Matt,
Your post got me to thinking. A large part of the original Norton's cache was it's performance. In it's heyday it ruled the roost. The new Norton is probably one of the slower over 500 cc bikes being produced. Hadn't really thought of it in those terms before. When I saw all those teens and twenty somethings trade their GSXers for the BMW S1000RR, only to have horsepower bragging rights, I knew the younger buyer has little or no brand loyalty. This being the case, are there enough nostalgic motorcycle buyers with the required $20,000 to sustain a motorcycle manufacturer such as Norton? I am more inclined to see the viability of what CNW, as well as members comnoz and fullauto, and the many others I fail to recall, are doing with the original Norton. Improving upon the original.