Norton Commando 961 - A Good Value

Wow. Glad you got that out Tony. Had me worried for a while. I've been waiting to see how this thread panned out. So here goes
In my shed I have, (all running) 1967 round barrel BSA 441, 1970 BSA B50, 1971 BSA B50, 1982 Ducati cafe racer, they all look and go as good as I can make them and I have never regretted a single dollar spent, days worked on or the numerous times I've had to call the wife to come and get me with the trailer cause of you know what. When I ride them I ride them hard cause that's what they're for. So now in the shed I have a 2014 Norton 961 Commando Sport. That rolls off the tongue so good I'll repeat it "2014 Norton 961 Commando Sport" I was checking them out over a period of months, doing research thinking it's a lot off money etc and the wife said "just go and buy the dam thing".

So I did.
Initially after 500 miles I thought wow what a piece of expensive British crap, and I've got three in the shed and I blamed you guys cause most of the research was on this site. But..... then I did all the upgrades and what a transformation. I can't ride it enough or praise it enough. So the upshot for me is I don't care how much it costs to keep it running sweet or looking at its best as it's only money and if worried about money you wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Plenty of JAP crap out there for that.

All that's after a few drinks hope you don't mind but keep the roads twisty.

Simon

Richard, BlightyBrit: Point well taken. 8)

Reason Number 3 : Pride of Ownership . I have owned my 850 Commando for almost 40 years . I was not going to miss this opportunity to have a new one. But you may ask , At any price ? No certainly not . This price was the " Right Price " .

I can still remember when Sex was safe and Motorcycles were dangerous.

Are you asking is a new Norton going to be an economical, fuel efficient, reliable mode of daily transportation?
If that is what you are looking for, go buy a Prius!

I bought a Norton 961 Commando because I wanted a Norton 961 Commando.
Was it because it was a hand built bike? No. Most bikes ARE hand built.

I own a new Harley Ultra Limited too. Was it built by robots or little green men on mars? No, the parts are all bolted together by human hands.
I own a Victory Hammer. I have toured the factory it was built in a couple of times. They were bolted together by human hands. Every weld on their frames was done by hand. The victory will not have parts made after ten years. Polaris stopped making them. I haven't had to replace anything on it yet, either. Was it a good value? No, not if I bought it as an investment to resale. It has lost almost the price of the new Norton in value in the past year. It was and still is a fun bike to ride and gets a lot of attention. Was the Harley Ultra Limited a good value? It has lost some of its value. I can probably get 75% of my money back out of it, but I bought it to have IT, not something else.

Is the Norton a good value? I bought it to have it, and the pride of owning a Norton Commando.
I have had knee surgery and frankly, cannot kick one of the old ones. If I could I probably would have one of them too.
Starting with an OLD Norton basket case and paying Colorado Norton Works to restore it would cost half again more than the price of the New Norton.
People say its not the same.
No, its not.
The old ones leaked oil. We called it marking their spots.
You had to be constantly aware of what was vibrating loose and falling off the bike.
They had UNRELIABLE electrics. We used to call the Brit electrics Lucas, Prince of Darkness for a reason.
Their lighting was dangerously inadequate for night time riding anywhere other than in town with lots of street lamps!
The cable operated drum brakes were barely better than dragging your foot!
Any of the ten worst bikes being made today are probably more reliable than any of the "great bikes of the 60's and 70's." but most bikes today lack class and character.
Time puts rose colored filters on our image of the great bikes of the 60's and 70's.

The NEW Norton is a tremendous improvement over the original in terms of reliability, performance, good lighting, great brakes, and it still retains the looks and character and charisma of the old Norton Commando.
As an added bonus, the production numbers are low enough and demand for them still high enough that you will not lose half the money you put into one to own it if you decide you don't love it anymore.
Is it a good value? From my point of view, absolutely.
I can live with noisy clutch baskets and oil weeping from a seal here and there.

Is it as "good" a bike as a new Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki Or even Harley? Probably not, but I don't want a new Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki.
If you compare it to that, you are totally missing the point. I have a new Harley. Yes, there are design problems even with it. That's a different rant.

The 961 Norton is a resurrection of a classic.
Even with its shortcomings from perfection, it is a great bike, a significant piece of Norton history, and for the few that get to own and enjoy them,
ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!!!!

I absolutely LOVE my bike. When ever I ride a different bike, the thrill wears off in under 10 minutes and I miss my Norton. I seriously have dreams in the winter months about riding it. So in that respect, YES a good value. Like Tony said, the mechanics of it is SOOOO BASIC that it is a true bikers dream. The bikes are better now and the older ones can be sorted. As is, the older ones won't let you down either. My dad rode twice across the country on a 2013 without a trans vent or a Bosch coil. Richard P across a few countries on a 2015 with all the upgrades.

Looking forward to spring time here in Canada.

richard-7 said:

I absolutely LOVE my bike. When ever I ride a different bike, the thrill wears off in under 10 minutes and I miss my Norton. I seriously have dreams in the winter months about riding it. So in that respect, YES a good value. Like Tony said, the mechanics of it is SOOOO BASIC that it is a true bikers dream. The bikes are better now and the older ones can be sorted. As is, the older ones won't let you down either. My dad rode twice across the country on a 2013 without a trans vent or a Bosch coil. Richard P across a few countries on a 2015 with all the upgrades.

