That's a beautiful bike

 

Dreer still owns the rights to the Norton name.

 

That's a beautiful bike

+11ty!

Always loved Nortons, would love an 850 Commando.

 

Yeah, I wish they would bring back the Nortons.
While they are at it, they should bring back the Triumph Speed Twin too! lol

 

While I love Norton and Vincent, in a way I think when they try and start up these companies under new management and especially in a diff't country it cheapens the heritage of the bikes. If Norton does become resurrected I think it should be british and possibly use the turbine engine. British iron should stay British ;D.

 

Dreer still owns the rights to the Norton name.

Is that a question? I'm pretty sure Dreer is no longer associated with the project. He posts over on Cycle World's website sometimes. He posts under the name "VR880" which is a reference to the VR880 motorcycles his company made before starting to revive the Norton company.

You can find his explanation of what happened starting on this page. It is the last post:
http://forums.cycleworld.com/cyclew...ard/message?board.id=bikes_classic&thread.id=4427&view=by_date_ascending&page=3

He has some more comments on page 5, last comment:
http://forums.cycleworld.com/cyclew...ard/message?board.id=bikes_classic&thread.id=4427&view=by_date_ascending&page=5

Kenny Dreers VR880 Norton:

 

Linky no worky.

No, it wasn't a question. The VR880 project came to a screeching halt when his source for investment capitol ran dry. But, he hasn't sold off his rights to the Norton name. Until he does that, or gets a boatload of money, nothing will come of the VR.

 

If the owners of Triumph bought up Norton they could finally produce off the rack Tritons. [laugh]

 

Wow

I really dig that look.

 

Linky no worky.

No, it wasn't a question. The VR880 project came to a screeching halt when his source for investment capitol ran dry. But, he hasn't sold off his rights to the Norton name. Until he does that, or gets a boatload of money, nothing will come of the VR.

Sorry, I was in too much of a hurry. This link will work. It was nice to hear what Kenny had to say about the Norton effort.

last comment: http://forums.cycleworld.com/cyclew...ard/message?board.id=bikes_classic&thread.id=4427&view=by_date_ascending&page=3

and

He has some more comments on page 5, last comment:
http://forums.cycleworld.com/cyclew...ard/message?board.id=bikes_classic&thread.id=4427&view=by_date_ascending&page=5

 

That's a badass bike and I would buy one in a heartbeat if they ever made it.

 

While I love Norton and Vincent, in a way I think when they try and start up these companies under new management and especially in a diff't country it cheapens the heritage of the bikes. If Norton does become resurrected I think it should be british and possibly use the turbine engine. British iron should stay British ;D.

Agreed except for the turbine idea. How many frealin times do great names have to be dragged through the mud? Let them die with some dignity already. Again!

 

Wow

I really dig that look.

Here are some more of that bike on this site:
http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/bike/961_gallery.asp?imageNum=14

and
http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=425

 

I say good riddens, I'm sick of the replica market. I love the old thumpers, but I laugh at the fools investing money to resurrect defunct Motorcycle companies like Norton and Indian. It costs millions in seed money to crank out bike #1. And what's the market? A niche of nostalgic midlife baby boomers? In a few years that market evaporates.

It's smart for companies like Ducati and Triumph to spin out a few models. No research cost, low end componets, cheap to turn out, big margins - make a little money off the infirm... After a few years when the market dries up just kill it off. But starting from scratch and hanging your hat on replicas? Good luck...

Of course there is the HD model where they've managed to turn a tidy profit selling nothing but replicas for 100 years [cheeky].

 

its not a thumper. its a thoroughly modern parallel twin.

good 'riddance' ... matter of opinion.

 

That first bike is freaking awesome.

 

God what a beautiful motorcycle! I was putting away money for one before the crash and burn of the project.

I got my first ride on a Norton in 1968 on a 750 Atlas and was hooked. Before that a 650 Bonnie was my dream, but the Atlas would leave one for dead and anything else on two or four wheels that lived in my town at the time.

I rode a 75 850 commando from 93 to 2003, putting about 80,000 miles on it and it literally never missed a beat and started on the first kick. Good for 120 mph with less than 60 HP, I would have loved to have owned an 80 HP modern Dreer model.

LA

 

Sorry, I was in too much of a hurry. This link will work. It was nice to hear what Kenny had to say about the Norton effort.

last comment: http://forums.cycleworld.com/cyclew...ard/message?board.id=bikes_classic&thread.id=4427&view=by_date_ascending&page=3

and

He has some more comments on page 5, last comment:
http://forums.cycleworld.com/cyclew...ard/message?board.id=bikes_classic&thread.id=4427&view=by_date_ascending&page=5

Well, he never mentioned selling the rights to the name off in those posts, so I assume he still owns them. His story is exactly as I said, investor money dried up and with no money to develop the 952, the project sank. :-\

Who knows waht the future holds? 8)

 

Maybe if they can get a shot of a 50 something poser riding one in a Viagara commercial they could generate some real demand [laugh]. Pool together the VC, we're making a come back!

