Wow. Where do I start?

huskyfrk said:

Britfan60, you’d buy another one ?? gluten for punishment eh ??

Click to expand...

The only non Brit bike I've ever owned was a dirt bike, so, uh, yea....I guess I am. :roll:

Dozer said:

Got any pics of the bonnie?

Click to expand...

I posted a link in another thread from the ebay site it was being sold on. See if it still works. I didn't sign up yet for the VIP membership (maybe I will when the dust settles) so I can't post photos. Here, Dozer. I edited and added the link. That was not the selling price. That was the first winner that welched on his payment. I got the bike for a bit less. Click the photo to browse the other pics.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Triumph-Bonnevi ... otorcycles

that's a thing of beauty....

She's nice and tight like she's right out of the showroom. Excellent restoration at a fair price.

I took the Norton out for a 4 gear test. Still downshifting from 5th to 4th, but now slipping in 3rd and 4th and the tranny is SCREAMING with and unbearable grinding noise. I think the tranny is screwed and unfixable, only replaceable. Its going to have to be trucked over to the dealer. I think I know why the crankcase is seaping. This does not look good. I just wrote a long respectful but pleading email to the Norton Company (who, by the way, never answered my first email, nor do I expect them to give a damn about this one) and Dan Van Epps, for those of you who don't know, is the American distributor of Nortons. He answered me the first time, within the hour actually, but not the second.
Between all of us, I think its possible the dealership effed up the bike during its first service as some of you mentioned.They may have drained the oil, filled the engine and left the tranny low. I've never heard a grind like that before on ANY bike. How could they possibly tell me the bike is fixed and ready with it sounding like that. Are they effing deaf??? I could be wrong and I hope I am. Who's liable? Why would Norton take care of a problem that a dealership caused? All I know is, its going to take the rest of the summer, fall and all winter to resolve this. Damn. I hate to be such a bummer for a bunch of happy bike owners. I just can't keep it in.

Tweet stuart Garner , everybody is on blowing smoke up his arse. Give him a reality check and you might get some fast action.

J

This is about as public as I would go with my complaints. I don't believe in tweeting to ruin a reputation. I did however receive an inquiry from a Mark Pinfield asking how my repair went because "he doesn't like to have unhappy customers and when he visits the American dealers, doesn't want a bad reception." He's the international dealer manager. Well....I doubt anyone prepared him for my reply. Pretty much told him everything I complained about here. Lets see how that pans out. Probably will go nowhere. All I know is, I'm done for the season unless they quickly either send me a bike (that won't happen, all the bikes are presold) or a new motor, which would satisfy me. They certainly do not have the means here to make that kind of repair. I'd have gotten a Monster 1200S if it weren't so damned ugly.

Been there Britfan.

I can only give you one advice... if you want to keep the bike, be patient.
When i had my problems with the 961, i did too sent letters to Norton (they replied) and i was in constant communication with our importer. But blaming someone here (Norton, Stuart, your dealer) is only going to make things worse. They are not intentionally trying to screw you.

Like you, i have a few bikes. Actually, i am driving my old commando 850 more lately.
It took some time to get used to it, but when a bike breaks down now, i try not to be in a hurry to fix it.

3 of my 4 brit bikes are in good shape for the moment. I had times where all 4 broke. My t140 has a broken gearbox i am fixing for the moment. (never EVER try to free up the clutch by shifting into gear and thinking it will free up :-(

Dimitri. You are right. Although I've never heard anything positive about my local dealers service dept., I wouldn't try to further hurt anyones reputation on Twitter. I've never had mechanical problems with my T140D in the past 35 years if owning it. That think just took the beating. A few fuel and electrical problems, yes, but mechanical, no.

Anyway, I've gotten very quick responses from Mark Pinfield. Here is what he has to say about my machine:

"Thanks for your email regarding your gear selection problems, this is a rare one ive heard of problems regarding changing up , but not gears slipping , sounds more like gear selector drum and the selector forks are sticking in the drum slots .
Its not a massive job , clutch off , gearbox out and the gear selectors require careful polishing so they don’t snag on the selector drum slots , ive seen one done here on the older gear box and now its like silk changing up and down.
Your dealer if he contacts the importer will know about the new revised selectors and selector drum and if the bikes still in warranty , there should be no reason why this cant be completed."

I just hope my dealer can complete the task at hand.

Yeah, they will get it solved.

I think it would have been a better choice for them to replace the gearbox cassette (not a very big job), and send the old one back to the factory. They could learn something from it. It also would reveal possible dealer errors (lack of oil f.e.).

I do think they are going to need some parts, even when it is a polishing job. A seal, gaskets,... So i would not expect to get it back within the week.

The 961 is a hand built machine, norton has had a loan guarantee fron the UK government, their dealers should be trained in both service and repair. They are only building 12 bikes a week. Stuart Garner is touring the world on the back of build quality, Donnington Hall , I.O.M ,Prince William etc. you would get better service if you'd bought a farm tractor.

I don't think tweeting Nortons CEO about your probs is going to ruin Anyone's reputation!
Best of luck with your new bike.

J

dimitri said:

Yeah, they will get it solved.

I think it would have been a better choice for them to replace the gearbox cassette (not a very big job), and send the old one back to the factory. They could learn something from it. It also would reveal possible dealer errors (lack of oil f.e.).

I do think they are going to need some parts, even when it is a polishing job. A seal, gaskets,... So i would not expect to get it back within the week.

Click to expand...

