Norton 961 Commando - A Legend Reborn. The history of a modern classic British motorcycle
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- This video tells the story of how the Norton 961 Commando was brought back to life. We start with a very brief overview of the classic 750 Commando, walk through how the American motorcycle restorer Kenny Dreer designed and built prototypes, and then how the bike made it back to England and into production. Finally, we go through all the variants of the Castle Donington era 961s.
00:14 - The Kenny Dreer era (Oregon, USA)
00:59 - Back to the UK - Garner, and Castle Donington
01:38 - SE
02:04 - Cafe Racer
02:29 - Sport
02:56 - SF
03:25 - Mk II
04:01 - California
04:39 - Street
05:19 - Breitling
05:57 - End of the Garner/Castle Donington era
06:10 - UK sales statistics
06:25 - TVS Motors/Solihull era begins
References:
www.autoevolution.com/moto/no...
www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-r...
www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-r...
www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/... 
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I would still love to see the Commando have a 360 degree crank again. It's what gave the original engine its character. Of course there would be some engineering reliability issues to overcome but it would be a fantastic engine.
Hmmm......BMW F800GT has 360 degree crank (Rotax?) maybe give one a whirl.
@@garyives1218 Yeah, had a look at a review, sort of interesting but it looks dated these days and even when new wasn't really a handsome beast. I hear the engine noise an it's not obvious that it's a 360 crank, must be the better engineering 🙂. Thanks for the suggestion tho.
Edit: Had a look at the GS too, that was more my kind of thing.
Love my 2015 Cafe Racer - nice to see some actual production numbers...👍👍
Thank you for your comment, nice to hear from someone who’s enjoying their modern Norton. I have a 2015 Sport, I love riding that bike too.
Would sure love to see one in person here in the States. Closest thing I've seen in Northern New York is a Royal Enfield Continental ridden by a bloke at the local home and building center.
A mate of mine did a tour around the States a few years ago on a 961 Commando, had it shipped there from the UK. And I do know of a few 961’s here and there, there’s a Dominator in Michigan for example. Hopefully the new owners TVS will start exporting again soon.
Great video as a 961 MK2 owner it’s made the model history clearer 👍
Hi Mike glad you enjoyed it. Hope you’re enjoying your MkII as well. I’d love to get one of those one day at some point, to go with the Dommie. Ride safe 👍🏻
Super cool. I hope the internals are all balanced out ok .I owned a 1974 850 Commando. I,m an old school guy so would like to see a touring model if possible but at the same time good on you folk for keeping the dream alive.
Thank you 🙏 Glad you liked the video. I do know guys who have toured on a new Norton, it is possible
Superb clip
Regards
Dave from Scotland
Thank you so much Dave, really appreciate it
I love my 961
Me too!
the Norton was every young man's dream these days
Thanks for your comment. It's still my dream, and I'm not a young man any more!
Another great video mate
Thank you
Fond memories as a young child on my mums knee in a sidecar looking up at my dad battle it out on this .
Hah yes me too!
Subscribed on the strength of this video. More British bikes please, even those made in India!
Thank you, glad you liked it. More videos coming soon!
Love the video
Thank you 🙏
Tell us more about how TVS has managed Norton so far?
This is a great idea, thank you. I will do some research, look out for a video on this topic in the coming weeks. Cheers
Great video and history. You do the voice over beautifully. Great viewing fugues, too, eh!
Ride safe. LJ
Thanks! Yes I’ve found a format that works for me. No more struggling to get clear audio in my lid 😂
@@NortonUnofficial brilliant! I have a habit of not bothering with audio. 🤣
Yours sounds great. 👌
Watch that is !
Liked the casual, low key approach to the narration. Informative yet not making a song and dance out of it.
Thank you for your feedback. Glad you liked it 👍🏻
Whadda beauty😻
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I do agree, I think they are beautiful machines
Love the Commando. Hopefully the gearbox lockup is an isolated issue
Thanks Nick, I’d love to get a Commando one day. The gearbox locked up due to a chipped gear tooth, I’ll try to find out if any other owners have had similar issues.
Maybe we'll get to see the Hesketh make a comeback...
You never know! BSA making a comeback too...
#BikerForce..The Great Ever The Greatest Of Nortons ,..WOW w w w ))))
Thanks for your comment! Glad you like it!
They were/are beautiful bikes.
Some technical data would be good .