 

RIP Norton. That would have been a great bike. Did anyone see the Triumph Thruxton sport concept at the last Milan show? Very similar to the Norton concept. It had Ohlins all around. looked really cool.

 

I say good riddens, I'm sick of the replica market. I love the old thumpers, but I laugh at the fools investing money to resurrect defunct Motorcycle companies like Norton and Indian. It costs millions in seed money to crank out bike #1. And what's the market? A niche of nostalgic midlife baby boomers? In a few years that market evaporates.

It's smart for companies like Ducati and Triumph to spin out a few models. No research cost, low end componets, cheap to turn out, big margins - make a little money off the infirm... After a few years when the market dries up just kill it off. But starting from scratch and hanging your hat on replicas? Good luck...

Of course there is the HD model where they've managed to turn a tidy profit selling nothing but replicas for 100 years [cheeky].

I agree it is not smart to invest money to resurrect defunct Motorcycle companies for the reasons you mentioned. However, it isn't fair to lump the new Norton & Indian companies together. The new Norton effort was lead by a man who had a lot of experience in upgrading the “weak knees” of the original design Nortons. Kenny Dreer wanted to go beyond what he had been doing which was essentially making hot-rodded old bikes with modern brakes & suspension which was the VR880 Sprint Specials. He developed a new engine that would look and feel like the old Norton twin, but with all new thought and design to cure the ills of a much outdated motor.

Indian was a mere kit bike with a previous generation Harley Evo motor. Harley had moved on to their Twin Cam motor. There was a lot more heart and soul in the new Norton than what was put into the latest Indian. The failures of Indian and Excelsior-Henderson definitely killed any chance that Norton will ever be funded.

VR880 Sprint Special. Notice the Brembo Gold-line brakes.

 

Ariel might be coming back as well.

 

Old news, but also italjet with its griffon.

 

BSA, too, has been resurrected & killed again in recent memory. as i remember, the bike looked OK. overpriced for a kit-bike that used a re-badged yamaha engine.

as for norton- you'd be hard pressed to find a reliable performing daily rider any better than Colorado Norton Works. sure they cost, but not on a level that excludes 95% of potential customers like the "rebirth Norton Co."

so the norton name ownership will remain in limbo for god knows how long with individuals believing that the equity in the name is increasing which is a lie. meanwhile, there are bikes available today that can be had for reasonable money. icing on the cake is an outfit like CNW who can make all the improvements to the engine, frame, suspension, electrics that may have plagued the original, and turn out some really elegant / relevant bikes.

trouble with the romance surrounding historical bikes- the people who already buy into the legacy are the people who already own some of the genuine article and won't pay the "loyalty tax" for a modern reproduction. they can't sell to or sustain the market they're trying to attract.

failed examples are:
norton, bsa, indian, excelsior

triumph crossed the bridge because John Bloor was the sole owner with a single minded vision that didn't rely heavily on eager investment capital. the re-birth also didn't start with legacy bikes. the bonnie's, thruxton's, speed triples, etc followed afterwards.

 

BSA, too, has been resurrected & killed again in recent memory. as i remember, the bike looked OK. overpriced for a kit-bike that used a re-badged yamaha engine.

as for norton- you'd be hard pressed to find a reliable performing daily rider any better than Colorado Norton Works. sure they cost, but not on a level that excludes 95% of potential customers like the "rebirth Norton Co."

so the norton name ownership will remain in limbo for god knows how long with individuals believing that the equity in the name is increasing which is a lie. meanwhile, there are bikes available today that can be had for reasonable money. icing on the cake is an outfit like CNW who can make all the improvements to the engine, frame, suspension, electrics that may have plagued the original, and turn out some really elegant / relevant bikes.

trouble with the romance surrounding historical bikes- the people who already buy into the legacy are the people who already own some of the genuine article and won't pay the "loyalty tax" for a modern reproduction. they can't sell to or sustain the market they're trying to attract.

failed examples are:
norton, bsa, indian, excelsior

triumph crossed the bridge because John Bloor was the sole owner with a single minded vision that didn't rely heavily on eager investment capital. the re-birth also didn't start with legacy bikes. the bonnie's, thruxton's, speed triples, etc followed afterwards.

Really? I didn't hear about BSA, do you have pictures of the newer revival version? I liked the M20 - M21.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0fGH0A1o-Y
(Not crazy about the outfit though.) [laugh]