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Snorton 650cc

This may not be the correct place to put this , but how many other 961 owners have received an invite to look at the new 650 next Tuesday night down at the factory. I don't know if it will be on show at the NEC in the coming weeks but I am still thinking of going to the factory next week to have a gander as I am extremely curious , but if the weather is too bad I will just wait a couple of weeks and look for it at the NEC.

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I got an invite by email last Thursday night and was very keen to attend until I noted the date and time of the event........a 7.00pm start.

This is not too bad if you live close to Donington Hall but I am a 4 hour ride away. The consequence being some difficult choices. A day or possibly two off work to get there and back? Booking a hotel for the night? Plus what actually was the agenda for the event? A ride or just talk about the plans for the future?

You will have to excuse my negative feelings towards this significant moment in Norton history but 9 years ago I received a similar invite for the launch of the 961 at the Norton Golden Jubilee Weekend. On arrival, the promised close-up examination and possible ride vanished in exchange for a single angle side view glimpse from at best 2m away.

Returning to the Launch Event timing. Why was this not at a much more practical mid-day time? Or why not have a double launch of say 1.00pm and 7.00pm?

Attachments PIC00080.JPG norton-650-invite-jpg
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I had the same email invite, and can't go for the same reasons, would take @ 4 hours to get there and the same home.

sam

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The agenda for the evening is the unveiling of the 650 & Iâm sure there is more than one version, I would anticipate there is a sales catalogue given to all that attend & of course taking orders on the night , the first 100 or so will probably be limited & numbered , with only a arrival date of sometime next year ,some lucky people have more than one new norton 961 together with a Dom & are on the V4 wait list , these are the sought of guys & girls that will place an order next Tuesday,in fact itâs going be most affordable new Norton yet , my guess is £11 to £12K ,also itâs a free beer & a chance to see it b4 anyone else ,be a winner for sure

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I do wonder at the sanity, my wife has a 650 er6 Kawasaki, excellent bike, 60,000 miles so far with minimal issues, ok not a "Norton" made in Japan rather than China but a really nice bike and from the teasers I've seen not too dissimilar, once again the phrase "Emperors new clothes" springs to mind. Sorry to be negative but given the 961 debacle (yes I know, great bike, that's why so many are for sale at knockdown prices with less than 1500 miles) who can blame me?

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Well to be honest: I think that inviting people who already own a 'New' Norton to view the (even) newer Norton, a bit daft. New blood is what's wanted .

I do hope that Richard is mistaken in his retail-price guess . Unless Mr Garner is praying for (or preying on) Norton aficionados . A new 790 KTM with lots of electronic gadgets is only £8.5K. Now that's realistic and probably where I shall be going next Year . Unless I am pleasantly surprised.

Andy

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Iâve decided to go as I live in Derby. Being only 30 minutes away itâs a no brainer. I have also recently had a test ride on a 790 duke which was very impressive so letâs see if the norton can match it.

Jason

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Jason.........good on you. When you get there take loads of photos, ask lots of awkward questions and record all the replies/excuses.

I can't imagine any visitors being let loose at 7.00pm on a brand new bike in that area. The nearest decent stretch of road is about 3 miles away from Donington Hall.

If I was there and offered a ride, then the temptation to head off into the night and not return would surely be too great for me to resist.

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Those that can afford a V4 for the nice weather and a new Atlas for the winter months most probably don't need to work Mon - Fri, so 1900 seems a good a time as any other.

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So Iâll take bets now about price. Iâm going for £10k for the basic scrambler and £12k for the road bike. Am I going to be way off?

Lots of bling on the first run of the models to get them sold?

Jason

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Got an invite to the factory but not able to go ,contacted Clem as going to the N E C for the show as Suzuki borrow my G T 750 to display on their stand so hope to visit the Norton stand.If anyone interested think Barry Sheene,s bikes will be displayed there.

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Donât think anytime going to right for the launch,having in the day most people would have to get time off work & hit traffic on way home , price certainly not under £10k , sure if u wanted to go check it out any other time u could phone /call in & see one or two , still one more sleep to go , at least we are talking bought new Nortonâs on here again , was Barren on here for nearly a month

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Well Iâm back from the launch and have been very impressed. Stuart arriving on the v4 being ridden inside the meeting room was at great way to begin the evening. I am also happy that Iâm bang on the money with my prices and also with the blinged up limited edition ss version. Lovely evening and a big thank you to the factory for the invite.

Jason

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It certainly was an interesting night out, the v4 made a lovely 'racket' as you can imagine in an enclosed room albeit a big one. The bikes looked terrific and just oozed quality components , all in all a great turnout too I must admit I wasn't expecting such a large crowd. The only gripe was that Stuart didn't have a microphone and it was very hard to hear what he was saying above the humm of the peasants.

