What's happening at Norton? Sale to TVS, massive investment, new bikes...

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interesting article about Enfield in this month’s Classic Bike Guide: they make 800,000 plus bikes a year, and they are the fourth largest Indian producer, after Hero, Bajaj and TVS, in that order.
Enfield’s R and D in India has 300 staff and many test rigs for proper endurance testing of frames, seats etc. At their Vallam factory nearby, which produces 3200 bikes a day, EVERY engine is dyno tested for 5 mins before installation in frame etc.
 
jan nelder said:
interesting article about Enfield in this month’s Classic Bike Guide: they make 800,000 plus bikes a year, and they are the fourth largest Indian producer, after Hero, Bajaj and TVS, in that order.
Enfield’s R and D in India has 300 staff and many test rigs for proper endurance testing of frames, seats etc. At their Vallam factory nearby, which produces 3200 bikes a day, EVERY engine is dyno tested for 5 mins before installation in frame etc.
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We didn't have an engine test facility at Donington.....we didn't have much of anything tbh. But each bike was dyno'd after end of line inspection. 5 miles on the dyno, then unplug the speedo sensor and do an additional 5 miles, so each bike had done 10 miles throughout the rev range etc
 
Voodooo said:
They don’t have much of a choice for very long.

Makes me laugh when people talk about battery sizes. As if batteries havent evolved in just the last few years.
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A small leap and at what cost to the environment..Tesla have been lying about the battery range for ages and have even been sued by some motorists. I am all for an open market but take away the subsidies and then what’s left. Just don’t lie to me !!!
 
Voodooo said:
The livewire has been out since 2019. Going on 5 years. Of course the sale numbers are low, when compared to other ice bikes.
Ev isn’t going away.
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I test rode a (then) Harley-Davidson Livewire in September 2014. EV is definitely slow going. I'm not concerned about EV or even an electric Norton because it still won't affect how my Commando runs.
 
Stu Bodycote said:
We didn't have an engine test facility at Donington.....we didn't have much of anything tbh. But each bike was dyno'd after end of line inspection. 5 miles on the dyno, then unplug the speedo sensor and do an additional 5 miles, so each bike had done 10 miles throughout the rev range etc
Click to expand...
Fascinating!
Makes me wonder how my 961 CR could have been boxed and sent overseas in 2013.
My CR smoked like a house on fire when started cold. Took 3 or 4 minutes of running before the smoke stopped.
Don't know how the boys at Donington could have thought that was suitable to ship off to customers.:confused:
 
Anglophile said:
I test rode a (then) Harley-Davidson Livewire in September 2014. EV is definitely slow going. I'm not concerned about EV or even an electric Norton because it still won't affect how my Commando runs.
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It might effect whether your Norton can run at all.
The Green-Nazi's goal is to eventually legislate all carbon burning vehicles off the roads.
Failing that, they and their confederates want to ban carbon fuels all together, or force fuel prices so high, it will take a month's salary to fill the fuel tank.
Don't underestimate their Marxist zeal.
 
BritTwit said:
Fascinating!
Makes me wonder how my 961 CR could have been boxed and sent overseas in 2013.
My CR smoked like a house on fire when started cold. Took 3 or 4 minutes of running before the smoke stopped.
Don't know how the boys at Donington could have thought that was suitable to ship off to customers.:confused:
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The tipped the bike on its side during shipping. The beginning of the oil in air box mess.
 
Voodooo said:
The tipped the bike on its side during shipping. The beginning of the oil in air box mess.
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Actually, my CR had the wrong size rings installed, along with two other 961s shipped to my dealer.
SG had "repair" kits sent to my dealer a month after I got the bike, and the dealer picked up my bike and fixed it under warranty.
The kit included, new rings, valve springs, valve seals, and all of the gaskets required for a top end tear down/rebuild.
My dealer, who was a personal friend told me the details:

1. The rings were too small and the end gap too large, so the engine passed a whole lot of oil when cold, got better when the motor was at operating temp, but the plugs were still black. When my dealer first started the bike after removal from the crate, he noticed the smoke and called the factory. They told him that the rings used were very hard and will take while to bed in. WHAT???

2. The valve springs had to be replaced because the supplier had shipped to wrong ones. The factory found that at higher RPMs these springs would bind. So new/correct ones were sent in the kit. Luckily I hadn't revved the bike above the 4,000 rpm limit that I was given by the dealer.

3. The factory also determined that the supplier had shipped the wrong valve seals, so they had to be replaced as well.

My dealer performed all of the work, and the bike that emerged worked beautifully. Pretty incredible when you consider that the factory had no shop manual at the time in 2013. My dealer received hand written instructions, and FAX-ed hand drawn diagrams from the factory to use in the rebuild process. He showed me what the factory sent him. The dealer has 3 bikes that needed the modifications.

Now, how did three 961s with all of these defects, and obvious symptoms get crated and shipped out????:oops:
 
Voodooo said:
The tipped the bike on its side during shipping. The beginning of the oil in air box mess.
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Should see my F1 when it’s cold..or after heavy braking and then accelerating..not much tailgating after that.
 
