Fast Eddie
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Anything interesting in that chat ??
The next new Norton...
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BLIGHTYBRIT/SF
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What’s the latest Vern ? Any whispers/gossip
Vernon240
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No, not really. Had a good chat with a guy in production...responsible for production tooling and the rolling road. The problem is, they can't really comment on anything, as no plans agreed with tvs. They will produce the v4rr, but no committal on plans past the current orders. They will produce the last 40 of the commando, but no plans they can talk about past that. Sound like there may be a commando type bike but they want to differentiate it compared to 961, what what that means, unsure. 2x v4cr 's on display. Main idea here is to gauge interest, as no concrete plans. They want to build quite a few bikes...they could make 10k a year at current place but still want exclusivity as well. Upshot is, they have plans, but aren't talking about them. I'm going back to the stand with my mate Jon...with the Domi...we'll do the good cop bad cop routine on them, see if we can get more!
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Well solving that conundrum will tie them up in knots for years with the potential for never getting the correct solution.
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No the CR is the V4 Cafe Racer.
BritTwit
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Vernon's post #127 from the stand
They will produce the last 40 of the commando, but no plans they can talk about past that.
Fast Eddie
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CR…?
Its got ape hangers …
Vernon240
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ok, now back and recovered after a full on day of walking and driving, here's are some notes and pics for your delectation.
Firstly, crowds. I got there 9:30-9:45. The show opened at 9. There were very few people around and as the day went on, it got notably busier, especially around mid day. If you are concerned, I'd look at getting there early and leaving when things got busy. My Norton pictures are from early in the day.
Covid. To get into the NEC you have to prove your covid status. I had the NHS pass proving vaccination, but the alternative was proving exception or showing an NHS email confirming a negative test. As this is essentially a home test and you 'tell' the app if you are positive or negative after the test, I see this as a self declaration. I'm not sure how closely they were checking things, but some were definitely trying to find the right info on their phones and could not get in while they were searching to one side, so checks appeared to be effective. Staff were wiping down bikes fairly often and when people got off, but not always....so bring your own sanitiser.
Back of the Norton stand:
There were two 961's on the stand:
along with the V4SV's
Colour schemes seemed to be either Silver or Carbon
Check out the fasteners
Details of the V4SV
Firstly, crowds. I got there 9:30-9:45. The show opened at 9. There were very few people around and as the day went on, it got notably busier, especially around mid day. If you are concerned, I'd look at getting there early and leaving when things got busy. My Norton pictures are from early in the day.
Covid. To get into the NEC you have to prove your covid status. I had the NHS pass proving vaccination, but the alternative was proving exception or showing an NHS email confirming a negative test. As this is essentially a home test and you 'tell' the app if you are positive or negative after the test, I see this as a self declaration. I'm not sure how closely they were checking things, but some were definitely trying to find the right info on their phones and could not get in while they were searching to one side, so checks appeared to be effective. Staff were wiping down bikes fairly often and when people got off, but not always....so bring your own sanitiser.
Back of the Norton stand:
There were two 961's on the stand:
along with the V4SV's
Colour schemes seemed to be either Silver or Carbon
Check out the fasteners
Details of the V4SV
Last edited:
Vernon240
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I sat on the V4SV and the ergos felt like my Domie, so if the V4CR is like that, then a 'street' version would be a good idea.
The two CR's were 'look but don't touch' and the staff seemed interested in peoples opinions.
Once again, silver and 'that' seat
Or Carbon
Finally, picked up some flyers and a business card
These were A4
This was a double side A5 card
The V4SV looks like it will be £44k, but no clue on the CR. In my mind, they need to compete with the likes of the Ducati V4 street fighter, maybe even the Ariel Ace..another almost bespoke V4 bike, very limited. Both are around the £20k mark, so could Norton justify 2x this? But given the V4CR seems to be a defrocked V4SV, I can't see this dipping low into the £30k's.
My feedback on the V4CR, don't like keyless..have it on my Triumph, don't like the orange seat on the silver, prefer carbon overall and don't like the 'me too' screen vs some some dials, even if they have smaller screens within them. How about 2x circular screens? Could show old fashioned dials or something more modern if they wanted? I'd still prefer some dials though, especially as it's much more prominent on the CR.
