that a company doesn’t have robust systems and processes in place. Basically, until this is changed, it will remain the same!

Norton have grown from a very small team, whereby people dependency is quite normal or even unavoidable, to an international sales company whereby people dependency is not acceptable anymore, it’s just not dependable enough. As they continue to grow, so will this issue. It will, in fact, seriously impede growth and endanger the companies very existence. Nice factories, race teams, new models, exciting press headlines... these are all fine ONLY IF your core operation is able to serve the market fully and properly. Garners team are like a military expedition that extends further and faster than their supply chain can service... A dangerous place to be!

All of your bikes are still relatively new and low mileage. Contours, your question about what will it be like when people start really needing to repair these bikes, with rebores, cam changes, bottom end rebuilds, etc is a very good one. The supply of ‘service parts’ as they are known, is not rocket science, or special to Norton, or anything like that, it’s a basic and fundamental part of any automotive supply chain, as well as a large and important one, and needs taking seriously either by dedicated, well equipped, competent in house resources... or external ones.

Which gives me an idea... perhaps Donnington should outsource their entire service parts business to Andover Norton. When you compare the availability and service they provide for machines over 50 years old with that you guys are receiving for your new bikes from Donnington, well, let’s just say it highlights the issue! Imagine being able to access on line parts books, order and pay on line, and receive your 961 parts within days !

I used to receive parts within days, TILL Callum left!

Fast Eddie said:

Which gives me an idea... perhaps Donnington should outsource their entire service parts business to Andover Norton. When you compare the availability and service they provide for machines over 50 years old with that you guys are receiving for your new bikes from Donnington, well, let’s just say it highlights the issue! Imagine being able to access on line parts books, order and pay on line, and receive your 961 parts within days !

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I have been thinking exactly the same! I have a better chance of keeping my 1975 Commando running than I do my 2015 model. I had plans to unload the old girl for some urgently needed cash. But lately I've begun to consider the younger one as my extra bike.

I liked getting parts within days from the factory all the way here to NY, but I get the fact that parts should be ordered through dealerships. The only problem is, its taking forever and a day to even send the parts TO the dealerships. I ordered the patch kit for the flickering non working fuel light 3-4 weeks ago from AF1. Last word is the factory acknowledged the order within days......then deafening silence.