Norton 961 Commando a keeper?

Welshrugby said:
It was very comfortable and flickable but I only ever used it for 30 mile country blasts. The 961 is far more involving and I wanted a bigger bike feel, i felt a bit big on the V7 at 6ft1 and pushing 100kgs
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Thanks for that. I think the V7 looks great but it might be a bit small for me, unfortunately.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Sup with the new RE twin ?
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Definitely worthy of consideration and gets a good review in the February edition of Ride. Quite a handsome machine - but not quite as stylish as the V7, to my eyes.
I don't do big mileages, but I do ride all year round (and I find cleaning chrome etc. a real chore) so I'm wondering how the finish will cope with the British weather?

I ride extensively around the North Yorks. moors and up in the North Penines. Last year I had a puncture on my Fireblade which I plugged quickly with a repair kit. The thought of a puncture with an inner tube in a remote area in winter is the stuff of nightmares for me! One reason for considering the V7, besides its style, was the fact that some versions come with cast wheels and therefore, presumably, tubeless tyres.
 
cliffa said:
FYI : Harris Engineering are now a part of Eicher Motors (who also own Royal Enfield). My guess is that Eicher would probably be more interested in buying the Norton name than providing parts to a competitor.


Cheers,

cliffa.
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Really? That's too bad.
What I meant was use an engineering company like Harris, Spondon, Buell, etc to design the frame/chassis.
The idea is to contract out the specialized processes while building the company.
Then once the company is on sound financial footing, start engineering their unique designs.
 
alwaysal said:
Definitely worthy of consideration and gets a good review in the February edition of Ride. Quite a handsome machine - but not quite as stylish as the V7, to my eyes.
I don't do big mileages, but I do ride all year round (and I find cleaning chrome etc. a real chore) so I'm wondering how the finish will cope with the British weather?

I ride extensively around the North Yorks. moors and up in the North Penines. Last year I had a puncture on my Fireblade which I plugged quickly with a repair kit. The thought of a puncture with an inner tube in a remote area in winter is the stuff of nightmares for me! One reason for considering the V7, besides its style, was the fact that some versions come with cast wheels and therefore, presumably, tubeless tyres.
Click to expand...

Well, the V7 is a nice bike by all accounts, although saying you had a Fireblade recently makes me wanna ask if you’re prepared for the, err, ‘different kind of’ performance ?

A mate nearly bought a V7 Stone (I think that’s right) which was all mean n moody Matt finish, it looked good I thought, it would certainly solve your cleaning worries.

Regarding spoked rims, FWIW, kits are available that seal the rims and allow tubeless tyres.
 
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BritTwit said:
Really? That's too bad.
What I meant was use an engineering company like Harris, Spondon, Buell, etc to design the frame/chassis.
The idea is to contract out the specialized processes while building the company.
Then once the company is on sound financial footing, start engineering their unique designs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Harris got bought by the Indians, but that effectively means Harris no longer exist to frame kit buyers. Spondon got bought, raped, and murdered by Garner. HD man slaughtered Buell. I’m really not sure where you’d go for chassis know-how and manufacture these days.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Well, the V7 is a nice bike by all accounts, although saying you had a Fireblade recently makes me wanna ask if you’re prepared for the, err, ‘different kind of’ performance ?

A mate nearly bought a V7 Stone (I think that’s right) which was all mean n moody Matt finish, it looked good I thought, it would certainly solve you’re cleaning worries.

Regarding spoked rims, FWIW, kits are available that seal the rims and allow tubeless tyres.
Click to expand...
 
Fast Eddie said:
Well, the V7 is a nice bike by all accounts, although saying you had a Fireblade recently makes me wanna ask if you’re prepared for the, err, ‘different kind of’ performance ?

A mate nearly bought a V7 Stone (I think that’s right) which was all mean n moody Matt finish, it looked good I thought, it would certainly solve you’re cleaning worries.

Regarding spoked rims, FWIW, kits are available that seal the rims and allow tubeless tyres.
Click to expand...

I've a Hinckley Bonneville Scrambler, which at 58bhp is not much more than the V7, just right for relaxed pottering around. I'm still not 100% sure about letting it go because it's a good looking bike but its a lot of work to stop corrosion getting out of hand and the upgrades needed to make it the bike it should have been in the first place are going to cost me a bomb.

There is a V7 Milano which is not quite as black as the Stone, discontinued I believe, but still available.

I seem to remember looking into these kits some time ago and they had mixed reports, some of them not very encouraging. Maybe they are better now.

The Fireblade is my go-to bike when I need an adrenaline fix but I think that may have to go too. The bike is surprisingly comfortable and the low bars don't affect my wrists too much - but they sure as hell give me a pain in the neck and the high pegs don't do my knees any favours! The other problem is that it's just too easy to go crazy, unsociable speeds. I've thought about swapping it for a Tuono 1100 V4, - more upright riding position but pegs still high - and probably still too fast!

