Please tell me this is a JOKE!

I remember reading (circa 2010) that Norton planned to have a dealer in each of the fifty states. There are only four US Dealers listed on nortonmotorcyes.com now. :(
I’ve done my part to help keep Norton going.
I purchased over $12000.00 in parts from Norton in 2016, I also bought two new Norton’s. A commando sf and a Dominator Naked.
 
I’ve done my part to help keep Norton going.
I purchased over $12000.00 in parts from Norton in 2016, I also bought two new Norton’s. A commando sf and a Dominator Naked.

Wow!
You're definitely a major shareholder of the company.
 
I remember reading (circa 2010) that Norton planned to have a dealer in each of the fifty states. There are only four US Dealers listed on nortonmotorcyes.com now. :(
Having followed Italian motorcycle brands in the US over the past 15 years (and owned a bunch of their bikes), I've seen several examples of this dealer planning/growth/shrinking phenomena.

Piaggio (Aprilia/Moto Guzzi/Vespa) went through a phase where they signed up every existing motorcycle dealer in the mid 2000's that would say "YES". I remember there were even a few farm tractor dealers that became dealers with Aprilia/Moto Guzzi/Vespa in stock. Give a sales person an incentive to sign up dealers, and you'll get dealers. Ducati went through this in the 9o's as well. MV Agusta has been through a dealer expansion and subsequent contraction in the US a time or two.

I'm not saying that all of the dealers that Norton signed up during 2013-2015 were loser farm tractor dealers, but it may be fair to say that it takes a certain understanding of what being a dealer of an emerging motorcycle manufacturer will be like. If a dealer of an emerging motorcycle manufacturer has expectations that getting parts and dealer support from the manufacturer will be just like it is with having a Honda dealership, they went into it with misguided expectations.

The US Norton dealers AF1 in Austin and MCC in Chicago have experience with a broad range of motorcycle manufacturers and likely understand that a manufacturer like Norton requires patience and a level of give and take that they went through with other emerging manufacturers in the past. Some dealers have the stomach for it. Others don't. A friend who owns a BMW motorcycle dealership had MV Agusta for a while but didn't have the stomach for their inconsistent dealer support and generally low sales volume, over the past several years. He gave up on MV Agusta. And thus, self-determination can result in a sort of 'survival of the fittest' of dealers that will be suitable for the long term growth of an emerging motorcycle manufacturer.
 
I was just joking.
You do own quite a bit of expensive hardware thought.:)
 
Knockdown Kits - common these days, India is very insistent that many things must be built in India and not imported whole, most makes of foreign cars sold there fall into this, how knockdown they are would vary I would imagine.

It also a good ploy for NMUK as demand for this model will tale off with demand of the V4 and twin, so gives these models better attention in the UK assembly factory, and the Indian market growing = win, win.
 
Personally, I only purchased my norton 961 cafe (delivery next 2 weeks) because it was british made and contained 83% UK parts. The brakes and shocks are the bulk of the other 17% but they are world class quality and european. I saw the press conference in India just the other day when Stuart was being interviewed by a journalist about the bikes being built out there and when the guy suggested that after the initial setting up that Indian parts could then be supplied for UK production, Stuart shifted in his seat slightly and didn't really commit to that fully. I get the feeling he wants to keep the UK content high for the home market and good on him for that.
 
Maybe Garner shifted in his seat and appeared uneasy due to indigestion issues associated to a bad Burrito.
 
ah, i'm a bit slow tonight, watch the video, maybe you're right but didn't spot the burrito lol
 
It was the food choice that threw me, vindaloo, madras or chicken tikka I would have cottoned on but you chose a mexican dish. I think you owe me an apology old chap
 
Very sorry, haven't been to the UK in ten years. You are quite correct, we spent a month touring after the IOM and there wasn't a Burrito in sight.

Glen
 
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