Brembo 2 x Ø320 mm semi-floating carbon stainless steel
discs, 4 piston "Gold Line" axial calipers
Rear Brakes
Brembo single Ø220 mm disc, 2 piston "Gold Line"caliper
Front Wheel
3.50 x 17", BST carbon fibre
Rear Wheel
5.00 x 17", BST carbon fibre
Front Tyre
120/70 -17
Rear Tyre
180/55-17
Wheelbase
1420 mm / 55.9 in
Dry Weight
188 kg / 414 lbs
Seat Height
813 mm / 32 in
Fuel Capacity
17 Litres / 4.5 US gal
.
While normally a job for deities, resurrection often requires
a bit of hubris when tackled by mere mortals. But, when given the opportunity to
return the Norton Motorcycles marque to its former prestigious glory, Stuart
Garner could not resist the challenge.
The new Norton Commando 961 SE, limited to a production of 200, features an
honest-to-goodness British-designed, air-cooled, long-stroke, parallel-twin
powerplant, with pushrods, a dry sump and, saints preserve us, a balancer shaft
(no Isolastic frame this time around).
"It was felt that to bring the Commando up to date and deliver a good value
product, a ground-up engineering exercise was necessary," according to Head of
Design Simon Skinner. "This work started in 2008 and has now progressed to
completion."
Weighing in at a claimed 414 pounds dry-thanks, in part, to such components as
BST carbon fiber wheels-and cranking out 67 ft/lbs of torque at a modest 5,200
rpm, acceleration should be brisk and easy. First-class bits abound, from a
Brembo braking system to full Öhlins suspension.
Built in a new manufacturing facility at legendary Donington Park in the British
Midlands, the new Commando is a retro-styled motorcycle with its fair share of
modern technology. "The biggest challenge for the UK design team was the full
integration of the fuel injection and engine management systems," Skinner says.
"This needed to be done without compromising styling and the classic look of the
Commando. The fuel injection system is necessary to pass modern worldwide
emissions legislation but also offers other benefits such as improved
drivability and reliability. The engine in the Norton Commando has been
engineered to bring the 961cc parallel-twin engine up-to-date with modern
expectations of refinement and durability as well as complying with the latest
emissions and noise legislation. All this needed to be achieved whilst
maintaining the classic lines and character of the Commando."
Norton Motorcycles will be distributed in the United States by South Bay Norton
in Lomita, Calif., a dealership with over 35 years' experience in motorcycling.
Review
So, first off, how British is the British Norton? Well,
quite. The oil-carrying frames are made in Coventry (near the former heart of
the British bike industry). Engine cases are cast by Grainger and Worrall in
Telford (the self-proclaimed “Birthplace of Industry”). Engine components,
exhaust and engine assembly are all made/carried out in England. The forthcoming
961 Café Racer and Sport models will have wheels made in the UK. Suspension is
Swedish, brakes are Italian and the plastic bodywork is rotationally molded in
Spain. The bike is assembled “by British hands” on the grounds of the Donington
Park race circuit, using British-made spanners. Can you tell that the company’s
owner, Stuart Garner, is taking this British thing seriously?
At the heart of the machine is an engine that does a good
job of looking like a relic from the era of free love and bellbottoms, but it is
produced by Menard Competition Technologies, a motorsport company in Britain’s
Formula One belt—the region, near Oxford, where dozens of firms are located to
service the F-1 car industry (exactly why Kenny Roberts based his now-defunct GP
team there some years ago). So, while it is classic in form and retains some
classic features, execution is quite modern. The 88.0 x 79.0mm parallel-Twin
displaces 961cc and uses pushrod valve actuation with hydraulic lifters. Fuel
injection and catalyst-equipped exhausts help it meet Euro 3 emissions
requirements. It’s also designed to pass even more stringent emissions
regulations on the way. Hey, it’s even got its gearshift lever on the left.
The 270-degree crankshaft gives the bike requisite
character, although it’s more Ducati than old-time 360-degree-crank Norton. A
Twin, however modern it is, isn’t supposed to be glass-smooth or buzzy, and the
Norton isn’t either of those. The counterbalancer quells the strongest of the
vibes and leaves the rest for you. Output is a claimed 79 hp at 6500 rpm, and it
feels like it on the road. Claimed torque is an equally welcome 66.4 ft.-lb. at
5200 rpm. Healthy enough figures for an air-cooled Twin.
At 70 mph, the motor is spinning at 4000 rpm in the top
cog of the five-speed gearbox. Roll on another 1000 rpm and you’re doing 90. The
testbike is also the firm’s development mule, so it was fitted with aftermarket
pipes made by a British company called Motad. They’re not as pretty as the
reverse-cone megas that come standard, but these 2-into-1-into-2 pipes sound
fantastic.
And while the engine is right on the money in comparison
with similar-displacement, modern, air-cooled Twins, the handling of the SE is
shocking. Not bad. Shocking, as in unexpected. The appearance of the new
Commando is a mixture of British history, rose-tinted familiarity and trusted
modern blue-chip brands. But grab it by the bars and wring its neck and any
nostalgia trip is over. The bike twitches and shimmies like a stripped-down
streetfighter. The bars kick as the front end goes light on the throttle.
Perhaps it’s the superlight South African-made BST carbon-fiber wheels (non-SE
models will be equipped with alloy-rimmed wire-spoke wheels) that help it feel
so frisky. The new Commando doesn’t go AWOL but gives the impression it’s up for
a fight or fun, whichever comes its way.
The clues are in the spec sheet: 24.5 degrees of rake, 3.9
inches of trail and a 55.9-inch wheelbase. That’s shorter than a Ducati 1098,
with the same rake and just a whisker more trail. This thing is set up like a
sportbike. It isn’t a dumbed-down heritage bike for balding fellas who remember
when “men were men and bikes were bikes.” It’s a backroad scratcher. When the
road becomes bumpier, the fully adjustable Öhlins inverted fork and twin-shock
rear suspension show themselves to be on the firm side. The brakes are fiercely
powerful, thanks to radial Brembos biting large, 320mm discs. Get the Norton on
a flowing road where you can surf the 961’s torque curve and it’s a rapid bike
without being hairball. It’s exciting, involving.
Of course, plenty of Com-mandos will be parked next to a
Jaguar or Bentley, especially the 200 limited-edition SE models, and these are
likely to get used gently. Surprisingly, the bike is fine with that because
fueling is glitch-free. The 961 rolls through villages at little more than idle,
as well-behaved as the local vicar.
Negatives? The testbike was fitted with a prototype gear
linkage, and I struggled to find neutral a few times. The 961 would make a good
pillion hauler, but there’s no option for that, though Norton is tooling up
soon. The seat that is there isn’t likely to be your best friend at the end of a
300-mile day. The price? Not cheap at the $19,499 Norton quotes for the
carbon-wheeled SE, although the spec is high and the components are very good
quality. The lower-spec Sport and Café Racer models that will follow are planned
to be about 25 percent cheaper. The goal is to have bikes in the U.S. “this
year.” The Federal approval process is under way for a 49-state model, with
California-legal versions to come later.
Even if the Commando isn’t your kind of bike, there can be
few enthusiasts in the world who don’t want to see a new motorcycle company
making a go of it. And by the sound of it, Norton has a great deal of industry
support. None of that would mean a thing if the first model out of the factory
promised more than it delivered. Happily for everyone involved, the opposite is
true.