Pulling the trigger

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albional

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Jan 5, 2025
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A few years ago I had a test ride on a Donington 961, loved it and so put a £2K deposit down. Unfortunately Norton then went bust, so I moved on!
With TVS I became interested again and so went down to Solihull for a test ride, which didn't go at all well. The bike came over on top of me at the first bend (yes I know, what an idiot!) A bloke from the factory came out and said "not to worry, we've all done that" - well I haven't! I've slid off on slippery bends through going too fast, but I've never come off at 5mph! I then got lost in Birmingham (and I've never seen such a proliferation of speed cameras), so as a result of all of this I didn't enjoy the bike at all and decided to forget about it. I did wonder though if I'd tried to turn too sharply at low speed and the restricted steering lock had caused the problem.
Anyway I still love the idea of owning the 961, I love the looks, the simplicity and the vibration is no problem at all to me, so this new amazing finance offer and reduced price seems too good to miss.
Two things happened to me last year though which cause me to dither. I was miles away when the Fireblade I used to have refused to start. No problem, I carried a micro booster in the space under the pillion seat. Jump started the bike and went home. Then a few weeks later I got a puncture. No problem, I carried a small puncture repair kit in the same place (no room for air cylinders but I borrowed a pump from a passing motorist).
Then a few months later got a puncture on my Bonneville. What a nightmare! It was only about a mile from home, but too far to push. I phoned home, got picked up and went back with tools. Luckily a biker from a nearby house let me put the bike in his garage overnight. I needed a new tyre, which of course was not in stock. Anyway over the course of a couple of days I got sorted, having a centre stand on the bike helped.
I worry now about the 961 battery being under the seat. I realise it's not very often you change the battery, but what happens if you need to jump start a flat one?
The 961 doesn't have a centre stand, and there doesn't seem any way of fitting one. What happens if you have a puncture?
I'm curious to learn of any insights into these problems.
 
albional said:
A few years ago I had a test ride on a Donington 961, loved it and so put a £2K deposit down. Unfortunately Norton then went bust, so I moved on!
With TVS I became interested again and so went down to Solihull for a test ride, which didn't go at all well. The bike came over on top of me at the first bend (yes I know, what an idiot!) A bloke from the factory came out and said "not to worry, we've all done that" - well I haven't! I've slid off on slippery bends through going too fast, but I've never come off at 5mph! I then got lost in Birmingham (and I've never seen such a proliferation of speed cameras), so as a result of all of this I didn't enjoy the bike at all and decided to forget about it. I did wonder though if I'd tried to turn too sharply at low speed and the restricted steering lock had caused the problem.
Anyway I still love the idea of owning the 961, I love the looks, the simplicity and the vibration is no problem at all to me, so this new amazing finance offer and reduced price seems too good to miss.
Two things happened to me last year though which cause me to dither. I was miles away when the Fireblade I used to have refused to start. No problem, I carried a micro booster in the space under the pillion seat. Jump started the bike and went home. Then a few weeks later I got a puncture. No problem, I carried a small puncture repair kit in the same place (no room for air cylinders but I borrowed a pump from a passing motorist).
Then a few months later got a puncture on my Bonneville. What a nightmare! It was only about a mile from home, but too far to push. I phoned home, got picked up and went back with tools. Luckily a biker from a nearby house let me put the bike in his garage overnight. I needed a new tyre, which of course was not in stock. Anyway over the course of a couple of days I got sorted, having a centre stand on the bike helped.
I worry now about the 961 battery being under the seat. I realise it's not very often you change the battery, but what happens if you need to jump start a flat one?
The 961 doesn't have a centre stand, and there doesn't seem any way of fitting one. What happens if you have a puncture?
I'm curious to learn of any insights into these problems.
Click to expand...
Indeed, the current finance offer is unbelievably good ! Don’t blame you for ‘pulling the trigger’.

Ref your questions: the battery isn’t under the seat… it’s worse than that, it’s under the petrol tank! What do you do if you want to get at it? Take the seat and tank off.

Correct, there’s no centre stand and no possibility to fit one (pipes in the way). But to make that much worse, TVS deleted the paddock stand bobbins that Donington used to fit to the swinging arm. I guess a ‘cup’ type paddock stand is your best option.

What colour you ‘avin ?
 
albional said:
I worry now about the 961 battery being under the seat. I realise it's not very often you change the battery, but what happens if you need to jump start a flat one?
Click to expand...
You cad add a pig tail harness for the jump start.
 
Valid concerns, I guess the same go with lots of bikes - I don’t know many bikers who carry battery packs or all tools required to fix a puncture, unless touring of course. I take it the SP still has tubeless tyres with tubes fitted (for spokes)?