Looking forward to spring time here in Canada.

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That picture says it all really!

Neil Tillett said:

I can still remember when Sex was safe and Motorcycles were dangerous.




The old ones leaked oil. We called it marking their spots.
You had to be constantly aware of what was vibrating loose and falling off the bike.
They had UNRELIABLE electrics. We used to call the Brit electrics Lucas, Prince of Darkness for a reason.
Their lighting was dangerously inadequate for night time riding anywhere other than in town with lots of street lamps!
The cable operated drum brakes were barely better than dragging your foot!
Any of the ten worst bikes being made today are probably more reliable than any of the "great bikes of the 60's and 70's." but most bikes today lack class and character.
Time puts rose colored filters on our image of the great bikes of the 60's and 70's.

The NEW Norton is a tremendous improvement over the original in terms of reliability, performance, good lighting, great brakes, and it still retains the looks and character and charisma of the old Norton Commando.
As an added bonus, the production numbers are low enough

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Neil, I ride an original 75 Commando that has never been apart. It's been very reliable and doesn't leak oil. It came from the factory with a Quartz Halogen light, nice and bright.
It has never had a part fall off from vibration. At speed, its as smooth as my modern bikes.
I did upgrade the front brake, that was the only item that needed help.

No rose coloured glasses here, I ride this bike now.

It's good to be happy with your purchase but your description of an original Commando sure doesn't match the one I ride.
Given the low mileage problems that have been encountered and detailed , I think most 961 owners would be thrilled to have something this smooth and reliable.

Halogen ? Didn't know that.

Some 1975s came with conventional incandescent bulbs , others got the 55/60 watt quartz halogen. Its a good bright light.

Glen

worntorn said:

... your description of an original Commando sure doesn't match the one I ride.
Given the low mileage problems that have been encountered and detailed , I think most 961 owners would be thrilled to have something this smooth and reliable.

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Similar to what I was thinking, Glen.

OK I see , We should just sell our 961's and get a 1975 Commando then.

I'm just sayin , enjoy your new ones, but the old bikes are ok too.

I also run a 47 Vincent, one of the first built after WW2. Tempting fate here, but it's done 55,000 miles of touring for us in 14 years with 2 broken speedo cables and no other issues.
The VOC has full history on it, and it appears to have had close to half a million miles on it when I bought it. It has lived in the Isle of Malta, Scotland, England, Australia for twenty years and now Canada. Its been used steadily for 71 years.
Of course it's had half a dozen rebuilds and outlived half a dozen owners.
Old bikes can still get the job done if properly setup.

Glen

TonyA said:

OK I see , We should just sell our 961's and get a 1975 Commando then.

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If you enjoy the challenge, by all means keep your 961. If you expected something more from a brand new bike? That's where I'm at. My '75 Commando doesn't owe me anything. Bought it semi-restored for $8K, invested another $3K to make it more ride-able and reliable. I jumped to the new version expecting to avoid the surprises of owning a 40+ year old Norton with 12,000 miles on the clock. The surprises lurking from my 2 year old with 1800 miles do not merit the price tag. Here in the States we can't even count on timely support for issues.

I love the way she looks and handles, but I have doubts about taking a day trip 100 miles away from home on her. Just my personal opinion. Your "mileage" may vary.

Neil Tillett said:

I bought a Norton 961 Commando because I wanted a Norton 961 Commando.
Was it because it was a hand built bike? No. Most bikes ARE hand built.

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I have to agree with you here. What is so special about the 961 except gpt the varaition between builds? And I cannot really complain about mine so far. It is what I don't know that bothers me.

contours said:

I have doubts about taking a day trip 100 miles away from home on her. Just my personal opinion.

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Is this based on experience, or paranoia ? I ask primarily because of your next thread where you say "I cannot really complain about mine so far. It is what I don't know that bothers me".

I'd either sort it, or sell it. There's no way I'd dedicate shed space for a bike that I couldn't trust to take me 100 miles !

Fast Eddie said:

Is this based on experience, or paranoia ? I ask primarily because of your next thread where you say "I cannot really complain about mine so far. It is what I don't know that bothers me".

I'd either sort it, or sell it. There's no way I'd dedicate shed space for a bike that I couldn't trust to take me 100 miles !

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Agreed . I think a little more saddle time might help calm him down.

It's a little of both, Gentlemen. What I mean is I can't complain about any major mechanical issues ... yet . But starting her is damn unpredictable. Some mornings she won't start up at all. Other mornings she'll start on the first punch and not stall out before take-off. Once parked for a short while several attempts are required and it's enough to wear the battery down. So I carry my jump charger at all times. If moisture in the air is the cause (since I never ride in the rain and I don't wash it down with a garden hose) I don't know what more I could do to pamper this bike! So that's why I'm paranoid.

That’s not paranoia in my book, it’s experience. You have an issue there.
Duff battery?
Or starter motor?

Sounds like your timing is out. Do you have the Bosch Coil and one07 wires? That may help.

Hello Contours , you have a mechanic you trust there close to home ? We can come up with a series of checks that he can do for you. You may have to leave it with him for a couple of weeks.