Tag Archives: V4RR

New Norton owner promises upcoming models

Norton Motorcycles will continue to be British made and the new owner, India’s TVS Motor Company, promises to go ahead and build the pledged Atlas (pictured above) and V4 RR models.

TVS bought the troubled British manufacturer in a $A31m cash deal at the weekend.

Click here to read more about the historic sale.

The Indian company plans to continue production at Donington Hall and then move to a new headquarters nearby in Leicestershire.

Norton Motorcycles Donington Hall factory crowdNorton’s Donington Hall factory

New owner

TVS Corporate Communication VP Varghese M Thomas tells us the new owner will continue to build the Commando, Dominator and V4 RR as well as the promised Atlas series.

That is despite the Atlas 650cc parallel twin engine being sold by former Norton CEO Stuart Garner to a Chinese company.

In further good news for Australian Norton fans, Varghese tells us they will continue with their current dealer network with importer james Mutton of Brisbane Motorcycles.

James says they have returned deposits to those who paid for bikes not yet delivered, but if they decided to go ahead wth their order, they would not lose their place in the queue. 

Norton Motorcycles V4 RR British atlasNorton V4 RR

The 1200cc V4RR was priced at £28,000 in the UK and $59,990 in Australia plus on-road costs, but we don’t believe any models have yet been delivered to customers.

Likewise, the Atlas models which have powered by a 650cc which is basically half the 1200cc V4’s engine, were expected to be released this year for £9995 (Nomad) and £11,995 (Ranger), but have not yet been produced. They should cost around $A20,000 here.

Varghese says he cannot answer our questions about warranty and spare parts “at this point in time”.

There is also no word yet on whether any motorcycles or at least components will be built by TVS in India.

However, it should be noted that Norton signed a deal in 2017 with Indian company Kinetic Group to jointly produce and sell Norton motorcycles in India.  That deal is not expected to go ahead.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Long wait for new Norton Atlas models

Customers who have put in orders for the two new hand-built Norton Atlas 650cc models are set for a long wait for delivery.

The Atlas Nomad cafe racer and Ranger scrambler will not hit the assembly line until early Northern Hemisphere summer 2019.

And even then they will only be built for the UK market, says Norton International Dealer Manager Lee Frankish.

“During late 2019 we will start to plan for international markets with the plan to start building early 2020.”

Meanwhile, Australian distributor, Brisbane Motorcycles, tells us they already have one pre-order and will announce pricing “in the next couple of months”. In the UK they cost £9995 for the Nomad and £11,995 for the Ranger.

Since the Norton Commando 961 starts at £15,995 in the UK and $A29,990 in Australia, we can expect the pricing to be just under $20,000 for the Nomad and just over for the Ranger.

All Nortons are handmade in the Donington Hall factory in the UK, so it will be some time before they are exported in significant volumes.

Norton Motorcycles Donington Hall factory
Donington Hall factory

The Aussie distributors are expecting the bikes at the end of next year. However, that would be difficult since Norton says they won’t be built until 2020 for international markets.

It will be an even longer wait for the Superlight racer version of the Atlas which was unveiled a couple of weeks after the Nomad and Ranger.

Norton Superlight wait
Norton Superlight

TT legend John McGuinness will race one in the Superlight class at the Isle of Man TT next year.

All Atlas models are powered by a 650cc twin engine which is basically half of their coming 1200cc V4.

Long wait as usual

Speaking of which, the Norton V4RR and V4SS were announced more than two years ago yet the first V4SS has only just rolled out of the factory.

All 200 of the limited edition bike were sold at £44,000 each (about $A74,000, $US55,000) when they were revealed two years ago.

None is coming to Australia.

Meanwhile the V4RR will cost £28,000 each in the UK (about $A47,000, $US35,000) and $59,990 in Australia plus on-road costs.

There is no word on when they will arrive, but as usual it should be a long wait.

Norton V4 RR British atlas
Norton V4 RR

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com