Low price 961

Fast Eddie said:

Why not get some California bars from Norton Ken? I thought they looked crazy in the pictures, but when I sat on one at the bike show last November I was really surprised how ‘right’ they felt.

I still opted for a Cafe Racer though !

And I agree about the rear tyre.

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Didn't know they offered other bars, Nigel. I'll have to take a look at them. All I'd seen in pictures were the semi-low bars I have and the clip-ons for the other models. Wonder if they have longer cables and hoses to go with them?

Ken

Absolutely,
The California bars would certainly require longer control cables than the handlebars on either the Sport, or SF models.

lcrken said:

Sound cool, yes! Seems to run well too, once it's warmed up. I haven't encountered any of the surging or poor idle conditions yet that I've seen reported here, but I need to get some more miles on it first. I really haven't run it hard yet at all. I did check the oil level, and it is well above the full line, and that's with the old dip stick, so I'm thinking I should suction out some of the oil. The drain tube from the air box is not plugged, so don't know yet if it is pumping much out the breather. I'm planning to plug it so I can periodically drain it and see what is happening there. Also looking at transmission vent, breather fix, Bosch sensors, coil, wires, and plugs, as possible upgrades. Just need some time to sort it all out. I'm also going to have to raise the bars and pull them back a little to get the right ergonomics for me. I really have to have an upright riding position now. It looks like I'll probably have to extend almost everything at the bars, brake lines, clutch line, throttle cables, and wiring harness. Not a simple matter of just making some new bar mounts.

On another note, I do like the way it handles, and don't expect to have to do any changes there in the near future. I do have to admit that I'm still trying to get used to the look for that wide rear tire. I'm pretty sure that's more for styling than function. No way it needs a 180 rear tire. I suspect it would handle better with something like a 140 or 150, certainly no more tha a 165. Future project, maybe.

Ken

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. Hi ya Ken,these are my bar risers kindly fitted to my March 2016 mk2, these were fitted in flash with no alterations to cable,brake lines or switch’s by Mr Coote senior along with other upgrades at the time,I’m 6ft1 & it made a noticeable difference & comfort, assists ache free 300 mile days , cheers Richard

Those look good, Richard. I can do something like that pretty easily. I didn't think there was enough slack in the cables and such, but I guess I was wrong. I'd still like to pull them a little further back too, but I'll start out with these first. Might just be enough.

Ken

I've spent some time looking at past posts and doing some searches, as well as browsing through the service manual, and I haven't found the answer to one of my pressing questions.

Is there a factory parts list, with diagrams and part numbers, available. My nearest dealer, the only one in California, is a two hour drive from here, so if I have to go to him to order parts, it would really help to have the part numbers, and maybe be able to do it all on-line instead of making multiple trips.

The only US dealer who lists any sort of parts on their web site is AF1 Racing, and I've already found them to be helpful for other brand parts. But their listing of parts is pretty limited. I don't have any specific parts I'm looking for right now, but I'm sure that won't last.

Ken

Ken,

I asked my dealer the same question, more than once.
Apparently, no such list exists, yet.
The only semi-comprehensive listing available is the online list that dealers have access to when they log into the official Norton dealers online catalog. My dealer showed me this website last year when I requested the oil in airbox fix kit. I was surprised that even my dealer complained that not all parts are listed. For any “mystery” parts not listed, the dealer has to email or call the factory for information.

On the plus side, parts are more readily available today than back in 2013-2014 when the 961 first arrived in the US.

Thanks, BritTwit. I guess all we need now is for someone to hack the Norton dealer site and provide the info that Norton refuse to share.

To be fair, I've put some more miles on the bike, and I'm actually pretty pleased with it. I've just been spoiled by the owner support provided by most other manufacturers. I think I need to just suck it up and stop complaining. It is what it is. I probably wouldn't be complaining at all if I didn't have to drive 2 hours through the worst of Los Angeles traffic to get to a dealer. But that's part of the price of having a limited production bike.

So far, I haven't seen any of the oil in airbox signs, or the transmission vent issues. I do plan to do the transmission vent fix, just because it seems like a good idea. The bike has just hit the end of the 500 mile break-in phase, so I haven't really run it hard. I'm curious if I will see more problems when I get to flog it more vigorously. I'll be doing the 500 mile service as soon as the oil filters arrive, and should be free to explore the higher rev performance after that. I'm also in the process of doing the ignition and sensor upgrades, which just seem like good insurance.

Other than that, my only immediate plans for it are to raise the bars a bit and fit a tank bag.

I was really surprised about the amount of mechanical noise the engine makes, but that's not something that bothers me. My older Commandos aren't exactly silent flyers either. I am glad I was warned in advance here on the forum about the noise though, otherwise I might have been put off from buying it. The exhaust sound with the replacement mufflers is just right. A little different from the older Commandos because of the 270 degree crank, but very appealing.

The most common comment I get from people who notice it is how gorgeous they think it looks.

I've also had the chance to ride a bit in some twisty stuff, and it really does handle well, but I sort of expected that.

Onward and upward to more Norton adventures.

Ken

lcrken said:

The most common comment I get from people who notice it is how gorgeous they think it looks.

I've also had the chance to ride a bit in some twisty stuff, and it really does handle well, but I sort of expected that.

Ken

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You'll have to put up with a lot of those comments, especially with a red 961.

I don't baby my 961. When I hit the twisties, she gets flogged good. The bike will take sustained indicated 90 mph to keep up with my sportbike buddies, and it handles very well at that speed too. Mechanically, the bike is built like a brick s**thouse.