Overall, love that Norton are out there, showing stuff, not so happy that details are still shrouded in mystery, no sign on any spares/services coming on line for the 961. They are heavily playing on their heritage for marketing...
But at this stage, are very non committal on actually doing anything for current owners.
Finally, I asked about possible bike meets at the factory and dealers.
Dealers highly likely, but also plan to offer service at the factory where you see your bike being serviced, maybe even a pick up and drop off service. They 'think' the Norton owners club 'might' have something arranged/are arranging/might arrange in regards to meeting at the factory, but as committal as everything else really.
So there ya have it!
The two CR's were 'look but don't touch' and the staff seemed interested in peoples opinions.
Once again, silver and 'that' seat
Or Carbon
Finally, picked up some flyers and a business card
These were A4
This was a double side A5 card
The V4SV looks like it will be £44k, but no clue on the CR. In my mind, they need to compete with the likes of the Ducati V4 street fighter, maybe even the Ariel Ace..another almost bespoke V4 bike, very limited. Both are around the £20k mark, so could Norton justify 2x this? But given the V4CR seems to be a defrocked V4SV, I can't see this dipping low into the £30k's.
My feedback on the V4CR, don't like keyless..have it on my Triumph, don't like the orange seat on the silver, prefer carbon overall and don't like the 'me too' screen vs some some dials, even if they have smaller screens within them. How about 2x circular screens? Could show old fashioned dials or something more modern if they wanted? I'd still prefer some dials though, especially as it's much more prominent on the CR.
Overall, love that Norton are out there, showing stuff, not so happy that details are still shrouded in mystery, no sign on any spares/services coming on line for the 961. They are heavily playing on their heritage for marketing...
But at this stage, are very non committal on actually doing anything for current owners.
Finally, I asked about possible bike meets at the factory and dealers.
Dealers highly likely, but also plan to offer service at the factory where you see your bike being serviced, maybe even a pick up and drop off service. They 'think' the Norton owners club 'might' have something arranged/are arranging/might arrange in regards to meeting at the factory, but as committal as everything else really.
So there ya have it!
Last edited:
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Hello Vernon , Does the performance figure look more rear wheel than crank numbers ? They show the 961 as 71.9 which would seem about right . Also , I like the CR color and thought that this model should have the higher bars .I sat on the V4SV and the ergos felt like my Domie, so if the V4CR is like that, then a 'street' version would be a good idea.
The two CR's were 'look but don't touch' and the staff seemed interested in peoples opinions.
Once again, silver and 'that' seat
Or Carbon
Finally, picked up some flyers and a business card
These were A4
This was a double side A5 card
The V4SV looks like it will be £44k, but no clue on the CR. In my mind, they need to compete with the likes of the Ducati V4 street fighter, maybe even the Ariel Ace..another almost bespoke V4 bike, very limited. Both are around the £20k mark, so could Norton justify 2x this? But given the V4CR seems to be a defrocked V4SV, I can't see this dipping low into the £30k's.
My feedback on the V4CR, don't like keyless..have it on my Triumph, don't like the orange seat on the silver, prefer carbon overall and don't like the 'me too' screen vs some some dials, even if they have smaller screens within them. How about 2x circular screens? Could show old fashioned dials or something more modern if they wanted? I'd still prefer some dials though, especially as it's much more prominent on the CR.
Overall, love that Norton are out there, showing stuff, not so happy that details are still shrouded inn mystery, no sign on any spares/services coming on line for the 961. They are heavily playing on their heritage for marketing...
But at this stage, are very non committal on actually doing anything for current owners.
Finally, I asked about possible bike meets at the factory and dealers.
Dealers highly likely, but also plan to offer service at the factory where you see your bike being serviced, maybe even a pick up and drop off service. They 'think' the Norton owners club 'might' have something arranged/are arranging/might arrange in regards to meeting at the factory, but as committal as everything else really.
So there ya have it!
