Norton Motorcycles in trouble.

K9F

K9F

Well-known member
Late 2018 I was looking for a worthy stablemate for my other iconic American made motorcycle and I very, very nearly dropped my coin on a 961 Norton Commando. Glad I didn't as there was a very quick mention on the national news late last night that they have called in the administrators over a £300,000 tax bill. They have unsuccessfully tried to reinvent themselves a couple of times over the preceding few decades and I thought they were onto a good thing. Doubt it will be the last heard from them but a shame nevertheless.

www.bbc.co.uk

Norton Motorcycles goes into administration

The famous British motorbike brand was reportedly struggling to pay a £300,000 tax bill.
www.bbc.co.uk
 
N

nathanw

New member
Yeah, saw that. Looks like they're done...again. Too bad, that super bike and the middleweights they have displayed were really good looking. Not sure they ever sold any of them. I was interested in the Dominator, but there were no dealers in this part of the country, and I wasn't about to buy a British bike without having a dealer near by for warranty issues. You can still buy a brand new 2017 model in NY, and probably other places too. They should have followed the Triumph model, and built more reasonably priced modern bikes from the get go, and they may have had a better go at it. There's a limited customer base that's willing to pay 18-20K+ for a retro bike with limited performance and unknown ( British ) reliability.
 
edgelett

edgelett

Well-known member
hopefully the administrator can either sort the business out (which they sometimes do) or sell it to a good buyer.
I mean let's be honest, plenty of bike companies (including Harley and our beloved Indian) have gone under in the past and come back, in some cases badly and in recent cases a lot stronger.
 
SURLY

SURLY

Active member
K9F said:
Late 2018 I was looking for a worthy stablemate for my other iconic American made motorcycle and I very, very nearly dropped my coin on a 961 Norton Commando. Glad I didn't as there was a very quick mention on the national news late last night that they have called in the administrators over a £300,000 tax bill. They have unsuccessfully tried to reinvent themselves a couple of times over the preceding few decades and I thought they were onto a good thing. Doubt it will be the last heard from them but a shame nevertheless.

www.bbc.co.uk

Norton Motorcycles goes into administration

The famous British motorbike brand was reportedly struggling to pay a £300,000 tax bill.
www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
You got lucky my friend had one the engine sounded like a bag of nails the gear box was awful and the steering lock was a joke we live in london so it was rubbish in traffic where you need to make tight turns (bit of a super tanker?) smile you got lucky.:)
 
K9F

K9F

Well-known member
SURLY said:
……...the steering lock was a joke we live in london so it was rubbish in traffic where you need to make tight turns (bit of a super tanker?) smile you got lucky.:)
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Afternoon Surly, was it a 961 you had? Had to laugh the latter part of your post sounded exactly like the characteristics of my second steed below. Maybe I didn't get off so lightly after all eh? 😂
Every year I go to the Bike Shed Show at Tobacco Docks and to me it seems London is a nightmare whatever you may be riding or indeed driving? There are road signs painted on the roads I'd never seen before and the 20mph limits damn difficult to adhere to. Best part is riding over Tower Bridge at the crack of sparrows.

Supertanker!
harley.jpg
 
SURLY

SURLY

Active member
K9F said:
Afternoon Surly, was it a 961 you had? Had to laugh the latter part of your post sounded exactly like the characteristics of my second steed below. Maybe I didn't get off so lightly after all eh? 😂
Every year I go to the Bike Shed Show at Tobacco Docks and to me it seems London is a nightmare whatever you may be riding or indeed driving? There are road signs painted on the roads I'd never seen before and the 20mph limits damn difficult to adhere to. Best part is riding over Tower Bridge at the crack of sparrows.

Supertanker!
View attachment 443
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If this is your second steed why on earth were you looking at a poxy norton that is so pretty and not my 961 it was my friends and he did not keep it long now has Guzzi V7much nicer. :)
PS watch Tower bridge 20mph limit couple of my friends have been nailed for just under 30mph.
 
K9F

K9F

Well-known member
SURLY said:
If this is your second steed why on earth were you looking at a poxy norton that is so pretty and not my 961 it was my friends and he did not keep it long now has Guzzi V7much nicer. :)
PS watch Tower bridge 20mph limit couple of my friends have been nailed for just under 30mph.
Click to expand...

Nothing more than nostalgia. Thought the new ones on paper were quite good looking and they looked even better in the flesh. Wanted something at the opposite spectrum to the Breakout and it was the seating and figures that excluded it in the end. Also the dealership did not have much of a reputation with regards to after sales service.
 
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