The noise is to an acceptable level, in my opinon.
When I got home I made use of the mild weather and road tested a customers 961 California....that was quieter. I'll go as far to say that particular bike was eye brow raising quiet. But that was half the problem at Donington, consistency. If Brummy Norton have all 961's now sounding the same, then its fine....its a feature not a fault. Prior to around 2016 yes most 961's did sound like a Massey Fergusan. Gear selection could also be sporadic on quality, even more so prior to the revised shifter linkage rod. But with a correctly set up shift mechanism on a later bike, I find the gear selection to be excellent.
Has a current euro 4 961 owner road tested one yet?
Mr Hogan did a bit of a talk at the start of the day, but to be honest I couldn't hear much due to my tinnitus going bat shit crazy in that area...from what I gather he did expand slightly on some things he touched on here. There's actually an interesting interview with Christian Gladwell in this months dealer news....I'll copy it into here later.
I did spot the starter motors fitted in engine build no longer have a gasket, so can only assume they've had a recess machined into them to allow an O ring to be fitted (I use a HD starter gasket which is a rubber coated steel gasket, with an internal seal)..and a neater solution to bunging up the breather drilling with a ball bearing instead of a smudge of rtv....I'm stealing that idea, liked it. Noted a few other revised parts from the engine I looked at on the build stand.
The new facility is very impressive, something to be proud of and I'm sure they'll do well....they're certainly on the cusp of greatness, and I wish them the best.