It was well worth the slog down and up the M6 roadworks , and if you didn't bother to make the effort to get down there then it's your loss , you missed a good event.

Pete

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Yes Mike I took a few, but not sure of the ins and outs of posting pics of someone else's interior property...if you know what I mean ?.

Pete

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A couple of pictures for you - the union jack tank bike is the Atlas SS only 100 to be made at £16k - the other is the road oriented Atlas Nomad at £10k - not shown is the Atlas Ranger at £12k which is off road oriented like the SS

Attachments atlas3-png
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Brownie points 4U Alan, well done on putting the first pics on here,I went last year for anniversary launch, but got early signs of frost bite on my digits riding the 200 miles home in 5c temperatures,2 fingers still a bit iffy now, any way has anyone put a deposit down ? reviously Alan Sessions wrote:

2nd 650 photo

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Estuve en el pasado mes de julio, donde observÃ? la versiÃ?n V4 para calle (pero no me dejaran fotografiarla), si pude fotografiar los otros modelos 961.

Estaban las V4 que corrieron en la isla de Man, (J Brooks) y tenÃan las horquillas traseras con los ejes pasantes para disminuir el tiempo de parada para extraer el neumÃ?tico (eso me dijeron).

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FYI - Gerardo, from Argentina, says: 'I was at the factory the last week of July where I saw the V4 'Street' version but they did not let me photograph it although I could photograph the other 961 models.

Josh Brookes IoM V4 was there with the rear axles that allowed for faster tyre change time (I was told).

Mark Woodward.

I was in the last month of July, where I observed the V4 version for street (but they did not let me photograph it), if I could photograph the other 961 models.There were the ran on the Isle of Man, (J Brooks) and had the rear forks with the axles to decrease the downtime to remove the tire (I was told
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I must say I like the look of the 'Roadster', it's quite expensive but I'd be tempted ....

I note that they have badged the forks as 'Roadholder'.

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Previously mark_woodward wrote:

I must say I like the look of the 'Roadster', it's quite expensive but I'd be tempted ....

I note that they have badged the forks as 'Roadholder'.

Hi Mark, my 50th anniversary Commando Sport has the black roadholder forks complete with "roadholder" brass plate which incidentally were purchased by Norton from a very good friend of mine with Mr Garner's private credit card. I asked about the roadholder name on a previous visit I made to the factory and was told at the time that ownership of the copyright had lapsed over the years, and that Stuart had acquired it and "Featherbed" for a song.

Regarding the previous post about the back light etc, I asked one of the young lads who was answering questions about the new bikes and he told me that the rear light, number plate, rear indicators and rear reflector were fitted to a detachable bracket which attached to the bike under the rear mudguard "beak". he was quite open about the fact that they had declined to fit them at the bikes release as they "looked better" without it. Presumably if you were going to "off road" the bike you simply detached the bracket to make the bike a bit lighter, more agile and to save the light etc from getting smashed.

Cheers Big Al, Shenstone Branch Sec.

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Just out of interest has any one placed a deposit on one yet ?. When I bought my Sport the 961's had been in production for a few years and I could take one out for a test ride before placing any order so I didn't think twice about paying a deposit , but with the 650 it seems to me they want your money before they will start building the bike, and that makes me a little apprehensive about buying one because even if it is a refundable deposit , no one I know would place a deposit without a test drive on a bike or car for that matter . It just seems an arse about face of doing things and certainly doesn't inspire confidence in the way Norton have gone about this.............what does any one else think?

Pete

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A friend of mine has put a deposit on a 650 Superlight, has been told delivery will be next summer.

He hasn't test ridden one , but that don't bother him.

sam

I was in the queue on the first Saturday of Motorcycle Live at the NEC after spending the previous two days trying to talk my self out of putting down a deposit on an Atlas Nomad. the doors opened, I went straight to the Norton stand and took one look at the Nomad and I was sold. "who do I give my money to?"

whilst I understand peoples reluctance to hand-over a deposit on something they have not tested it is becoming a lot more prevalent on "Limited" production runs on all manner of goods, not just bikes and cars.

Looking at bikes, Royal Enfield has been accepting deposits for their 650 twins for over a year and until recently when a group of  Journalists went to the launch in Califonia very few people had been able to test ride them. CCM accepted initial deposits a year before delivery of the original Spitfire and again upto the start of these deliveries very few people, mostly Journalists got to test them. Some Moto Guzzi dealers are taking deposits on the new V85TT again with no one being able to test ride one. So Norton is not alone. Hopefuly, delivery timescales will not slip and I will be enjoying my new Atlas Nomad next summer.

 

Alan 

 


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