They're here... 961 side by side vs my Mark 3 yesterday

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pkeithkelly

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Had an email from GP Cycles in downtown San Diego a couple of days ago saying they were showing a new 961 all day yesterday - a customer's pre-sold model that just arrived. So I hopped on my Mark 3 to go take a peek.

Here's the 961 on the shop floor (surrounded by Ducatis, Aprilias, and MV Agustas).

Sorry about the crappy photos from my phone camera - didn't realize all that shiny stuff was going to show that much in the photos.

They're here... 961 side by side vs my Mark 3 yesterday



I rolled my bike into the shop and parked next to its newly-minted cousin -
They're here... 961 side by side vs my Mark 3 yesterday





And a couple more side-by-side photos.

Modern front end is very noticeable vs the mid-70's technology -

They're here... 961 side by side vs my Mark 3 yesterday



They're here... 961 side by side vs my Mark 3 yesterday


They're here... 961 side by side vs my Mark 3 yesterday
 
Your MK 3 looks better, sounds better, & probably even smells better! I don't know what the new "Commandos" are like to ride, but I doubt they are as much fun as a well sorted original. I am basing this view perhaps unfairly, on my recent ride on a modern Bonneville, which was a dull as dishwater.
 
swooshdave said:
I'd ride the shit out of either one of those.
Click to expand...

I regularly ride the shit out of the "older cousin" and if I had $20K that I didn't know what to do with, I'd buy the 961 and ride the shit out of that too.

The guy at the shop said the buyer of the new 961 paid his deposit in 2012. That's a 2 year wait to get a bike. That's got to be a record. I saw a news clip on Lamborgini the other day and I think the wait is less than half that - and that's with buyers choosing paint color, upholstery finishes, etc.

I hope the new Norton company picks up the pace and gets their wait time down. Otherwise they will find there is a very limited number of customers who are willing to plop down their cash and wait that long for a bike. You can get most any other new bike instantly.
 
two year wait on his ?? most everybody else has been waiting for 4 years. not sure how he got his with that short of a wait.
 
pkeithkelly said:
swooshdave said:
I'd ride the shit out of either one of those.
Click to expand...

I regularly ride the shit out of the "older cousin" and if I had $20K that I didn't know what to do with, I'd buy the 961 and ride the shit out of that too.

The guy at the shop said the buyer of the new 961 paid his deposit in 2012. That's a 2 year wait to get a bike. That's got to be a record. I saw a news clip on Lamborgini the other day and I think the wait is less than half that - and that's with buyers choosing paint color, upholstery finishes, etc.

I hope the new Norton company picks up the pace and gets their wait time down. Otherwise they will find there is a very limited number of customers who are willing to plop down their cash and wait that long for a bike. You can get most any other new bike instantly.
Click to expand...

If I had 20K I didn't know what to do with..........I would buy 2 more Commandos. No contest.
 
south bay norton got 6 se models in. catch here is 3 of them had USD ohlins forks at no extra charge. they ran out of the std forks. imagine a 5k upgrade for nothing. !!! what i haven’t figured out yet is how the other bikes which were not limited edition get the usd fork, but the premier bikes gets the std fork. heard the story from M. Capri, but i think it is cost cutting. new sport and cafe prices are now up to 24K if you order now.
 
I waited a few months on the East Coast. Guess I just lucked out. 18.8K for the sport, 2K for the pipes. The bikes a dream. Anyone that disses it, obviously doesn't own one yet.
 
I only waited w months for mine here on the East Coast. Guess I lucked out. 18.8K for the sport mono posto and 2k for the pipes. (worth it) Any of you that are dissing this bike obviously hasn't been on one.
 
nobody has been on one, was never a bike to demo. buying based on nostalgia and alan cathart’s road tests. a big IF.
 
huskyfrk said:
south bay norton got 6 se models in. catch here is 3 of them had USD ohlins forks at no extra charge. they ran out of the std forks. imagine a 5k upgrade for nothing. !!! what i haven’t figured out yet is how the other bikes which were not limited edition get the usd fork, but the premier bikes gets the std fork. heard the story from M. Capri, but i think it is cost cutting. new sport and cafe prices are now up to 24K if you order now.
Click to expand...

My Sport came with USD forks and radial brakes, So did the SE that my dealer had. (He could only obtain 2 bikes.) They both landed in Canada around Dec 2013.
 
sports and cafe were marketed that way with USD, Se not so much. and the canadian bikes don’t have nikisil plating in the barrels, they are steel liners in the cyl.
 
Matchless said:
Your MK 3 looks better, sounds better, & probably even smells better! I don't know what the new "Commandos" are like to ride, but I doubt they are as much fun as a well sorted original. I am basing this view perhaps unfairly, on my recent ride on a modern Bonneville, which was a dull as dishwater.
Click to expand...

Don't let lack of knowledge, or lack of experience get in the way of your opinions! :wink:
 
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