Hi, thanks for the suggestion, that’s a great idea. I do have some Norton technical data sheets / promo material so I’ll post some info based on those shortly. Cheers!
beautiful but very pricey in Australia
Pricey in the UK too! Do have Norton started selling new ones in Australia yet? They are setting up a dealer network here at the moment, or we can buy direct from the factory.
Anyone else think the gold fork destroys the look? That's all I see when I look at it, that damn massive chunk of gold.
🤔 Now you mention it. Cannot un-see 🙈
An Oscar next to a bowling trophy
yep I agree, dont like gold forks on any bike, its just too much unnecessary bling
I am not sure what manufacturers are looking at as far as what the potential buyers are looking to buy but I feel they are missing them boat in England and the North American market . Maybe we are not a viable market as far as initial potential sales.
I like the gold forks matches the gold Olin on the back and gives the bike an modern touch
Commando will be my dream bike for longtime. Even the first one was born at 68th, like me 🤘😎👌
Thank you for your comments. Ride safe
It's a romantics bike for people who miss the Commando 850. Not a sports bike, not a tourer, not an adv so what is its purpose?
Yes but you could say the same about any modern classic to be fair. Triumph Bonneville, BSA Gold Star, Royal Enfield Interceptor… A lot of demand for these older style bikes, brought up to date.
My heart bleeds every time I hear the Norton name in relation to post-original construction.
Every few years MCN would carry an article about a return from the ashes for Norton.
And with the same monotonous regularity there'd be a later article about the next Norton fraud, bankruptcy or change of ownership.
I'd rather see the name die than see such ignominy.
Totally agree. I really hope TVS stick with Norton, with the likes of BSA and Royal Enfield making a comeback here in the UK, it does seem to be the right time to bring Norton back. I’d like to see them bring out more models too.
I'm an old fart I figure but if the right Norton comes into production I will trade in my softball.Don't despair, they may get it right for us old school boys.
The majority of those Garner / Skinner produced 961 were and are not fit for purpose. I had a 14 Cafe and those sand cast cases were crap, leaked oil and had to go back to the factory for long periods, I rode it to Donnington for its first service and then onto to the TT, it went back in the race van as it peed oil once again and as I had ridden it in the rain the heads had already started to corrode. Shame because it was meant to be a bike to keep indefinitely. Not sure where TVS are going it’s hard to see the relevance in the range in the current market and what they have changed seems minimal and riding reviews still poor. I have a V4S Brietling no.30 Norton in its box if anyone’s in the market!
Thanks for your comments. That’s the real problem here isn’t it, the poor reputation those Donington bikes had/have. I just hope TVS can iron out all the bugs and that they stick it out for the long haul. For sure they need new bikes, currently lots of announcements but not a great deal of substance. I love the V4SS and V4CR, sadly way out of my price range and I doubt many of those bikes will be seen out on the road. Cheers
Strange - I have a 2015 Cafe Racer and haven't had any issues.
I've been told that most of the improvements of the Mk2 were actually built into the last of the Mk1's so wonder if that's it...
@@originalforgery that’s excellent news really pleased for you👍 I had hoped the same, planned to keep it for an age. But several oil leaks, due to casting issues, erratic running and early corrosion and poor customer service left me wanting (it was with them for over 4 months once over a whole summer whilst they were sorting one leak out and when I called to politely ask for an update they said ‘we do have other customer you know’ )
The only decent 961 was the Dominator in my opinion. All of the Commandos have very uncomfortable ergo's based on an unchanged design which originally just happen to fit its inventor Dreer who, having Latin roots, must have had short legs but a very long arms. Look at anyone else but Dreer riding a 961 and they look ridiculously cramped. The Dominator is also cramped but as a genuine race frame set up it works better as an bum up head down layout. It also has to be one of sexist bikes ever made despite its shortcomings. The 961 is ultimately a very flawed bike though, it has really bad gear ratios and needs a 6th gear. At only 80 mph it is already screaming at ludicrously high revs which hardly fits the Commando image.
Kind of cool, but none of these is a real Commando in the original style. The original was used by the police and my Dad took me to school on his. It was a daily use bike as well as a proper road blaster.
Yes my dad had Nortons and BSA’s back in the day. It was his main mode of transport, not being able to afford a car. These days a lot of people ride for leisure, not necessity. This bike is clearly aimed at the leisure market.
Over price and over rated they look good but don't go as good as it looks
Yes they are great looking bikes 👍🏻
Underpowered, overweight and overpriced. Apart from that it looks good.
Special Machine, only thing that matters,,,from england
Thanks for your comment. I agree, it is very special.