Reactions of other riders to your 961?

In the three months and over a thousand miles I've owned my 961, we've been to quite a few bike nights, events big and small where riders congregate. The reaction it gets has been interesting and sometimes surprising. What reactions have you had from other riders to your own 961.. good, bad or that surprised you?

I'll go first...

1) Many riders were surprised it existed, they know of Norton's demise and the unreliability of the earlier bikes, but had no idea that a new factory had been built and bikes were being made again. These were often older, affluent men who must be the target market for Norton.

2) Everyone liked the bike and was happy to know they were being made in the UK. Whether they rode Harleys or R1s they all liked the bike. I know of at least two people booked a test ride based on our chat, I let them sit on it and start the engine... should be getting commission lol..

3) Many riders were amazed the bike was stock, given how loud the exhaust is.. Some had spent £1000 plus on an aftermarket pipe and ECU flash on their own new bikes, admitting they did it for the sound, as the standard bike was just too quiet.

4) Once I told them the actual selling price, with the £2K discount, rather than the RRP, most said that's a fair price for what you get.

5) At petrol stations, cafes etc, I've had a surprising number of older blokes walk over to tell me they had Commando back in the Seventies. It made their day when I told them Norton are making bikes again in Solihull.

Over to you ...

I had many older blokes and even some none motorcycling women comment on how beautiful it was. One cyclist woman flagged me down in traffic once, I thought we were gonna have an ‘issue’ but she just wanted to tell me how gorgeous my bike was !

The overwhelming response from bike minded folk was to ask what issues I’d had with it / was it as unreliable as folk say.

But I did get rather tired of turning up at bike meets for someone to quip:

“Sounds like your big ends have gone mate” …

“Ha, Ha. Hilarious. Piss off’ !

Ditto the majority of the above Bh +

- delayed extraction syndrome. Where some old fella has engaged you in conversation that he’s reluctant to finish……………..! Back in the day, I used to have……….! We’ve all experienced it - extraction is difficult. A good few times though, backing up and starting to put gear on often doesn't work either! Just end up continuing the conversation through the helmet. Couple of occasions he’s still been talking as I’ve ridden off!!

- nutter in the fast lane. Riding along the dual carriageway/motorway and some ‘nutter in a Nissan’ is very keen to show his appreciation of the Norton - usually through the thumbs up, and erratic driving of course. Can be scary!!

- I often say ‘underpowered, uncomfortable and unreliable ……… and f#^@^*g awesome in equal measure’! Most bikers get it - I think.

I sometimes rewind to when I was considering a 961 vs a cNw pre-Mk3 (that was 2016/7.) Pre MKk3 is because I wanted a gear change on the right side.
My decision was sealed on hearing a friend's, @Mk111guy , 961 idling. "That really cannot be good" I thought and proceeded with the order for the 850. A decision I am happy with every day.
Cheers

Oh thought of one more.. one thing I like about the 961 is the lack of tech.. no TFT dashboard, no 6 axis anti this, anti that, its air cooled and even pushrods... but I thought I'd be in a minority being such a luddite when it comes to bikes. But no, even owners of modern super high tech bikes, nodded and agreed that a bike was better without 'all that crap'. I get the feeling that a lot of owners of these modern bikes would be happy without the tech, with its cost and worry of something going wrong. Perhaps one reason for the success of RE.

Bevelheadmhr said:

Oh thought of one more.. one thing I like about the 961 is the lack of tech.. no TFT dashboard, no 6 axis anti this, anti that, its air cooled and even pushrods... but I thought I'd be in a minority being such a luddite when it comes to bikes. But no, even owners of modern super high tech bikes, nodded and agreed that a bike was better without 'all that crap'. I get the feeling that a lot of owners of these modern bikes would be happy without the tech, with its cost and worry of something going wrong. Perhaps one reason for the success of RE.

Click to expand...

You pretty much highlighted every Harley owner lol

Most of the reactions are simple. What is a Norton? Then you spend 10 minutes explaining the whole history, then explain the current history and who now owns the company. Smart people catch on quickly with questions like how hard it is to find someone to work on it, what about replacement parts, etc. Then you get a laugh when they ask about an Indian company making English motorcycles with a Chinese Engine and knockoff Harley Sportster bits with some vintage Ducati Monster thrown in for fun.

Yes these motorcycles will sell really well here if they ever make it back again