Volvo car ratings are not good, esp in terms of glitches and reliability more so now than ever, aesthetically they are beautiful though, perfect I would say.
Seeing as Keanu Reeves loves Nortons, I feel Arch motorcycles should buy them and fuse, sort of American-British vibe. Either way, Triumph is doing some lovely things
I don't think Norton has anything of meaningful value in this day and age. There is no viable reason for any other company to buy what's left of that one instead of simply starting fresh without any baggage. Let it fail, and let it stay failed.
sure HD does the Heritage thing well
but they've proven their ability to kill a sister brand
I'd think they are more of a buyout target than to do the buying
I don't think Norton has anything of meaningful value in this day and age. There is no viable reason for any other company to buy what's left of that one instead of simply starting fresh without any baggage. Let it fail, and let it stay failed.
Boy, that's harsh. All they were trying to do is resurrect a bike that was legendary for its road handling. I thought the new bikes were quite nicely styled. The demand was there but the production wasn't. They couldn't build enough bikes to stay in business in spite of thousands of outstanding orders.
Except that what might have been "legendary for its road handling" relative to 1960s expectations is now rubbish relative to 2020s expectations, and if modernised to meet today's expectations (which, more or less, it was) then the connection to the past is in name only.
Except that what might have been "legendary for its road handling" relative to 1960s expectations is now rubbish relative to 2020s expectations, and if modernised to meet today's expectations (which, more or less, it was) then the connection to the past is in name only.
Boy, that's harsh. All they were trying to do is resurrect a bike that was legendary for its road handling. I thought the new bikes were quite nicely styled. The demand was there but the production wasn't. They couldn't build enough bikes to stay in business in spite of thousands of outstanding orders.
There's more to it than that. Norton bilked millions from everyday people through pension plan schemes, much of it ending up in the hands of con-men.
The current owner used the proceeds of tax fraud scheme to fund the company, then continued with fraudulent pension investment schemes that drained $25m from private individuals pension pots (the UK version of an RRSP), and another $8.5m from public coffers. To make matters worse, the way they administered the pension investments left the pensioners with tax bills (imagine your RRSP being withdrawn to cash then invested -- you generate a tax liability at the time of withdrawl).
What did they do with all that money from the pensioners? Bought a lot of cars, the owner had 6 Aston Martins, 3 Range Rovers and a Type F Jag with a current value of $1.25 million, unrecoverable personal loans to the owner in excess of $1 million.
And that's just what has been learned in the last few days.
Their workforce of 100 people produced just 2 bikes/day (500/year).
It's just too damaged for anyone to resurrect as it sits. All that's left is a nostalgic brand, an impossible business model, and an empty dream based on a few nicely crafted show bikes.
Except that what might have been "legendary for its road handling" relative to 1960s expectations is now rubbish relative to 2020s expectations, and if modernised to meet today's expectations (which, more or less, it was) then the connection to the past is in name only....
Most modern steel frame bikes can trace their roots to a Norton Featherbed frame and unless your modern bike has cartridge forks, Norton Road Holder forks are better.
I said it earlier, if you can build a Vincent and a Brough is this market and be profitable as they are , you could build and should build a Norton . Just not the way these crooks went about it
Is risky business to bank on a parallel twin cylinder powered motorcycle line in this century. They all shake like crazy until you add spinning counter-drives and wobbly weights and who really wants that, they end up being heavier and under-powered by comparison with none of the advantages of a single or triple or boxer twin, they are the polar opposite of an electric motor. Parallel twins have been relegated to enthusiast bike status for decades, there are just not enough parallel twin enthusiasts out there dropping major coin on new old style toys. Very sad really, RIP Norton until somebody else likes your logo.
Is risky business to bank on a parallel twin cylinder powered motorcycle line in this century. They all shake like crazy until you add spinning counter-drives and wobbly weights and who really wants that, they end up being heavier and under-powered by comparison with none of the advantages of a single or triple or boxer twin, they are the polar opposite of an electric motor. Parallel twins have been relegated to enthusiast bike status for decades, there are just not enough parallel twin enthusiasts out there dropping major coin on new old style toys. Very sad really, RIP Norton until somebody else likes your logo.
The KTM 790 doesn't seem underpowered, and that's a parallel twin with a balance shaft. Singles need big balance shafts, too (and relatively heavy flywheels). You'll have to excuse me for a bit, I'll be in the shop putting a parallel-twin engine together, now that I have a small but critical part in my hands that I've been waiting for.
The KTM 790 doesn't seem underpowered, and that's a parallel twin with a balance shaft. Singles need big balance shafts, too (and relatively heavy flywheels). You'll have to excuse me for a bit, I'll be in the shop putting a parallel-twin engine together, now that I have a small but critical part in my hands that I've been waiting for.
R-E is not abandoning singles yet, the 350 is slated to carry on. In many South Asia countries you cant import anything over 500cc so if your selling to the biggest market in the world , its smart to make a product you can sell there.
R-E is so well financed they can do almost whatever they want in the industry, parent company are giants. (Eicher Motors)
Three cam followers were scored, which prompted "why", which prompted taking the engine out, taking the cylinder head off, and inspecting the valve springs. No faults found. I suspect that there was casting or machining debris left in the engine at the factory, which is long gone, but it left its mark in the valvetrain. From discussion with others who have had these engines apart, this seems to be a common issue. The thing that took forever to get for no apparent reason, was a new head gasket.
I think RE will keep the singles going -- they serve a market that uses small displacement motorcycles designed for fuel efficiency and for use on rugged terrain. Their latest Himalayan is an example of them furthering the big one-lung. My guess is they mat take that from a 400 up to 600-650 as that bike is getting some international attraction as a rugged yet inexpensive adventure bike. The KLR retirement left a hole in the market, perhaps the RE Himalayan will fill it.
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