I'd be happy to get it back in a month. I have my doubts about that too. Got a call from Van Epps, but wasn't home to receive it. To bad. I'd have liked to talked to him. The international dealer emailed me to say he's going to light a fire under his...er......urge him to get going on this.

I hope it the old "squeaky wheel gets the oil". No pun intended.

So, here I am for 2 months without my Norton. Waiting for a gearbox that know one knows when will arrive. I'm really happy for you guys with these magnificent bikes that are running great albeit a bit jealous. My question is for the the fellas that purchased their bikes from Gold Coast Motorsports in New York. Would you wait for an undetermined amount of time (Juan said it could be up to a year. Nor sure if he was serious or not.) or would you pull the Lemon Law on them and get the full refund? I'm seriously trying to hang in there, but its difficult. Nobody is talking to each other btw Norton, Van Epps, Gold Coast nor especially to me. (unless I inquire of course to which I get now answers.) Just curious.

Not sure what the rules are in USA, but in UK we have a thing called 'Not fit for purpose'. If it don't work, then it has to be repaired, replaced or refunded 'In a timely fashion...' A year is not a timely fashion, DHL made the world a small place....

Britfan60 said:

So, here I am for 2 months without my Norton. Waiting for a gearbox that know one knows when will arrive. I'm really happy for you guys with these magnificent bikes that are running great albeit a bit jealous. My question is for the the fellas that purchased their bikes from Gold Coast Motorsports in New York. Would you wait for an undetermined amount of time (Juan said it could be up to a year. Nor sure if he was serious or not.) or would you pull the Lemon Law on them and get the full refund? I'm seriously trying to hang in there, but its difficult. Nobody is talking to each other btw Norton, Van Epps, Gold Coast nor especially to me. (unless I inquire of course to which I get now answers.) Just curious.

Click to expand...

Britfan,

I know the feeling. It can be really fucking frustrating! Gold Coast got me a new tank for my CR after Adrian found a large "blister" on the bottom of the tank. Norton agreed to send a new tank. However, it took over a month before the tank arrived, and I was able to get back on the road again. I can imagine how you feel, especially with the days of good weather fading for this riding season. I would say, hang in there, and wait a bit longer because the bike is worth it. Hopefully, the new gearbox is the final fix, and you'll then be able to enjoy it as you should. I understand you recently bought a restored T140. Good for you. Focus on the Triumph for a while. Get your mind off the 961 for a while and I bet before long GC will have your bike back to you.

When I was waiting for my new tank, I called GC several times a week, and visitied every Saturday. As a result, I became a real pain in the ass to the guys at GC. I'm a real believer in the method.

having visited the'' factory'' 2 weeks ago with mr Rambo
I feel it could be a long hard winter, spring ,summer, etc, etc ,.........
I sold my 961 3 years plus ago
with 20-20 hindsight a wise decision ...................
good luck with the ,spares,repairs
certain eu dealers are hitting 5 figure sums on warranty claims not met allegedly .
also when the magic figure hits 400 tanks its goodbye from me and its goodbye from him...........

i had pm’d Mr. Banks several years ago. inquiring about his experience. Hope nobody has the foul luck he did w his. must have been built on a friday or Monday. gonna have some fun this week and go talk to the snake oil salesman ate south bay triumph - Norton. Mr. Matt Capri. i expect maybe 1 additional shipment before the end of the year. they are already behind according to his smoke and mirror projections. supposed to have a shipment once a month . none since july. so we missed august, sept and now into oct. i laugh when you guys complain about waiting 6 months. the SE version is fast approaching a 5 year wait. i will let youi know how the refund goes on a bike that was supposed to have a non - refundable deposit. Cheers

You see, that is another issue. The boys at Gold Coast are complaining they haven't gotten paid ONCE for the warranty work from Norton. How is that any way to do business? I wouldn't want to fix a bike for free either. And Lord knows, they've been fixing them.

Im starting to believe that Norton shouldn't really be selling 961s in the USA.... Most of the issues I think Im seeing in this forum are from USA customers, correct? My perception is that in UK the bikes are well built, supported and backed up, but not in other countries? Spares seems a big issues, plus any warranty issues.

Norton seem to have full order books in UK from what Ive seen, so Im not sure why they would want this hassle of supporting a network in USA? Especially as it appears to be very hard to back up properly. If I was them, Id pull the plug until it can be backed up properly, with a USA spares hub.

Some people are still waiting for 2010 961 SE versions, is that right? I cant see how they can still deliver SE's. I don't think they make that version any more, the engine, wheels, gearbox, Fuel injection, gear linkage, switchgear and master cylinders have all been changed/upgraded since 2010, as the bike is constantly being upgraded. I understand the only thing the same between the 2010 and 2014 bike is the frame, suspension and exhaust. They would have to go back to an older version to make any more SE's, which I cant see them doing. Or make an SE/SF hybrid, using the 2014 specification bike as a donor.

In UK, there are actually unregistered stock bikes available off the shelf... So you could have one in a week.... Would it be worth cancelling your order, buying an unregistered new bike from Krazy Horse or Thor Motorcycles and having it shipped over?

If anyone is interested in this if you PM me I can ask Krazy Horse, as they ship custom bikes all over the world? Just offering an option....

not sure a one time order, what with customs and all would b a deal. there ws a shipping break when you fill a whole container for shipment. not to mention what would happen if it did need work that should have been under warranty. SBNT already has a big bore kit built, for a bike that is not readily available. some priorities were sadly askew on this deal ...Really make s me wonder how Van Inept could have run North American ducati ??