Norton 961 Commando a keeper?

Stephen_Spencer said:

I prefer polygamy (where my bikes are concerned of course). Australia is a BIG place and my 961 CR/ screwed back combination has a SMALL range. IMHO all bikers should have a large capacity Adventure bike in the garage; the most versatile bikes ever made. Not to everybody’s taste by way of looks of course; a kind (unnamed) forum member once called mine the ‘ugliest grasshopper in history.’ It’s taken me some time to recover!

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What is the tank size and range of your KTM 990 ?

Hey Tony,

260+ Km if I’m screaming around the hinterland chasing my mates on their sports bikes. Up to 300km ish if I’m taking it easy. 19.5l tank - no fuel gauge which is annoying!! It is an older model and more (off road) performance focused. Most of the modern crop of adventure bikes have much better fuel range I suspect. Was never really interested in Adv bikes until I rode one. Awesome do it all machines. No surprise to me that they have become so popular. Also great to own a second bike that you know you can rely on - not so veiled dig at my beautiful Norton

Nice looking bike ! My Next Norton thread will center around trips and range. I can go at least 140 miles before needing gas . What kind of mileage are you getting on yours ? I would hope 45 mpg ? Oh I see it now (screwed back) , that's limiting your range not the gas tank .

Thanks Tony, I’ve always liked the (Dakar) type look myself but it’s not for everyone. My mates slag me endlessly; they call it the ‘build safe bike’ because of all of the orange and crash bars and there’s spurious comments about delivering pamphlets on our rides cos hey, the post bikes are similar colours! You know how it goes!

A thread around trips/range would be interesting. Our usage will vary wildly of course, with some touring internationally whilst others push them out of the garage to clean and then back in to look at whilst enjoying their beer. I try to ride mine quite regularly but for short sprints (Ave 150km) around the hinterland with mates. There’s no ‘touring’ going on and it’s generally pretty frantic. As such I’ve never really looked at fuel consumption as it is’nt really relevant. We meet at a fuel station, fill up and the ride is over well before the range. But you’re right the limiting factor for me is a screwed back - courtesy of a (much too long) military career. But never say never, when I get around to the high bar conversion and equally, get a little more confidence in the bike, I may well start to tour on it. Look forward to hearing about the tales of derring-do.

courtesy of a (much too long) military career. What branch were you in ?

Army - British 23 and Aus 13 years, all in all about 5 years too long! Tends to take a toll on the body, hence the screwed back amongst other worn out bits. Would’nt change much though. Awesome time.