Latest email from Factory !!!!

Hello,



Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your enquiry; as you know we have been working through the issues left by the previous Norton company, NMUL Realisations Ltd., and although we (The Norton Motorcycle Co. Ltd.) bought some of the assets of NMUL we did not take on any liability or responsibility for any parts or products made and sold by that company.



We have now almost completed this work and unfortunately we have found that the parts we inherited came from a variety of sources, with very little documentation to show providence, quality standards, or important information regarding compatibility with different models. All this means that we cannot be certain that the parts would be of the necessary quality and standard to ensure rider safety. Therefore, we have taken the difficult decision that we cannot sell any parts we haven’t sourced, or tested; nor can we service, maintain or repair any bikes that we have not built. Unfortunately, this includes your motorcycle.



This isn’t a decision we have taken lightly; we have spent a significant amount of time checking the stock of parts in the hope of finding a way to support you, but it would be irresponsible of us to sell parts or service motorcycles without being confident we could guarantee your safety

.

All motorcycles built and sold by us will, of course, be fully supported through Norton Birmingham, and in time a global network of Norton Customer Centres. Our Parts Department will shortly open, and when this happens, we will sell parts that are fitted to our own Norton Commando Classic 961 only. For the reasons set out above we will not be able to guarantee that they will fit your bike, nor that they are suitable or fit for purpose on your motorcycle.



Once again, please accept my apologies for the length of time it has taken us to get to this point, we had hoped to find a better solution for you but that has not been possible due to the issues we have inherited.



Kind regards,



Scott Gibson

Aftersales Administrator





The Norton Motorcycle Co. Ltd

Pragmatically understandable but... nonetheless lame!

I’m not so sure. If they are saying that we can buy parts fitted to “their” 961 - who cares? Seems to me like we are better off.

Just received same email... somewhat disappointing..

Very disappointing for owners, but let’s be honest, it’s hardly surprising.

Surely that should at least mean that the aftermarket industry is free to step in ?

How is it bad? If they won’t sell their old stock - but they will sell what is fitted to “their” 961 - why is that so bad? They say they are opening the parts department? If they’re opening a parts department what exactly are they going to sell if not 961 parts?

Fast Eddie said:

Very disappointing for owners, but let’s be honest, it’s hardly surprising.

Surely that should at least mean that the aftermarket industry is free to step in ?

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Do you think it means that they will now release the old suppliers from their contracts and we can deal direct?

I got the same email. Very very unhappy.

So instead of selling the stock pile of parts they have, I’ll bet they threw them away. I wouldn’t be surprised.
I live near Toledo Ohio where the Jeep Wrangler is built. When Fiat took over train car loads of left over jeep parts were scrapped.

Once again another blow by TVS. To me it’s an excuse of them not wanting to be involved with the 961. But what about the 961s they assembled? They had zero involvement with the parts for those bike pats. What will they do about warranty on those?

glb said:

Do you think it means that they will now release the old suppliers from their contracts and we can deal direct?

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You can take that email to mean a number of different things . First , Will they even sell us parts if we don't have their Classic ? And if they will sell parts to a existing SG 961 owner , surely they know what parts have changed or not correct ? For those that live in the UK with older Norton 961's , especially owners that have actually spoken to folks at the factory can help us out here . Lastly , will they give us a Trade In deal like the V4 ?

Fast Eddie said:

Very disappointing for owners, but let’s be honest, it’s hardly surprising.

Surely that should at least mean that the aftermarket industry is free to step in ?

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Maybe ?

TonyA said:

You can take that email to mean a number of different things . First , Will they even sell us parts if we don't have their Classic ? And if they will sell parts to a existing SG 961 owner , surely they know what parts have changed or not correct ? For those that live in the UK with older Norton 961's , especially owners that have actually spoken to folks at the factory can help us out here . Lastly , will they give us a Trade In deal like the V4 ?

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TVS wants nothing to do with us red headed step children.

They don’t want to sell us parts because in their minds they may be unsafe or not meet their standards. But they made some 961 bikes to honor the orders when they took over. So I guess those bike are unsafe as well.

Why don’t they list them on EBay so we can purchase them as is.

Not sure on this one. I 'think' we can buy spare parts, but they won't guarantee they can fit. I would hope Norton would be reasonable and either let us buy parts they currently source for their 961, or, for parts from previous suppliers that they don't currently source parts from, allow them to sell direct to us/through their normal channels vs the 'sorry, we can't sell you parts as Norton won't let us'.