It would be good if there was such thing as a do-it-all bike, but I'm not sure there is such a thing. I must admit though the Kawasaki Z900RS is a strong contender. Cast wheels, over 100bhp, optional centre stand, monoshock suspension, straight bars, comfortable seat and relaxed riding position, reliable of course and, to my eyes, absolutely gorgeous - why oh why does it have to be Japanese? I really didn't want to buy yet another Jap bike!
 
Fast Eddie said:
Yeah, Harris got bought by the Indians, but that effectively means Harris no longer exist to frame kit buyers. Spondon got bought, raped, and murdered by Garner. HD man slaughtered Buell. I’m really not sure where you’d go for chassis know-how and manufacture these days.
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Doesn't look like many of the old chassis builders are left in the UK. We're a little luckier here in the US, still having Trackmaster, C and J Racing Frames, and Framecrafters ready and willing to build bespoke chassis. There are a few other fabrication shops that will do the same, but on a very small scale. Probably some of those in the UK too, but maybe hard to find.

Ken
 
We’re not without resources to an extent Ken, you can still get a Rickman, Seeley, Manx, Rob North, etc made. And there are places where you can get a one off made. But with Spondon, and perhaps more so, Harris, you were able to tap into knowledge that spanned the classic and modern periods. They brought some serious ‘know how’ horsepower to any cigarette packet sketches you had.
 
worntorn said:
109 mph IOM lap.
Glen
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I would think there must be some Parrish BS behind that time, the quickest Parrish lapped the IOM when he was racing was 108mph on his formula 1 Yam in 86. I cannot really see him going faster than that on a road bike that would struggle to top 130mph and over 20 years after he stopped racing in the IOM.

Makes for a good story though.
 
He said it was a faster bike than those that he raced on back in the day. Not surprising, things have moved ahead in three decades.

I ride a Thruxton R. They don't struggle to hit 130, they rip right past it then slam into the rev limiter at 140.

Glen
 
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worntorn said:
He said it was a faster bike than those that he raced on back in the day. Not surprising, things have moved ahead in three decades.

I ride a Thruxton R. They don't struggle to hit 130, they rip right past it then slam into the rev limiter at 140.

Glen
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Couldn't agree more, things have moved on massively in three decades but the Triumphs are cooking models compared to full on F1 race machines on slicks that would top 160mph ( I have ridden a Truxton R )

I don't think parade laps are timed and everyone is told it is not a race, plus, as much as I like Parrish, he is full of shit, and off the top of my head I believe he was disqualified from the race he did a 108mph lap in.

The Truxton might hit the rev limiter on the Sulby straight but it would be struggling up the mountain.

Like I said a good story but without the video timecode evidence I still call Parrish BS on the laptime.
 
With about double the output of a Manx, its not a bike that struggles with uphill or much of anything else. It eats up the big Mountain climbs we have here in the BC Rocky mountains easier than my 160 HP Sportbike.
I have no doubt that it would be quicker round the IOM than an 80s fz750. Braking, suspension and tire compounds have all come a long way.
The Brembo monoblocs on the R are a heck of a lot stronger than the small discs on an 80s fz racer.
Same with the Showa big piston front fork.

Those racers would have loved to have the stuff we take for granted on modern sporty roadbikes.





The IOM mountain isn't much of a mountain, just a low hill. After all the years of reading about " The Mountain" I finally got to run up it on the Vincent in 2007 , closed roads, as part 100 year celebration. I was a bit surprised that it's just a gentle hill.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 234 corners though.
I don't know what my lap time was and I suspect its best that way!





Glen
 
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And still going strong? And no broken balance shafts? Cranks? Clutches? Alternators? Gearboxes? Or worn out valves and guides?

I’ve not been Thaiumphs biggest fan it’s fair to say. But the Thrux and Speed twin do start to look good against the current Norton backdrop I have to confess !
 
Fast Eddie said:
And still going strong? And no broken balance shafts? Cranks? Clutches? Alternators? Gearboxes? Or worn out valves and guides?

I’ve not been Thaiumphs biggest fan it’s fair to say. But the Thrux and Speed twin do start to look good against the current Norton backdrop I have to confess !
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Everything on the Thaiumphs is well engineered.
Speed Twin is on my really short list.
That's a list with one bike on it.
 
Fast Eddie said:
And still going strong? And no broken balance shafts? Cranks? Clutches? Alternators? Gearboxes? Or worn out valves and guides?

I’ve not been Thaiumphs biggest fan it’s fair to say. But the Thrux and Speed twin do start to look good against the current Norton backdrop I have to confess !
Click to expand...

Going strong.
If not for Covid I would do some big rides on it this year.

Might get some in yet.

Glen
 
Just threw the dust cover off the 961, ran a wipe over some oily smears, WD40 winterisation, and knocked off those front fork reflectors. Removed glue with said wipe, looking good. The better half summed it up, "that engine's a corker", the rest just dresses it off .
 

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