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Norton and Royal Enfield aim at separate niches
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Look familiar? The Royal Enfield, due to be sold in Canada by mid-2010, has been upgraded significantly.
A long time ago in a land far away, the British made motorcycles. Then in the late 1970s, they didn't. Triumph was the first of the British marques to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes; now Norton and Royal Enfield are following suit – albeit on two separate paths.
In the late '60s-early '70s, the Norton Commando was Britain's only true superbike. With 750 cc of raw power and stunning good looks, the Commando represented the last gasp of a British motorcycle industry that was on life support until in 1977 the last Norton rolled off the assembly line as an 850 (actually 828 cc) Commando Mk III.
I owned a 1975 Mk III for a few years and I'll only say this: the happiest day of your life is when you buy a classic British motorcycle and the second happiest is when you sell it. Honestly, I couldn't trust the thing on an afternoon's ride and it left me stranded too many times to count.
But that was then and this is now.
Enter British businessman Stuart Garner, who bought the Norton name as well as the tooling and prototypes from a failed U.S. resurrection attempt in the 1990s. Instead of duplicating these motorcycles (other than the neo-classic styling), the makers have re-engineered approximately 95 per cent of this Norton.
According to Peter Howes, president of Norton Canada, the Norton 961SE that is currently on display at the Toronto Motorcycle Show is identical to the model we will receive in Canada next year.
It's still an air-cooled, two-valve, vertical twin with pushrod valve actuation but made with modern materials and something the Brits couldn't quite comprehend in the Dark Ages – gaskets and o-rings to prevent oil and fuel leakage.
The other major difference is that the new Norton has a 270-degree crankshaft with a centre main bearing and counterbalancer to quell unwanted vibrations.
Garner turned to MCT of Menard Formula One fame to re-engineer, develop and build production engines and the five-speed transmissions for Norton. MCT's services also include the engine control systems and emission compliance.
Lucas electrics were another very weak point with the original Nortons. Sparks were haphazard and the system would power the lights to the level of a terminally ill firefly – if the filaments weren't already destroyed from vibration. No more hurrying home before dark as the new bike has state-of-the-art electrics with a 300-watt high-output charging system.
So far, there are three models shown on the nortonmotorcycles.com website; the high zoot SE, the Café and the Sport. All come with adjustable Ohlins forks, Ohlins remote-reservoir shocks and Brembo brakes – all top-notch components for sure.
Howes says the bikes are going through Transport Canada certification right now and expects the first production models to be available for sale in July 2010.
The factory has committed to a minimum of 100 Sport and Café Racer models for Canada next year. Pricing hasn't been set but don't take the prices on the website literally – it's a retail price in Pounds Sterling and the British VAT (their GST) is included.
The new Norton 916 is definitely a head-turning roadster with top-drawer components that will appeal to an enthusiast with a fair bit of disposable income – it's a low-volume, premium product and will command a premium price.
Royal Enfield, on the other hand, seems to be targeting the low-cost, commuter area of the market. With every model listing for less than $10,000, the motorcycles will appeal on price alone.
Rob McMullen, president of Origin Motorcycles, the Canadian importer, says the Royal Enfields sold in the U.S. until 2008 were essentially 1955 models with separate engine and gearbox, but with updated carburetion and electrics.
Still, the tooling and manufacturing methods were quite old, leading to excessive tolerances, reliability issues and the very real possibility of not meeting future emissions standards.
The new models have the gearbox and engine in one unit, Keihin electronic fuel injection, a Brembo front disc brake and a totally modern design and manufacturing processes.
This makes for a much more reliable engine with (the always welcome) more power and torque.
These are fairly basic motorcycles that look almost exactly like the Royal Enfields from the 1950s – check 'em out at royalenfield.com.
All models are powered by a 499 cc, four-stroke single putting out 30 lb.-ft. of torque.
Styling varies from the utilitarian Bullet Classic listing for $7,395 to the sporty Bullet Electra at $6,895 and the classic-looking Electra Deluxe at $6,995.
Royal Enfield has such confidence in the new models, the warranty has been doubled to two years or 10,000 kilometres.
McMullen is using the motorcycle show circuit this winter to sign up dealers across Canada with the goal of having 20 in place by the summer.
Freelance writer Steve Bond reviews motorcycles for Wheels. stevebond8@yahoo.ca
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