Just need Hobot to build a supercharger for it now.

BritTwit said:

You'll have to put up with a lot of those comments, especially with a red 961.

I don't baby my 961. When I hit the twisties, she gets flogged good. The bike will take sustained indicated 90 mph to keep up with my sportbike buddies, and it handles very well at that speed too. Mechanically, the bike is built like a brick s**thouse.

Just need Hobot to build a supercharger for it now.

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I've seen your rear tire. Wear marks right to the edge. Hardcore, man. Along with those lovely comments, be wary of the massively tattooed idiot trying to take your photo while he's driving his pickup truck. I've had that happen twice.

I've just copied Richard's bar riser setup, and it went pretty simply. Just a matter of a couple of taller spacers and longer bolts. I did have to shorten the heads of the bolts to clear the bar, but it was no big deal. I raised them 21 mm above stock, which looks like a little less than Richard's spacer, but worked with 20 mm longer bolts, and left enough slack in cables and hoses for me to be comfortable with. These are a couple of pics of the new arrangement.





I haven't ridden it since, but am looking forward to it. I also replaced the rear cowling with the pillion seat, and re-installed the passenger pegs. The PO had taken them off, saying he never carried a passenger.

I also encountered another perplexing feature. The foot peg detents were pretty wimpy, and I kept having the right hand peg flop up if I bumped it, but the passenger pegs, which look identical, had very firm detents, and stayed in position quite well. I took them apart, and discovered that they had two different length springs behind the detent ball, with the rider pegs having a spring only 2/3 or less the length of those in the passenger pegs. I replaced the short springs with some longer ones cut from my gunsmithing spring stock, and they are much better now. I'm just wondering if this was intentional, of if Norton just used different length springs at different times.

Ken

Also, I pulled the seat and took a look at the ECU. It has no name on it, and doesn't look like the Omex I've seen in pictures. The number on it is 9177931. Can anyone tell me what brand it is?

Ken

Ken,

Can't tell you how often I've cursed my footpegs when they flop up after I accidentally hit them with my foot. I suspect many other 961 owners will tell you the same.

There are two brands of ECU's on these bikes.
OMEX and another - SC. I had never heard of SC before I owned my 961.
Richard Coote can probably provide more info on that front.

After seeing all the rolling stock in your garage, I don't feel so bad about having 4 bikes in mine.

lcrken said:

I've just copied Richard's bar riser setup, and it went pretty simply. Just a matter of a couple of taller spacers and longer bolts. I did have to shorten the heads of the bolts to clear the bar, but it was no big deal. I raised them 21 mm above stock, which looks like a little less than Richard's spacer, but worked with 20 mm longer bolts, and left enough slack in cables and hoses for me to be comfortable with. These are a couple of pics of the new arrangement.

View attachment 3756

View attachment 3757

I haven't ridden it since, but am looking forward to it. I also replaced the rear cowling with the pillion seat, and re-installed the passenger pegs. The PO had taken them off, saying he never carried a passenger.

I also encountered another perplexing feature. The foot peg detents were pretty wimpy, and I kept having the right hand peg flop up if I bumped it, but the passenger pegs, which look identical, had very firm detents, and stayed in position quite well. I took them apart, and discovered that they had two different length springs behind the detent ball, with the rider pegs having a spring only 2/3 or less the length of those in the passenger pegs. I replaced the short springs with some longer ones cut from my gunsmithing spring stock, and they are much better now. I'm just wondering if this was intentional, of if Norton just used different length springs at different times.

Ken

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Ken, what kind of levers are those? I'm trying to find some black levers, but I don't know what levers match up with the 961, (none specifically for the Norton 961).

ECU is SC on 2014 Models

For those of you interested the part number for the oil in airbox modification kit is 5210058_R4.

rod frost said:

Ken, what kind of levers are those? I'm trying to find some black levers, but I don't know what levers match up with the 961, (none specifically for the Norton 961).

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I don't know the brand. They were added by the original owner. The only markings on them, other than the adjustment numbers, are "DB-12" in white letters. I don't think they are specific to the 961, just generic replacements for Brembo master cylinders. I have similar ones, made by Pazzo, but the short version, on my 620 Multistrada, so I think they are pretty common.

Ken

Looks like the SC ECU is the Storm/Typhoon/Delta, latest version being the Delta 400, made by SCS-Delta in the UK.

Nice description of it here on BSK site

http://www.bskspeedworks.co.uk/delta-400-ecu.html#

More interestingly, they sell the USB-CAN dongle for it, along with tuning software, for about £100. They say the dongle and software are from Specialists Components Engineering in the UK. I assume that's just another name/department of the same company.

http://www.bskspeedworks.co.uk/ecu-usb-can-pc-interface.html

Also a description from the SCS site here

https://www.scs-delta.co.uk/delta-ecu-range

The SCS site also incudes a complete pinout list as a download.

Might be some interesting potential here.

Ken

I just ordered the dongle and software package. Should be fun to play with.

Ken

Ken,

That's cool.
I was trying to get a PC for my 961 to solve the remaining fueling problems.
My Dyno tuner wasn't able to get this equipment, that's why he suggested a PC instead.
But if the dongle and software allows direct tuning of the SC ECU that would be super!

Great detective work.

Well, I just got an email from BSK Speedworks asking why I had ordered the dongle and software, as they had no record that I had ever purchased an ECU. I replied with an explanation, and I'm hoping they don't have some sort of problem with what I am trying to do. More news to follow, probably.

Ken