Not ideal having the battery under the tank though, but:

- It’s a simple 10-15 min job to access the battery (not a roadside job though - unless ya have too).
- As Tony says - easy to add a jump start connector.
- Keep er on a charger to maintain battery health - don’t know whether Norton fixed the parisitic drain (clocks).
- There are options for axel spools for a normal paddock stand.
- Join a breakdown service (essential if ya own a Donny bike😆)!

I guess it depends on how you’re gonna use the bike. Most of us have second bikes, although some have toured extensively on the 961 without difficulty. Go on, buy it - you know you should!

PS (Hp). Black ones are faster - just sayin!
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Valid concerns, I guess the same go with lots of bikes - I don’t know many bikers who carry battery packs or all tools required to fix a puncture, unless touring of course. I take it the SP still has tubeless tyres with tubes fitted (for spokes)?

Not ideal having the battery under the tank though, but:

- It’s a simple 10-15 min job to access the battery (not a roadside job though - unless ya have too).
- As Tony says - easy to add a jump start connector.
- Keep er on a charger to maintain battery health - don’t know whether Norton fixed the parisitic drain (clocks).
- There are options for axel spools for a normal paddock stand.
- Join a breakdown service (essential if ya own a Donny bike😆)!

I guess it depends on how you’re gonna use the bike. Most of us have second bikes, although some have toured extensively on the 961 without difficulty. Go on, buy it - you know you should!

PS (Hp). Black ones are faster - just sayin!
Click to expand...
Axle spool mounts for paddock stands don’t answers the OPs question re removing the wheel…
 
Fast Eddie said:
Axle spool mounts for paddock stands don’t answers the OPs question re removing the wheel…
Click to expand...
Agreed FE, but all relevant to general maintenance of the 961. Various different paddock stand/ fitting options will facilitate removal of the rear wheel, as you point out - not a huge concern.

I know some people like to change tyres/tubes themselves, or at least take the wheel into a dealer/fitter. I’ve always been in the ‘ride it in - go for a coffee - ride it away’ camp; as are most I suspect. Keep those nasty tyre irons well away from those shiny rims:oops:! No facility for the front end right.

I suppose the point for me is that these issues are valid, but not really significant enough to influence the OP away from ‘pulling the trigger’ on the 961 (IMO). 👍
 
Last edited:
Stephen_Spencer said:
I suppose the point for me is that these issues are valid, but not really significant enough to influence the OP away from ‘pulling the trigger’ on the 961 (IMO). 👍
Click to expand...
Agreed.

The suggestion was to use a cup type paddock stand … in answer to the question about removing the wheel … no mention of walking away …
 
Fast Eddie said:
Indeed, the current finance offer is unbelievably good ! Don’t blame you for ‘pulling the trigger’.

Ref your questions: the battery isn’t under the seat… it’s worse than that, it’s under the petrol tank! What do you do if you want to get at it? Take the seat and tank off.

Correct, there’s no centre stand and no possibility to fit one (pipes in the way). But to make that much worse, TVS deleted the paddock stand bobbins that Donington used to fit to the swinging arm. I guess a ‘cup’ type paddock stand is your best option.

What colour you ‘avin ?
Click to expand...
Yes of course, I meant to say tank. I must admit I don't like the idea of not being able to access the battery unless I'm at home in the garage. Ah well.
To be honest when I visited the factory they showed me the limited edition models and I was absolutely blown away by the Le Energette. Yellow wouldn't normally be my colour of choice but it was a very toned down yellow and the bike to me looked just fabulous. I know there are mixed views but I love the old Norton logo and I consider polished yokes, and all the other stuff, to be just about worth the extra £2K. Now that there are these offers on the standard bikes but not the limited editions, there is no way I'd pay another £5K for one.
With regard to colour I'll be diplomatic here. I think the black looks amazing when polished and shiny, but being a lazy sod who hates washing and cleaning anything, I've always shied away from black or white. So it would be the silver then!
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Some useful info here.

Thread '2023 961SP Rear Paddock Stand'
https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/2023-961sp-rear-paddock-stand.37986/
Click to expand...
Many thanks for that information Stephen it certainly is useful, it'll take a bit of digesting for me though. I've never actually used a paddock stand, they look a bit intimidating to me. I was thinking it might be an idea to find out how they go on at the dealers. I use an Abba stand which is easy to fit, rock solid, and allows removal of rear wheel. When you change bikes you just buy a fitting kit for that model for about £20.
I don't suppose it'll be any use with the 961 though.
The micro jump start I kept under the seat of my blade is really small, about 5 x 3" and only 1" thick and comes with a pair of little crocodile clips. A punture repair kit is always worth carrying when you have tubed tyres. If you leave out the gas cylinders you basically have a rubber plug, a tiny tube of glue, a little razor blade to cut off the plug, and a thing to push the plug home. The kit's very small, you could carry it in your shirt pocket.
If I attach my charging lead to the battery it would poke out from under the tank I assume rather than the seat as usual. I'm not sure what these pig tail leads are. Supposedly they would just fit on top of the charging lead terminals on the battery terminals and poke out under the tank just the same? Would they have terminals to attach the jump start crocodile clips?
 
