sweatmachine
moped
crappy test vid. The sound and ride was boring. Cool bike though, too bad I've already built my own.
New Norton Commando Test Ride Video
- Thread starter Sal Paradise
- Start date
Speed3Chris
I like Dick
+1 You have to ask, what were they thinking? OK, the name is big. The bike could be a flagship for their company. Cache or exclusivity have value to some but where is the line? Obvious intent is not to sell many with enough profit to offset tooling cost...but no volume. The British economy is no better than that of the US. The bike is way overpriced and far removed from the orginal dem which was a rocket of a bike at a reasonable cost. Carbon fiber wheels for a retro naked? Come on. At $26K, I would much prefer the top of the line Ducati Sport bike...or for just over half of that a 160hp BMW naked.
Throw $5K at a $9K bonny and you likely create more engine horsepower than the new Commando. You could build a comparable bonny for likely $15K or so sans CF wheels. CF wheels? Anybody every try to change a tire on one? CF is super strong, stiff and light but with very low fracture resistance or what is many times called notch sensitivity. Tire irons and even a good tire machine and CF do not go well together. Who would you trust with your $5K wheels for a tire change?
I am surprised, they didn't make the Norton more like the Duc GT1000...what many believe the bonny could have been with good power, better brakes and suspension. Some of us would have lined up then. For the price point, the new bonny is a hard bike to beat as we are reminded by the staggering price of the Norton. Again, I can't believe Norton will make any money off that bike.
For that price, I would buy a bike with performance to match...like 170hp...see below:
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strokerlmt
Moderator
Cool bike but it needs different pipes. It isn't just the video the sound is crap. I like the way the headers wrap under the engine. The front end flows thru the tank and into the seat. Nice bike......
for example, carlos and matt have a 2007 thruxton with stroker, cams, head work, ohlins suspension, wide wheels, etc, for 15k. i would imagine the thrux would walk away from the norton without breaking a sweat. of course all of this means nothing if you're a collector that doesn't ride much. obviously 20 years from now the norton will be worth a fair bit more than any new bonneville. but, i think for those of us on this forum that doesn't really apply.
Rhodie
Street Tracker
I like it and wish them luck,
hoping it won't be yet another busted flush.
Perhaps it may encourage Triumph to bring out a real performance twin
with top notch components and a decent frame.
Considering all the experience acrewed by the riding farkling performance owners here,
it shouldn't be too hard to produce.
Sadly the sound is horrible and that is not the bike's fault.
hoping it won't be yet another busted flush.
Perhaps it may encourage Triumph to bring out a real performance twin
with top notch components and a decent frame.
Considering all the experience acrewed by the riding farkling performance owners here,
it shouldn't be too hard to produce.
Sadly the sound is horrible and that is not the bike's fault.
Speed3Chris
I like Dick
Brad, if you break down the price tag for the mods you mention, believe the Thrux would exceed $15k in cost.
Cheers. Lots cheaper to just buy a Speed Triple.
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Oil Burner
Scooter
I noticed that he does it on corners and riding straight. Must be a Scrambler owner like me
. Always avoiding the pipes...
musicswapshoppe
Rocker
Hope there not intending to keep the plastic brake reservoir. Nice all right but I will keep my Bon.
Sal Paradise
Hooligan
That looks nice. The bike comes with spoked wheels standard - CF wheels are extra.
strokerlmt
Moderator
matt said the CF wheels are around 5k. I would rather have the spokes or some alloys.
LMT
LMT
ivar
TT Racer
yeah, they should be able to build e.g a factory 904 with a lightweight frame, proper suspension and lightweight wheels , for a somewhat reasonable price
We should all write Triumph with our wishes for a "better" bike. They could take a few pointers from the users on this forum... wonder if any of the engineers are registered here? haha
strokerlmt
Moderator
From what I have read there are some pretty talented engineers at Triumph. The big problem is the 'eraser heads". The bean counters fuck up some really nice concept/new design bikes.
Speed3Chris
I like Dick
Reality is there are talented engineers at every good company. It comes down to management when making the right cost/benefit decision. Sadly engineers don't generally rise to the top position although there are notable exceptions. They don't rise because the people they are making their appeal to relative to product don't get it...all many see is the bottom line. Hopefully you don't have too many bean counters in upper management as cost driven marketing decisions are always doomed to fail as consumers always see through this. A notable example is Roger Smith and GM. When he was at the helm, his decisions were pretty much all cost driven and the products during that era were a low point. There should have been a bounty on his head for bilking the company out of millions not only padding his pockets but revenue lost due to putting out bad designs thwarting the engineers.
In fairness to Triumph, they make an incredible motorcycle for the money across the board. What a great company. Yes the bonny could be more but it would affect the price point of the bike....excepting displacement and compression. A stonger bonny now treads on their other offerings like the street triple which is a whale of a motorcycle if you like to ride faster. For the average rider, a stock bonny with pipes is all you need and a steal for the price.
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Speed3Chris
I like Dick
Unless the bonnie/thrux its really beefed up in power, brakes, suspension and the kicker being weight reduction, it simply won't compete. The guys on this forum maybe slightly outside the dem in terms of what bonnie they would be willing to pay for. Many of us like a bit more performance. The average guy who buys one, may not be willing to pay for a 1 liter version...especially if it increases insurance cost which it likely would. No doubt Triumph has considered it and we are still hoping they change their mind.
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