Norton in trouble?

tell me why I am being unreasonable in wanting no problems from a £16000 motorcycle.
Storm
I don’t think that your argument is unreasonable, I have made it myself to Norton following an issue with my bike. That said, the issue was minor and sorted quickly and the 961 is a great bike (mine is a markII) as Fast Eddie has said, the MarkII has many of the issues sorted - as many forum members will tell you the MarkI can be sorted, especially using Richard 7’s manuals, so the choice really comes down to whether you want one. It is a quirky bike! Needs dialling in but I do not regret getting mine.
MarkII will be more reliable and have a warranty, Mark I might be more of a gamble....
See if you can meet up with another forum member and ride one - could be the clincher!
John
 
I certainly have had my share of problems, frustrations and moments of wanting to dump it, but I have over 10 thousand happy miles on it. Just keep plugging away. There's still a few niggles, but manageable. And that's only because I put 5 K on my 140D over the past 4 years.
 
Storm
I don’t think that your argument is unreasonable, I have made it myself to Norton following an issue with my bike. That said, the issue was minor and sorted quickly and the 961 is a great bike (mine is a markII) as Fast Eddie has said, the MarkII has many of the issues sorted - as many forum members will tell you the MarkI can be sorted, especially using Richard 7’s manuals, so the choice really comes down to whether you want one. It is a quirky bike! Needs dialling in but I do not regret getting mine.
MarkII will be more reliable and have a warranty, Mark I might be more of a gamble....
See if you can meet up with another forum member and ride one - could be the clincher!
John

I will be meeting up with Fast Eddie at Mallory soon so will hopefully have a chat over a beer, like Britfan60, I have a T140, amongst others so a local breakdown wouldn't be disatrous just anoying.
 
At the end of the day it’s only a motorbike innit?! What’s the worst that can happen? If you decide you don’t like it... sell it. Maybe you lose a few quid, maybe you won’t. But at least you’ve done it. You only live once...

Seems to me that IF you think the 961 is the kind of bike you’ll like... it’s a big shame to miss out on enjoying one through fear of owning one !

So so much sense spoken here. You’re a short time on this planet. In a biking sense I grew up on a diet of hondas and sports bikes but the 961 was more than I could hope. It’s not perfect but I can forgive it because it’s so special. Every ride is an event.
 
Of course, you are right, I am not sure I want one, even though I have permission from her indoors.

The too little miles comment should mean the problems that owners are having have been sorted, it was a kind of acceptance comment, I know the bikes can be problematic, but I do like the look of the 961. I would just like to shorten the odds against failure.

I have owned Nortons for over 45 years and I am from a time when Norton, on the back of a fantastic racing history, won MCN machine of the year five years on the trot, that was from a time that was plagued with bad management, abysmal workers attitude and worn out machines and not helped by the Japanese invasion which took money away from the industry (not that it would have been put to good use anyway). We accepted the problems then because as patriots we wanted to buy British.

Well things have changed now, we now are wishing for Guy Fawkes to re-appear and blow up the shower of shite that have surgically removed our patriotism through years of self serving incompetence. We have watched even the Italians make reliable motorcycles, because as time marches on things have to change to remain.

So, remove the patriotism, move forwards into 2019 and look at all the previously unreliable brands that are now reliable and tell me why I am being unreasonable in wanting no problems from a £16000 motorcycle.
Like I said. Don’t buy a Norton. You don’t want one. All you keep doing is talking yourself out of one.
I respect that you enjoyed the original Norton’s from the 70s and older as they are cool bikes, but even those bikes had issues of their own.

Granted I have two 961 bikes and both of mine are low miles and have been flawless to me so far. Although my Dominator did have a cam timing cover gasket failure that caused the low oil pressure light to come on, it was a very easy and simple fix.

Any man made machine can and will have problems some point in time. Hell even the human race is flawed. Nothing or nobody is perfect. The only things in life youll regret are the things you didn’t do. Life is to short.

Get a 961.
 
This debate it going to rattle round forever; if we were talking about a little commuter bike then the reliability issues of the 961 would be a killer.

If your immovable view is that any bike costing this amount MUST be totally reliable then this bike is not the right bike for you.
If you want a turbine smooth engine then this is not the bike for you.
If you enjoy willy-waving with 200bhp hump-backed superbike owners then this is not the bike for you.

This might be the bike for you if;
The first time you saw a 961 a bit of dribble came out (Bowdlerised version).
You threw a tantrum when your wife tried to pull you away from the Norton show stand.
You got home and checked out how much human kidneys were selling for on ebay.
Winding your 961 out of a corner with the open pipes growling, vibration tickling your hands and feet and the unholy sound of angry moving metal assaulting your ears gives you an unmatched burst of adrenaline and utter pleasure.

This morning I actually rode a Norton motorcycle into work a short distance from where Dad used to ride his Rudge 500 Special to work! How good is that? I got thumbs up and grins from pedestrians and a gent looking out of his office window to work out what the noise was.
This has got to be something special to elicit such a response and I am looking forward to years of ownership with the occasional maintenance pause. Absence as they say....
 
In my town (Toledo Ohio) I’m surrounded by Harley’s, Honda’s, Kawasaki, Suzukis, etc.
Everywhere I go, nearly every stop light, nearly every trip I take I get looks, stares, thumbs up, questions, stories etc. it’s truly an awesome pleasure and privilege. Stories of older riders reminiscing of their old Norton’s they had, modern sport bike riders that’s never even heard of Norton’s, Harley-Davidson riders, crotch rocket riders all drool over the looks of my Norton’s. Brings a smile to my face everytime.

And when I have my Dominator Naked our for a ride and when I start it up with those glorious megaphones, when leaving a public business, it scares people and terrifies children. Gives me pleasure everytime!
People hear me miles away. When I approach them on my Dominator they shiver with fear.
The unapproachable? Perhaps.
I love it.
 
You’re on the nice side lol

Ive never been to your end but I bet its nice. Tony came and had a visit. You should stop by. I’ll give you a nice tour. I gave Tony a half tour due to time and my transmission blew a seal and was leaking oil all over but we had a good ride. Managed to check out Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake.

https://flic.kr/p/JTjup5
 
So, remove the patriotism, move forwards into 2019 and look at all the previously unreliable brands that are now reliable and tell me why I am being unreasonable in wanting no problems from a £16000 motorcycle.

Y'all aren't cut out for owning an Italian bike...
 
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