albional said:
Many thanks for that information Stephen it certainly is useful, it'll take a bit of digesting for me though. I've never actually used a paddock stand, they look a bit intimidating to me. I was thinking it might be an idea to find out how they go on at the dealers. I use an Abba stand which is easy to fit, rock solid, and allows removal of rear wheel. When you change bikes you just buy a fitting kit for that model for about £20.
I don't suppose it'll be any use with the 961 though.
The micro jump start I kept under the seat of my blade is really small, about 5 x 3" and only 1" thick and comes with a pair of little crocodile clips. A punture repair kit is always worth carrying when you have tubed tyres. If you leave out the gas cylinders you basically have a rubber plug, a tiny tube of glue, a little razor blade to cut off the plug, and a thing to push the plug home. The kit's very small, you could carry it in your shirt pocket.
If I attach my charging lead to the battery it would poke out from under the tank I assume rather than the seat as usual. I'm not sure what these pig tail leads are. Supposedly they would just fit on top of the charging lead terminals on the battery terminals and poke out under the tank just the same? Would they have terminals to attach the jump start crocodile clips?
Click to expand...
Sorry I meant to say tubeless tyres. There's no way I'd try to fix tubed tyres.
 
albional said:
With regard to colour I'll be diplomatic here. I think the black looks amazing when polished and shiny, but being a lazy sod who hates washing and cleaning anything, I've always shied away from black or white. So it would be the silver then!
Click to expand...
Ha !

There’s no way on this earth you’ll be leaving your shiny new 961 all grimy 🤣

Personally, I’d have black (well… I did) but the Norton silver is particularly beautiful. The quality of the paint job is second to none.

You’ll just have to live with the fact it’s the slower option…
 
albional said:
Many thanks for that information Stephen it certainly is useful, it'll take a bit of digesting for me though. I've never actually used a paddock stand, they look a bit intimidating to me. I was thinking it might be an idea to find out how they go on at the dealers. I use an Abba stand which is easy to fit, rock solid, and allows removal of rear wheel. When you change bikes you just buy a fitting kit for that model for about £20.
I don't suppose it'll be any use with the 961 though.
The micro jump start I kept under the seat of my blade is really small, about 5 x 3" and only 1" thick and comes with a pair of little crocodile clips. A punture repair kit is always worth carrying when you have tubed tyres. If you leave out the gas cylinders you basically have a rubber plug, a tiny tube of glue, a little razor blade to cut off the plug, and a thing to push the plug home. The kit's very small, you could carry it in your shirt pocket.
If I attach my charging lead to the battery it would poke out from under the tank I assume rather than the seat as usual. I'm not sure what these pig tail leads are. Supposedly they would just fit on top of the charging lead terminals on the battery terminals and poke out under the tank just the same? Would they have terminals to attach the jump start crocodile clips?
Click to expand...
If you’ve never used a paddock stand then do so with caution, and perhaps an extra pair of hands, at least until you’ve had some practice.

The ‘cup’ type (as I call ‘em) ‘cups’ the underside of the swinging arm. They do not positively locate on anything, and the 961 is a surprisingly heavy ole lump, with limited vantage points for manual handling.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Ha !

There’s no way on this earth you’ll be leaving your shiny new 961 all grimy 🤣

Personally, I’d have black (well… I did) but the Norton silver is particularly beautiful. The quality of the paint job is second to none.

You’ll just have to live with the fact it’s the slower option…
Click to expand...

Well, second to Dream Machine....but we'll let that slide 👀😂
 
Fast Eddie said:
Good point, well put.

“Second to none for stock OEM”

How ‘bout that ?
Click to expand...
Dream Machine used to do the paint for Norton, at Donington. They point blank refused to deal with Solihull Norton. They still do all my paint for me and my customers though.
 
A 2024 tank I've got in....not impressed with these lines. Dream Machine always used pin striping line tape. Whoever did this one for Norton has instead applied gold, masked off the Norton and pin striping, then applied the black, and then removed the masking. Trouble is the lines don't flow as well, and the black has also leeched under the masking in a few places.
If I was buying a brand new bike, I'd closely inspect the paint quality before accepting it. I know they've had paint issues in the past, predominantly with the silver.....so its probably all sorted by now.
 

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