Can Norton make its marque again?

Peter Stokes

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The site of the old Meriden factory is now a housing estate which includes a 'Bonneville Close' which is probably the only road to be named after a motorcycle. .[/quote]

There is Rue Norvins in Montmartre!!
 
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Len Matthews

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I recall wandering around dealer's showroom soon after the "new" Triumphs appeared when a comment was overheard; "Pity you haven't got any British bikes in stock". The salesman said "Yes we have, you've just walked past one." pointing to one of Mr. Bloor's creations.It was easy to see why the enquirer didn't notice it because it was a dead ringer of most Japanese sports machines and appeared to be assembled from imported components. ND instruments,Mikuni carbs, etc, etc, Nothing wrong with that, it was (and is) the kind of product that sells. Mr. Bloor would have made a big mistake to put the old style Meriden twins and triples back on the market. Reviving famous marques from the past seldom succeeds but maybe a "new" Norton will be popular.
 

mercurycrest

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Here's the website for the new Nortons: nortonmotorcycles.com/company . I think if Dreer's old company could have got proper funding, they'd have sold plenty of them. They remind me a lot off the RTV Egli that showed so much promise.
Cheers, John
 

Tom Gaynor

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Bonnevilles

Given that the Harley v-Rod is actually designed by Porche, and that the Harley ohc vee-four, yes, ohc vee-four, of 1980, was also designed by Porche, why wouldn't Bloor go outside Britain to have a bike designed? It's accessories industry died 30 years ago when the industry went belly-up.
New Bonnevilles are hugely popular, particularly with olders rider who want the performance of their youth without constant maintenance. A friend, who owns a Vin Twin and a Comet, AND a Triumph 3 cylinder megabike (the 2.1 or whatever behemoth) and an Indian Chief, and various Harleys, confesses, shamefacedly, that of all his bikes, he enjoys the Bonneville most. If a modern Bonnie no longer does 120 mph, no problem. He's no longer interested in doing 120 mph. It's adequate, and still has the looks that Turner gave it in the first place. A little overweight now, perhaps - but aren't we all?
 
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Tnecniv Edipar

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Personally I find the retro versions of thoroughbred classics offensive to the eye. The "new" Bonnie , Ducati S , SS & GT's , etc , etc are an abhorrent mess of aesthetic corruption. Having owned a '69 Bonnie and still own a 1975 Ducati Sport I simply could never find their pastiche retro repro's of any any appeal whatsoever.
Forcing the engine appearance of a modern replica to appear superficially similar to the original for the sake of marketing but for no mechanical reason is an appalling travesty. The same applies to any of the attempts of a "new" Vincent , although thankfully the engine has never been retro'ed. Imagine though if some manufacturer produced a retro Vincent with a new engine totally modern inside but made to look similar to the original !! The thought makes me nauseous !!! Now if some company produced a totally modern machine , with the Vincent name inspired by the Vincent philosophy of rule breaking design and quality of manufacture, say something like the Britten V1000 , now that would be a tribute !!
 

bmetcalf

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I agree on the Duc. When I finally bought my 1st new bike in 30 years, I wanted the Sport replica, but didn't like it and got a Buell instead. It doesn't copy anything.
 

Tom Gaynor

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Replicas

I don't want a Bonneville myself (although I could almost be tempted by a 1967 model in production racing trim...), but if you wanted a bike like the bikes of your youth, sit-up-and-beg, light, moderate performance, but without the hassle of maintenance or a rebuild, perhaps because you lacked the patience and skill for either, what would you buy? And is the Royal Enfield a replica, or the real deal? The "new" Shadow was undoubtedly a replica, and no-one has pretended otherwise. Whatever, I observe that both Bonnie and RE seem to sell astonishingly well, albeit to people without our fine sense of aesthetics. Minis too, come to think of it.
I HAVE completely overhauled a 1970's Ducati (although I didn't actually fit the new big-end myself), and ridden it for thousands of miles thereafter. I know perfectly well however that very few owners could contemplate doing that, or even, perhaps, afford to have "a restorer" do it for them.
I'm not prepared to turn up my nose at people who lack my skills. It's a broad church, and their hearts are in the right place. The more people on bikes that look like a means of transport for ordinary mortals, rather than a tool for Valentino Rossi, the better. It's something I'm very conscious of. I think a motorcycle is transport: the media regard it as a toy.
 

vapide

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I'm confused. Is that an all new engine, or yet another bitsa upgrade of the old one? If the former, why on earth would they settle for a 2 valve pushrod twin? Come to think of it, the head (what little you can see of it) has almost a BSA look to it.
 
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