Reply With QuoteCovered here as well.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...20#post5311820
Steve
I’ve read bad news before but this seems like it’s gone the extra step this time?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-...R9_OpCOGqy3uG8
Covered here as well.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...20#post5311820
Steve
Terrible news. My uncle has a Commando and it was the first bike I ever went on as a kid 35yrs ago.
An older friend has been on the waiting list for a V4 RR for over three years now. Put £25k down (originally a £5k deposit until eBay went mad) and has basically been fobbed off by sales staff at every expo and HQ he’s been to for the last couple of years. He ‘bought’ it after the all clear from cancer. However, the bike has now become more of a burden. Not sure what will happen now.
Didn't they go into administration in the mid 70's when they were part of NVT - just after the released those 2 stroke prototypes?
Rotary, no?
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I recall watching an item on ITV London news one evening with Bill Grundy talking to some chap from NVT standing in front of two awful looking 2 stroke twins. One was a 500 and I think the other a 350.
The rotary was released and a chap in Twickenham where I worked at the time had a red one. I think that the police tested them but concluded that they weren't reliable enough or too thirsty to be used as patrol bikes.
They did well to another year but still a shame. Always liked the commando but now so glad I didn’t buy one.
RIAC
Depends doesn’t it, it makes them even more exclusive now. Look at the values of some of their earlier bikes they have gone through the roof so sitting on a nice commando now would be a good place to be. There are plenty of specialist who know their way around this simple bike plus people making improved replacement parts, even for the later commandos.Originally Posted by 100thmonkey
I fee sorry for the guys who have large deposits on them. The factory won’t put you in a build line without full payment, so there will be guys and gals out there who are £20k plus down and freaking out about getting that back
Last edited by tz-uk73; 30th January 2020 at 20:41.
The Police used lots of them but they had a nasty habit of fouling spark plugs if used in slow traffic at low revs for any length of time, not much use if you suddenly have to chase anyone while running on one cylinder/chamber!
I had the chance to ride the Commander & the F1, they were great fun and the F1 was mega fast for it's time but they were flawed.
I dropped the F1 off to the factory for some repairs & had a look around, lets just say the production line didn't quite resemble that of Honda!
all grant money and no cash, someone in China must be looking,
My uncle has one of these rotary police bikes. Really long wheel base which he had to shorten and shed loads of electrics. Great engineering but the mpg must have been a killer especially carrying a lot of weight (radios, sirens etc...)
My uncle had a Rotary Commander which I used to ride when I visited... it was basically Yamaha XJ running gear. Wheels, brakes, forks clocks etc were all Yamaha.
The engine was good in a different way, but it was thirsty, and liked a drop of oil too..
Isn't this down to the R&D credits that are due in from HMRC but HMRC (the other side) want some money now ergo similar to actor's flu or whatever it's called where HMRC drive them to bankrupcy.
It's either a very sily cock up or someone is playing games behind closed doors.
I always loved the sound of my pal's 650 SS and later his Commando 750........................Sigh.
B
No, this is down to the company living hand to mouth, even to the point of asking customers for payment before the bikes are even built, then there is the factory/Donnington Hall and hotel, I think it will emerge that the whole thing is a muddle.
With my youngest on my Mark 2a Commando back in 92’
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They were nice looking bikes but overpriced in my opinion. If they had made them a bit more accessible to more people it might have helped. (the latest models that is)
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I truly hope and optimistically believe they will get revived like Triumph did. Let Brexit calm down and if UK thrives Norton will return
Right off to sales corner with my discontinued Collectable special edition NortonT Shirt
RIAC
I truly hope and optimistically believe they will get revived like Triumph did. Let Brexit calm down and if UK thrives Norton will return
Right off to sales corner with my discontinued Collectable special edition NortonT Shirt
I’ll buy it! It’ll go well with my norton hoody and hat I got for crimbo.
Yes Ok but that happens with furniture companies and stuff like DHL and carpet companies that ask you to pay up front.
What do you know ?is it chinese accounting or what ?
I personally agree with some here that the bikes were overpiced.
B
Norton bikes are expensive but i disagree they are (were) overpriced. Having done the factory tour and met the guys who assemble these things and make the parts, I can see why they cost. There was not a robot on site, just two guys building each bike in a bay. The components are very high quality, and if you’re assembling with humans rather than robots, and you also don’t have the scale of the big firms, it costs what it costs. I don’t thing that makes them overpriced, I actually think some of them were underpriced. Expensive yes, but try and build one for less without scale and robots.
Pension funds, government loans and hopefully some of the deposits were paid by credit card. Like many large companies that go into administration a complex mess as you say.
https://www.theguardian.com/business...ny-and-scandal
I think this is a classic case of running before walking.
They relaunched (again) with a really whizzy tech-heavy bike, and they didn't work. I spoke to a recent Norton owner at a mate's funeral last week, he said ot was the most expensive peice of art he'd ever bought, "art" because it was only ever good for looking at. He dished it back for being useless.
Compare their offer to Triumph, who, when re-founded by Bloor used the name to peddle some low risk modular ranges for a while before branching out into more intereating and varied bikes.
Triumph have got bigger and bigger.
Since Triumph re-started at Hinckley, I think Norton has re-launched 3 times, and as of today, failed 3 times.
Sure, I know Bloor's pockets were/are much deeper than the Norton founders (all sets), but the strategy works.
Do you start a watch company by offering minute repeater tourbillons?
D
Not really, this is a classic case of a business being run by a crook, the majority of supply chain issues were because he didn't pay his bills and the suppliers got fed up with being lied to and pulled terms, he was using customers money to buy the bits to make bikes that he had promised to other people. it will turnout to be a classic case of a company director misbehaving.
Always had the impression he was all show and no substance.
Personally love the Dominator SS, just couldn’t justify the price tag or reliability issues.
Maybe that too, but it doesn't change the fact that the bikes were also criminally unreliable.
Correct, I have it on good insider authority that he was no gentleman & no businessman.
I have lusted over the Commando (modern) many times, but was not aware of reliability issues (to be fair, the budget wasn't there anyway so didn't look too far and just enjoyed the pictures)
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Some rumours now that SG has been arrested for flogging artwork from his hotel, the Priest House or some such, that has also gone into administration.
I expect it’s because of Brexit.
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I work with someone that came very close to becoming their HR manager about year ago. Stuart’s reputation in the local area was one of the reasons why she didn’t.
He’s also recently completed a second warehouse to house his ever growing car collection.
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Some nice jackets on there, good heads up.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
At least as the clothing is run by Pepe, under part LVMH ownership, the deliveries should be fairly safe.
It's just a matter of time...
A lot more reasonable than Matchless and Belstaff.
Just came here to post the same video! Interesting that some people are talking about Enfield India taking on the Norton brand. They would have the cash to do it.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
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