Norton Commando 961. Pure art! Modern Classic/Retro Cafe Racer motorcycle! & Norton V4SV Power/Style

We look at the new Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer Motorbike at the Motorcycle Live Show at the NEC 2022.
This is top quality! Beautiful, classic, stylish, amazing! The 961cc air/oil cooled engine is a pushrod parallel twin with dry sump lubrication, that gives you 76.8bhp at 7,250rpm and 81Nm at 6,300rpm, BUT... it's a work of art too! We can't wait to ride this bike. Also, we really hope they do an upright roadster version of it too; like the Royal Enfield Interceptor compared to the Continental GT. That could tempt The Ol' Man!
We also have a look at the stunning Norton V4SV Superbike. Not our kind of ride to be honest, but we can certainly see the appeal.
Let us know if you want to see us review the new Norton Commando 961!

Join this channel to get access to perks:

[rotaxnut]

As an ex owner/rider of 2 x 750 Commando's back in the day with at least 50K miles put behind me on them and personally loving the marque and the old bikes, I will say that this new Commando really is what I'm talking about! to say that I love it to death is a huge understatement and I hope and pray that this time the bikes will be delivered to the Norton enthusiasts who put deposits down on them. I'm very glad to see you up and moving around Old Man and I wish you a full and fast recovery back to your usual excellent form. I will just make this point about the old Commando's, I've heard a lot of criticism over the years of unreliability, poor handling etc of these older 750 and 850 bikes but in all the miles I put behind mine I only ever suffered 2 breakdowns, one was a puncture which I fixed by the side of the road as at the time before mobile phones I always carried the means to do that and the other was a bearing in the gearbox failed just a couple of miles from home and the bike had to be recovered. No damage was done to the gearbox and a new bearing which was a very easy job to replace fixed the box for many thousands of miles more enjoyable riding. That bike handles like it was on rails with the 2 gallon tank and weekly adjustments to the 'Isolastic' shims and shod with Dunlop TT100's it could be leaned over in the wet until the footrest rubbers touched the ground and with the bike sliding from both front and rear but still under complete control, I had friends call me a 'total nutter' because of the way I cornered that Commando in the wet but I never once dropped it either in the wet or the dry and I used to ride the fucking wheels off it!

[shauntaylor]

Loving the fact that the 961 is an old school air cooled engine, none of that modern water cooled stuff !
And yes I know Scott made water cooled bikes in the 1920's

[daveshepard]

Fantastic new bike. I've had two 70's era Triumphs, a 90's Triumph, and a 74 Commando. The Norton was just epic...need just one more.

[sankethrai]

🇬🇧 British name 🇮🇳 Indian owner... Hope it has a great turnaround as RE..

[simongilbert]

once again, thank you for taking the time to show us these bikes, whether we like them or not, ,, as some of us cannot make it to these shows ;;;

[mattbeth]

Love your enthusiasm and knowledge. You are one of the best presenters of our time.

[originalforgery]

Bought one in 2015 and still stare at those gorgeous lines to this

[ktpuss]

Yes, it looks stunning but I’ve always liked the Thruxton (the look of it anyway) ….the orangey forks though, hmm. I wish we’d bumped into you guys to say a quick hello at the show.

[vandamtrkg]

Glad to see that Kenny Dreer's design was kept intact!

[brianperry]

This 961 is defiantly a ''lf there's one fing that l liok its a burn up on me bike''..(Mike Sarn 1963)...If l had the money l'd buy one, however, l believe my days of Cafe Racers are over... the mind is willing, as for the body !!! Stunning looking Bike though..

[stuartvorster]

Damn, those are Beautiful - Black Please Father Christmas! I really hope Norton owners get their act together, these bikes deserve to be on the road & track again, in numbers. Hopefully in South Africa as day!😎

[ftbymikeD]

With the exception of the anodized forks, it's true to the classic formula. Should sell very well, once positive reviews start coming in.👍

[johnmcglinn]

Having ridden a black 1974 Commando 2-up 6, 500 miles around Europe in 1974, I wonder if this iteration has the most effective Isolastic damping system for the engine or if it needs it today? Great review: there is no substitute for passion in human communication. Thanks.

[abdaalahmad]

Imma still put the thruxton rs over this, but probs to norton for making a beautiful comeback.

[MrAndrew]

Terrific bike - good luck getting your hands on one of those. You did very well to get on the stand.

[ErgonBill]

Norton have almost always produced pretty bikes with a hefty price tag. Talk to an owner and you'll find you need deep pockets and short arms to own and maintain one.

[kellyco]

I look forward to seeing one in the flesh . Thanks for your usual great review 😎

[motorbikerscosmeticcompany]

Looks a lot more neat and tidy than previous version. I still think having the lump running on rods is a mistake. They might change this eventually, big job changing all the tooling etc in the factory I suppose.

[montha]

Looks great but would I buy one nah I don’t think I would, I flew in from Ireland to be there at the show yesterday & I asked a Norton staff member what is the price of the v4 CR going to be & she replied casually £ 44, 999, now the bike looks the biz but who is going to pay that for one……

[geraldoleonel]

Está de volta a Lenda. Excelente a volta dessas lendárias motocicletas Britânicas. Com o mesmo DNA, robustez, elegância a Norton reacende e mexe os corações 💕 da galera ativa daqueles quê já romperam a barreira do tempo. Tô nessa.