BritTwit said:
Actually, my CR had the wrong size rings installed, along with two other 961s shipped to my dealer.
SG had "repair" kits sent to my dealer a month after I got the bike, and the dealer picked up my bike and fixed it under warranty.
The kit included, new rings, valve springs, valve seals, and all of the gaskets required for a top end tear down/rebuild.
My dealer, who was a personal friend told me the details:

1. The rings were too small and the end gap too large, so the engine passed a whole lot of oil when cold, got better when the motor was at operating temp, but the plugs were still black. When my dealer first started the bike after removal from the crate, he noticed the smoke and called the factory. They told him that the rings used were very hard and will take while to bed in. WHAT???

2. The valve springs had to be replaced because the supplier had shipped to wrong ones. The factory found that at higher RPMs these springs would bind. So new/correct ones were sent in the kit. Luckily I hadn't revved the bike above the 4,000 rpm limit that I was given by the dealer.

3. The factory also determined that the supplier had shipped the wrong valve seals, so they had to be replaced as well.

My dealer performed all of the work, and the bike that emerged worked beautifully. Pretty incredible when you consider that the factory had no shop manual at the time in 2013. My dealer received hand written instructions, and FAX-ed hand drawn diagrams from the factory to use in the rebuild process. He showed me what the factory sent him. The dealer has 3 bikes that needed the modifications.

Now, how did three 961s with all of these defects, and obvious symptoms get crated and shipped out????:oops:
Click to expand...
This is brilliant.
 
BritTwit said:
Actually, my CR had the wrong size rings installed, along with two other 961s shipped to my dealer.
SG had "repair" kits sent to my dealer a month after I got the bike, and the dealer picked up my bike and fixed it under warranty.
The kit included, new rings, valve springs, valve seals, and all of the gaskets required for a top end tear down/rebuild.
My dealer, who was a personal friend told me the details:

1. The rings were too small and the end gap too large, so the engine passed a whole lot of oil when cold, got better when the motor was at operating temp, but the plugs were still black. When my dealer first started the bike after removal from the crate, he noticed the smoke and called the factory. They told him that the rings used were very hard and will take while to bed in. WHAT???

2. The valve springs had to be replaced because the supplier had shipped to wrong ones. The factory found that at higher RPMs these springs would bind. So new/correct ones were sent in the kit. Luckily I hadn't revved the bike above the 4,000 rpm limit that I was given by the dealer.

3. The factory also determined that the supplier had shipped the wrong valve seals, so they had to be replaced as well.

My dealer performed all of the work, and the bike that emerged worked beautifully. Pretty incredible when you consider that the factory had no shop manual at the time in 2013. My dealer received hand written instructions, and FAX-ed hand drawn diagrams from the factory to use in the rebuild process. He showed me what the factory sent him. The dealer has 3 bikes that needed the modifications.

Now, how did three 961s with all of these defects, and obvious symptoms get crated and shipped out????:oops:
Click to expand...
I cant speak for 2013, as that was before my time....I think that was when it was still at Donington Park. Did they even have a dyno then?
All the things you mentioned are covered in tsb's though.
 
Back to Gladrags interview, looks like next year will be a good one for you boyz stateside and all you electric heads…

What's happening at Norton? Sale to TVS, massive investment, new bikes...
 
Stu Bodycote said:
I cant speak for 2013, as that was before my time....I think that was when it was still at Donington Park. Did they even have a dyno then?
All the things you mentioned are covered in tsb's though.
Click to expand...
In retrospect, I'm sure that some dealers in the US were pressuring SG to ship bikes. It was months between the announcement that bikes would be forthcoming, and the actual shipment in late November 2013. That may have lead to the hasty and poor assembly of those first machines to the US.
 
BritTwit said:
Actually, my CR had the wrong size rings installed, along with two other 961s shipped to my dealer.
SG had "repair" kits sent to my dealer a month after I got the bike, and the dealer picked up my bike and fixed it under warranty.
The kit included, new rings, valve springs, valve seals, and all of the gaskets required for a top end tear down/rebuild.
My dealer, who was a personal friend told me the details:

1. The rings were too small and the end gap too large, so the engine passed a whole lot of oil when cold, got better when the motor was at operating temp, but the plugs were still black. When my dealer first started the bike after removal from the crate, he noticed the smoke and called the factory. They told him that the rings used were very hard and will take while to bed in. WHAT???

2. The valve springs had to be replaced because the supplier had shipped to wrong ones. The factory found that at higher RPMs these springs would bind. So new/correct ones were sent in the kit. Luckily I hadn't revved the bike above the 4,000 rpm limit that I was given by the dealer.

3. The factory also determined that the supplier had shipped the wrong valve seals, so they had to be replaced as well.

My dealer performed all of the work, and the bike that emerged worked beautifully. Pretty incredible when you consider that the factory had no shop manual at the time in 2013. My dealer received hand written instructions, and FAX-ed hand drawn diagrams from the factory to use in the rebuild process. He showed me what the factory sent him. The dealer has 3 bikes that needed the modifications.

Now, how did three 961s with all of these defects, and obvious symptoms get crated and shipped out????:oops:
Click to expand...
This was a common issue...
 
BritTwit said:
In retrospect, I'm sure that some dealers in the US were pressuring SG to ship bikes. It was months between the announcement that bikes would be forthcoming, and the actual shipment in late November 2013. That may have lead to the hasty and poor assembly of those first machines to the US.
Click to expand...
No the dealers lost money on all of this as there was no real recourse for the repair costs plus the lost good will from customers is hard to calculate.

You might have some dealers that want to take a flyer at it but again like Indian dealers if you too far from your dealer then hard to sell a "luxury" item
 
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