It does make me wonder what his means for the 961 classic though.....maybe continue it? Otherwise the spares and service dept are going to be mighty quiet with, what was it, 20 ish bikes? I think they were going to make 50...but heard that got revised down.

I've sent Scott an email asking for clarification. As after sales administrator, I would guess he's not too busy right now!

Voodooo said:

TVS wants nothing to do with us red headed step child’s.

They don’t want to sell us parts because in their minds they may be unsafe or not meet their standards. But they made some 961 bikes to honor the orders when they took over. So I guess those bike are unsafe as well.

Why don’t they list them on EBay so we can purchase them as is.

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Because they are using those parts to build the 961 Classic , I suppose. You can only bad dream this stuff up ! Don't they realize how bad this is for existing owners ? Very disappointing !

Voodooo said:

TVS wants nothing to do with us red headed step child’s.

They don’t want to sell us parts because in their minds they may be unsafe or not meet their standards. But they made some 961 bikes to honor the orders when they took over. So I guess those bike are unsafe as well.

Why don’t they list them on EBay so we can purchase them as is.

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As far as I know those bikes are still sitting at the factory in the Corner of Shame. Wonder what happens with the #1 961 they donated as a prize to the National Motorcycle Museum? Maybe they will upgrade him to a v4?

If they don't see those bikes as of 'merchantable quality' then that's a few spares for us. Perhaps the NOC could negotiate to buy them for their parts bin? FYI Scott is really nice bloke - I guess things are going to be a bit quiet for him now. Due a visit quite soon; should be interesting......

Clive said:

As far as I know those bikes are still sitting at the factory in the Corner of Shame. Wonder what happens with the #1 961 they donated as a prize to the National Motorcycle Museum? Maybe they will upgrade him to a v4?

If they don't see those bikes as of 'merchantable quality' then that's a few spares for us. Perhaps the NOC could negotiate to buy them for their parts bin? FYI Scott is really nice bloke - I guess things are going to be a bit quiet for him now. Due a visit quite soon; should be interesting......

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I assume they will sell them, as Scotts says "Our Parts Department will shortly open, and when this happens, we will sell parts that are fitted to our own Norton Commando Classic 961 only." so I don't see anything that indicates they deem the 961 classic as 'not of merchantable quality'...why would you announce you are selling parts for a bike you won't be selling?

Vernon240 said:

I assume they will sell them, as Scotts says "Our Parts Department will shortly open, and when this happens, we will sell parts that are fitted to our own Norton Commando Classic 961 only." so I don't see anything that indicates they deem the 961 classic as 'not of merchantable quality'...why would you announce you are selling parts for a bike you won't be selling?

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Yes - that was a bit tongue in cheek - the email is a bit confusing as they say they will not supply parts they haven't sourced yet the bikes will definitely be built from existing parts which they then will not be available as parts for the bikes they have built???

Sounds like they're taking the stance of offering a typical corporate disclaimer to cover their a$$es, written by TVS' legal department in conjunction with outside counsel in England. As far as selling parts to people that don't own "their" 961, a disclaimer should provide them ample protection from liability. Therefore there should be no reason for them to extend effort to ensure parts are only sold to "their" 961 owners. And thus, we could build a forum database of parts compatibility and move forward with greater parts purchasing options.

italia said:

Sounds like they're taking the stance of offering a typical corporate disclaimer to cover their a$$es, written by TVS' legal department in conjunction with outside counsel in England. As far as selling parts to people that don't own "their" 961, a disclaimer should provide them ample protection from liability. Therefore there should be no reason for them to extend effort to ensure parts are only sold to "their" 961 owners. And thus, we could build a forum database of parts compatibility and move forward with greater parts purchasing options.

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I hope so , Sounds good to me.

TonyA said:

Because they are using those parts to build the 961 Classic , I suppose. You can only bad dream this stuff up ! Don't they realize how bad this is for existing owners ? Very disappointing !

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What classic? They don’t build bikes. As mentioned, what about the 20 or so they already built that are just sitting in a corner?
We’re those not built to honor the orders of people who placed deposits for a 961 before the fall of garner?

Just read mine. I take it to mean we can NOT purchase parts. They will not in good faith sell them for fear of changes made, proper fitment and safety issues. I think they are dodging legal problems in advance.
Sucks