Norton 961 Commando
CW RIDING IMPRESSION
Norton 961 Commando
Think of it as "comfort food" for your moto-soul
DAVID EDWARDS
ALL DUE RESPECT, NO OFFENSE INTENDED, AND I KNOW YOU PROFESS otherwise, but c'mon, you don't really want an old Norton, do you? Oh, sure, you love the idea of owning a Commando, of its classic good looks, of its rorty engine note, of that famous script logo on the gas tank. Who doesn't? But if you really really wanted a Norton, you'd have manned-up by now and got yourself one.
Hey, I understand. Before prices shot to Loony Land, I panted heav ily for a 1969 Boss 302 Mustang, to my bloodshot orbs the best-looking muscle car of all time. In reality, though, the Boss was a heavy, high-effort device with so-so handling and a ravenous appetite for 93-octane-besides, how many Bachman Turner Overdrive 8-track tapes are left in the world?
No, what I should have in my garage is one of Ford’s New Mustangs. Same basic silhouette, but modem brakes, suspension, tires, reliability, creature comforts, warranty, CD player, etc.
Same concept behind the 2006 Triumph Scrambler, Ducati’s SportClassics, almost every Harley in the lineup... and this, the reconstituted Norton 961 Commando.
You may know the story:
Kenny Dreer is perfectly happy running a backyard restoration business in rural Oregon. Got a 15-second commute from the back porch to his Vintage Rebuilds bam. Turns out some beautiful, hot-rodded Norton Commandos. Cycle World comes calling, puts an all-alloy VR880 on the cover of our September, 1999, issue, held up by the lovely Leeann Tweeden, God’s own gift to spandex and better known to many of you for her pioneering work in the Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie catalog.
Bouyed by an investor’s money, Vintage Rebuilds chums out some 50 bikes over the next few years, but discovers that’s about the saturation point for people who’ll willingly part with $20,000 in exchange for a 30-year-old Norton Commando, no matter how gussied it may be.
Dreer shifts gears. Spending several million of his angel’s dollars, he acquires trademark rights to the Norton name in most of the free world, then brashly announces that an allnew, clean-sheet Commando is in the works. Adios, Vintage Rebuilds. Hola to the new Norton Motorcycles. Rims on the first 100 “Signature Series” Commandos ($19,995) will be 17-inch BlackStone Tek carbon-fiber items from South Africa, about half the weight of conventional cast wheels and cool as all get-out. The rear is 5.5 inches across and will wear a 180mm Michelin Pilot. On the upcoming, lesser-spec 96IS ($13,200) and dual-seat Commando Roadster ($11,000), the BSTs will be optional.
Three years and a lifetime’s supply of aspirin later, here we are with a black-and-gold, “production-intent” 961 Commando. Pl-to use the internal lingo-means most of the bike’s build specifications have been set, though castings will be further cleaned up and dimensions tweaked. The motor will be an air-cooled, pushrod, single-cam, two-valveper-cylinder inclined Twin just like Nortons of old, but with a 270-degree crankshaft, gear-driven counterbalancer, selfadjusting hydraulic roller tappets and a unitized five-speed, cassette-style gearbox.
There’s more modernity in the peashooter exhaust system’s catalyzer pods. Right now, twin 39mm Keihins handle the fuel mixing, but EFI is in the engine’s near future.
The chassis is also locked-in for production. Meaty Ohlins suspension at both ends. From Italy will come Acerbis moldednylon bodywork; Brembo four-piston brakes; and the Accossato-built chromoly frames. The box-steel swingarm on the PI bike will be changed out for a formed-alloy arm with welded-on axle lugs; it will also carry a small, tire-hugging inner fender/chainguard.
Dreer was confident enough with the bike that he dropped it off at Cycle World for a couple of days, tossed us the keys and said, “Have fun!”
Which, of course, we did. Due to the bike’s borderline legality (“Uh, paperwork?”), Road Test Editor Don Canet trucked the bike out to the twisties for photography.
“Very nice chassis feel,” he reported. “Suspension is firm, yet active; steering is light and neutral and there’s an overall sense of excellent stability. The front tire feels well-planted, seems to carry a lot of weight-tire grip wasn’t an issue.
“I took care not to drag anything when cornering, but still flirted with some pretty decent lean angles. The narrow feel of the tank in the knee area made me feel like ‘Mike the Bike’ when cornering. Fun!
"I like the choice of bars, grips, bar-end weights and hand controls-lends a sense of refinement."
All was not perfect, however: “The leaky petcock stunk up the interior of our van. Photo man Blades may have suffered some brain damage!”
Executive Editor Mark Hoyer had previously ridden a 961 Commando test mule.
He came away from this bike impressed with the development that’s been made.
“This thing is so Kenny Dreer it is ridiculous! The exhaust-note growl on over-run really speaks to the hot-rod ethic that infiltrates everything he does,” Hoyer said. “They have made a lot of progress with this engine from the last time I rode it a year and a half ago. It is much more free-revving and lively, and although the 270-degree crank doesn’t let it sound quite like my old 360-degree Commando, this is a great-sounding engine nonetheless. Midrange power is good, and while it isn’t ‘soft’ in the lower revs, it doesn’t quite have the lowend response that the Ducati DS1000 engine has. This isn’t a detriment to rideability, just a minor comment on the power character. The clutch is not quite there in terms of smoothness and predictability, but lever-pull is light and it hooks up when you want to go. Shift quality is much-improved; on the road from gear to gear, it is a really nice gearbox. Clicking into first at stops is clunk-free, though finding neutral can be tricky.
“Most importantly, this motorcycle feels like a package, a system. A few minor refinements and a bit of polishing and the Norton 961 will be a genuine alternative to an air-cooled Ducati Monster.”
Those refinements are ongoing. An anti-backlash gear to reduce clutch shudder is being evaluated. An air-injection system will further reduce emissions. The now-external oil filter will be internal, living behind a cover in the right-side timing chest. Dreer hopes to bump rear-wheel horsepower to 80 from the current 75, putting the bike on par with Duc bOOs;
Of course, that’s all nuts-and-bolts. Where Norton needs help is with dollarsand-cents. To make the scheduled firstquarter 2007 production goal, the company needs to raise $ 10 million. Which is where new CEO Bruce Murdock, successor to Dreer’s original money man, enters the picture. With 20 years’ experience in commercializing new products and a proven track record in funding startup ventures, he is, says Dreer, “Pretty good at shaking the money tree.”
Here’s wishing him well. The world can always use another black-and-gold inline-Twin that looks good and growls on the over-run. □
