Solihull is back in business?

Ive got a mixed bag of bikes in my garage, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Aprilia and Ducati...with the newest being 2007. When ever Ive had to go to the dealers for a part, they've been able to supply.
A lot of the issues we have is "their commitment to assist owners"...yet wont sell parts to keep owners bikes on the road and will also actively stopped their suppliers from dealing directly with 961 owners, based on the copy rights they own from when they bought the company. If they want to assist owners, either open parts again or allow people to buy elsewhere, so they can actually use their bikes!
 
If they’re not selling parts, not servicing or repairing bikes, not honouring warranties, not selling bikes, and not sharing information… what exactly do they think "their commitment to assist owners" actually MEANS ??

Seems to me they have no grasp of reality and have become baffled by their own BS.
 
To be honest I dont think they really give a toss about existing owners. If they're building for the future, they'll have a totally different customer base that they'll want to capture...much like SG was trying to move to with bikes like the V4. They'll want to control parts for anything they hold rights to, because big companies like TVS like to be in control of every aspect of what they own, imo. Its not like a company thats evolving, where its past means something.....its basically the new boyfriend that doesnt give a crap about the previous relationship his missus had and is looking forward to what they'll have together
 
Stu Bodycote said:
They'll want to control parts for anything they hold rights to
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They have rights to the trademark, any manufacturer has the right to copy parts as long as the trademark is missed off. The company I worked for made parts for Ford but also sold the parts on the aftermarket. To pass the Ford audit an employee was sent to a Ford dealer to buy the part (made at our factory) and a drawing made from that part. When audited the part was shown in the Ford box with dealer receipt and a copy of the new drawing with the aftermarket logo.
 
They own the rights to the drawing. So for us to make something, we'd have to draw it up ourselves. With the likes of the headtemp sender, Jumo wouldn't sell me one, as Norton said no. When I asked if I could spec the exact same thing, but then slightly alter it...they then again said they cant (or won't).
kommando said:
They have rights to the trademark, any manufacturer has the right to copy parts as long as the trademark is missed off. The company I worked for made parts for Ford but also sold the parts on the aftermarket. To pass the Ford audit an employee was sent to a Ford dealer to buy the part (made at our factory) and a drawing made from that part. When audited the part was shown in the Ford box with dealer receipt and a copy of the new drawing with the aftermarket logo
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Stu Bodycote said:
To be honest I dont think they really give a toss about existing owners. If they're building for the future, they'll have a totally different customer base that they'll want to capture...much like SG was trying to move to with bikes like the V4. They'll want to control parts for anything they hold rights to, because big companies like TVS like to be in control of every aspect of what they own, imo. Its not like a company thats evolving, where its past means something.....its basically the new boyfriend that doesnt give a crap about the previous relationship his missus had and is looking forward to what they'll have together
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I’m not so sure.
Further down the line, when they get into whatever EV platforms they’re imagining, then you might be right.

But their current ONLY new bike is the V4 and their medium term success, depends on that.

How many 17 year olds can afford a V4?!

Seems to me that the demographic for the V4 has huge overlap with that of the 961.
 
Stu Bodycote said:
So for us to make something, we'd have to draw it up ourselves.
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Yes, but if you have the original electronic drawing its easy to wipe it clean of logo's and references to original customer and make a new version. If you are not the maker of Norton OEM clutches but make motorcycle clutches then again a digital caliper plus some material analysis is all you need to start a drawing from scratch. The use of generic electrical parts and fuel injectors does not help Norton's cause either, Norton's drawings of those will be copies of the Bosch original, either from scratch or provided by Bosch.
 
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kommando said:
Yes, but if you have the original electronic drawing its easy to wipe it clean of logo's and references to original customer and make a new version. If you are not the maker of Norton OEM clutches but make motorcycle clutches then again a digital caliper plus some material analysis is all you need to start a drawing from scratch.
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Agreed, but we dont have access to the drawings, and MOQ would make parts bloody expensive if we also have to factor in the other work involved.
 
Fast Eddie said:
I’m not so sure.
Further down the line, when they get into whatever EV platforms they’re imagining, then you might be right.

But their current ONLY new bike is the V4 and their medium term success, depends on that.

How many 17 year olds can afford a V4?!

Seems to me that the demographic for the V4 has huge overlap with that of the 961.
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Certainly not 17yr old, but I assume Norton to be pitching their V4 against the likes of Ducati and their 1299 or V4...where the majority appear to be in their late 20s or 30s
 
Stu Bodycote said:
With the likes of the headtemp sender, Jumo wouldn't sell me one, as Norton said no. When I asked if I could spec the exact same thing, but then slightly alter it...they then again said they cant (or won't).
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That will not be because of normal rules governing making of aftermarket copies but some extra terms added to the Norton terms and conditions of the purchase order. These restrictions were always rejected by our company as the aftermarket was so lucrative, but if we did not make the part and could not buy one then the scrapyard or a broken car waiting for the new part was next port of call.
 
cliffa said:
Did you scroll down the page?
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Yep. But it was the video was well...nothing really. There is more info on the site, but not much. At one point, they seem to be distancing themselves from the previous company....and in the same breadth it would seem, they are banging on about ‘their history’ and ‘our story starts in 1898’. So they want to capitalise on their past, but in no way honour it. Their aspirational statements about helping current owners have been hollow. Unless you count not supplying parts, not allowing anyone else to supply and not assisting in any way, shape or form, as helpful. They will need to court a whole new customer base at this point, as they are doing a great job of upsetting anyone currently loyal to the brand. They may fail to realise that for many, our Norton’s are not our only bikes. Most are potential customers for more modern machinery, but I’d be looking for some time of consistency and integrity before considering anything from new Norton. Being truly helpful to current owners will be a start, vs saying they will be, but showing zero evidence of this...and, it would seem, being quite contrary.
 
kommando said:
That will not be because of normal rules governing making of aftermarket copies but some extra terms added to the Norton terms and conditions of the purchase order. These restrictions were always rejected by our company as the aftermarket was so lucrative, but if we did not make the part and could not buy one then the scrapyard or a broken car waiting for the new part was next port of call.
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Fingers crossed one of us wins the museum raffle bike then....get it stripped and copied!
 
Stu Bodycote said:
Certainly not 17yr old, but I assume Norton to be pitching their V4 against the likes of Ducati and their 1299 or V4...where the majority appear to be in their late 20s or 30s
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To compete with those bikes in that market it has to be better and or cheaper.

And as you said yourself, the big boys have been developing their bikes a lot in the last 5 years… the bar has been raised.

If they intend to capitalise on the brand and blah, blah they’ll find far more suckers higher up the demographic scale !
 
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kommando said:
How many 961's do you see in a week, how many broken or worn parts do you see. The answer is before you.
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To be honest, not many actually in need of Norton parts....if I did, then my workshop would be full of broken Norton's needing bits. The majority of repairs Ive had in have been parts easily sourced elsewhere.
 
Fast Eddie said:
To compete with those bikes in that market. It has to be better and or cheaper.

And as you said yourself, we he big boys have been developing their bikes a lot in the last 5 years… the bar has been raised.

If they intend to capitalise on the brand and blah, blah they’ll find far more suckers higher up the demographic scale !
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I was thinking of the Forbes interview earlier in the year.
Dont know about raised the bar...other manufacturers in recent years have pretty much made the bar its self obsolete :D
 
Stu Bodycote said:
To be honest, not many actually in need of Norton parts....if I did, then my workshop would be full of broken Norton's needing bits. The majority of repairs Ive had in have been parts easily sourced elsewhere.
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But, its the fear of support with major parts thats actually putting some people off using their 961's
 


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