You think a stock 961 with cats and a stock tune dyno at 71.9 rear wheel horsepower?
Vernon240
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Difficult to be sure and I should have asked. They have a new dyno there, so I would guess the power figures should be fairly accurate..but this could be revised down from the SG era figures, based on real-world findings, or at the wheel vs at the crank. I'm afraid I don't know.
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DIN numbers yes. Look at the 2015 Cycle World dyno run at 70.2 SAE. If my bike had full compression my runs would be in the 70's without a doubt. It also reminds me that the air cooled pre- 2016 bonnie 865 was making high 56 to 59 rwhp. When looked at in this light that 70 HP seems pretty good to me.
Fast Eddie
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Crank numbers, for sure.
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Well maybe , BUT , Look at the article I state on you tube . Stock Norton 2015 961 make 70 rwhp on the Cycle World dyno .
No Correction 70.8 RWHP , read um and weep boys ! Stock motor quiet pipes and lowly SC ECU
One of these days I will have 185 PSI of compression , instead of 150-160 psi then look out for TonyA !
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Fast Eddie
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Just seen that, it’s very interesting.Well maybe , BUT , Look at the article I state on you tube . Stock Norton 2015 961 make 70 rwhp on the Cycle World dyno .
No Correction 70.8 RWHP , read um and weep boys ! Stock motor quiet pipes and lowly SC ECU
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Look Here :
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/octane/AKBCDVAXIYCONKDI4EOPHXGREI.jpg)
www.cycleworld.com
2015 Norton Commando 961 Sport - DYNO TEST
Watch CW's Don Canet performance testing the 2015 Norton Commando 961 Sport on the Cycle World Dynojet dyno. Check out the video and dyno chart at CycleWorld.com.
www.cycleworld.com
cliffa
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Many thanks Vernon. A few observations / remarks :I sat on the V4SV and the ergos felt like my Domie, so if the V4CR is like that, then a 'street' version would be a good idea.
The two CR's were 'look but don't touch' and the staff seemed interested in peoples opinions.
Once again, silver and 'that' seat
Or Carbon
Finally, picked up some flyers and a business card
These were A4
This was a double side A5 card
The V4SV looks like it will be £44k, but no clue on the CR. In my mind, they need to compete with the likes of the Ducati V4 street fighter, maybe even the Ariel Ace..another almost bespoke V4 bike, very limited. Both are around the £20k mark, so could Norton justify 2x this? But given the V4CR seems to be a defrocked V4SV, I can't see this dipping low into the £30k's.
My feedback on the V4CR, don't like keyless..have it on my Triumph, don't like the orange seat on the silver, prefer carbon overall and don't like the 'me too' screen vs some some dials, even if they have smaller screens within them. How about 2x circular screens? Could show old fashioned dials or something more modern if they wanted? I'd still prefer some dials though, especially as it's much more prominent on the CR.
Overall, love that Norton are out there, showing stuff, not so happy that details are still shrouded in mystery, no sign on any spares/services coming on line for the 961. They are heavily playing on their heritage for marketing...
But at this stage, are very non committal on actually doing anything for current owners.
Finally, I asked about possible bike meets at the factory and dealers.
Dealers highly likely, but also plan to offer service at the factory where you see your bike being serviced, maybe even a pick up and drop off service. They 'think' the Norton owners club 'might' have something arranged/are arranging/might arrange in regards to meeting at the factory, but as committal as everything else really.
So there ya have it!
- 44K wow !! seriously?
- Personally I don't mind the Silver with the orange seat (It's only a prototype anyway), but they should have picked out a few other items in orange to balance it. Maybe the Norton logos ? Unfortunately though it reminds me of the naked Blackbird which was available some years back. So if I could afford either (Ha-Ha) it would be the V4SV.
- On the subject of logos why put them on and area of the tank which faces upwards. If you pull up at a traffic light next to a car or another bike and you've just spent 44k wouldn't you (and Norton) want folks to know what it is? Afterall the sides of the tank are free advertising space.
- If they are not going to continue manufacturing and selling the 961 why do they have them on the show stand and even more interestingly why print brochures of them?
cliffa.