Very good video Simon, very informative and actually scary. After having a Donnington 'factory' visit back in the day and a Solihull Factory visit last year, there is a chalk and cheese difference in facilities and I think about 100 million gbp difference in resources. I actually pointed out a ' lack of penetration' weld defect on a petrol tank during my visit at the time. With that in mind, I am sincerely hoping that i will not be requiring SB assistance or any other 'fettling' on my 961SP if all the media hype is accurate regarding the Solihull Norton improvements. Good luck and Safe riding on your excellent machine
Thanks for the video, we’ll put together and very informative. Glad you got the bike sorted. The issues identified with your machine reinforce my view that the earlier 961’s are more akin to home-brewed specials than professionally manufactured machines. That’s not to knock them, but the label ‘hand-built machine’ has its drawbacks - small scale production is often less consistent than properly tooled-up production at scale and hands make mistakes that robots tend not to.
Morning Proffessori, another great vlog. I'm so pleased your bike has been sorted. But saddened that some of those issues may be factory related . Also, I hope it will help other Norton owners with any problems they may have.
From the sound of it the problems were definitely factory related. To be fair though, this is not a new phenomenon, most 750 and 850 Commandos on the road today will have been ‘sorted’ to a lesser or greater degree and are probably much better machines than when they originally left the factory! The work carried out should make it a ‘keeper’ but if sold the provenance can only add to its saleability.
Delighted that you have had Stuart work on your Norton and fix all the issues, hope you can really enjoy the beautiful 961 throughout the coming spring, summer season 👍
I don’t think I’d be buying a Norton anytime soon as I think they would all have to go to Stuart to be pdi’d I think Norton should be ashamed of them selves if you haven’t complained to them about it I think they have got off lightly seems like Stuart is a excellent mechanic and knows his stuff and yes he is definitely a perfectionist great video glad your happy now and have 1000’s of miles trouble free journeys ride safe take care 👍👋
@@SongsFromTheSaddle I would of thought Norton should have a complaints department to contact and they should put it right free of charge or pay Stuart your bill as a gentleman’s agreement
@@nicholasjarrold8649 We are talking about Donnington Nortons. That business went bust and no longer exists. The new owners of the Norton brand, TVS, have distanced themselves from Donnington bikes. There is therefore no-one to complain to.
@@SongsFromTheSaddle oh right I’m not up to speed on who or what they are they are charging a lot for the bikes I would of thought there would be someone to go to oh well even more reason not to buy one I’ll stick with my triumph rocket if I have a problem which I haven’t I’ve got somewhere to go to ride safe
Great video,really informative. I own a 2018 model and that will be going down to Stuart at the end of the year. I’ve known him for a while now and to honest,i’m already looking forward to riding it next spring after he’s cast his magic over it. ❤👍
LOL, as I thought, the 961 is a nice bike, but a Lemon, just like the Zane produced Laverdas. ;-) of which I have 2. Fine Bikes, but so full of it… ;-)
This is a man at ease in his natural environment, it’s amazing the difference in presentation to the interview you did with Stuart were he was a tad camera shy here he is in his element I could watch these sort of clips of a maestro at work for hours! It amused me that as you were praising Stuart for giving the bike a valet, you were riding through a farm entrance covered in manure, I hope you washed the Norton when you got home😅
Very good video Simon, very informative and actually scary.
After having a Donnington 'factory' visit back in the day and a Solihull Factory visit last year, there is a chalk and cheese difference in facilities and I think about 100 million gbp difference in resources.
I actually pointed out a ' lack of penetration' weld defect on a petrol tank during my visit at the time.
With that in mind, I am sincerely hoping that i will not be requiring SB assistance or any other 'fettling' on my 961SP if all the media hype is accurate regarding the Solihull Norton improvements. Good luck and Safe riding on your excellent machine
Great video Simon, and very comforting to know Stuart is there for us 961 owners!
Thank you for putting up this video... would love if we had someone like Stuart in New Zealand to take care of the 961s.
Thanks for the video, we’ll put together and very informative. Glad you got the bike sorted. The issues identified with your machine reinforce my view that the earlier 961’s are more akin to home-brewed specials than professionally manufactured machines. That’s not to knock them, but the label ‘hand-built machine’ has its drawbacks - small scale production is often less consistent than properly tooled-up production at scale and hands make mistakes that robots tend not to.
That chap knows his stuff. Excellent service in every sense
It's really nice when you are fortunate enough to find an Artisan.
Morning Proffessori, another great vlog. I'm so pleased your bike has been sorted. But saddened that some of those issues may be factory related . Also, I hope it will help other Norton owners with any problems they may have.
From the sound of it the problems were definitely factory related. To be fair though, this is not a new phenomenon, most 750 and 850 Commandos on the road today will have been ‘sorted’ to a lesser or greater degree and are probably much better machines than when they originally left the factory! The work carried out should make it a ‘keeper’ but if sold the provenance can only add to its saleability.
Delighted that you have had Stuart work on your Norton and fix all the issues, hope you can really enjoy the beautiful 961 throughout the coming spring, summer season 👍
I don’t think I’d be buying a Norton anytime soon as I think they would all have to go to Stuart to be pdi’d I think Norton should be ashamed of them selves if you haven’t complained to them about it I think they have got off lightly seems like Stuart is a excellent mechanic and knows his stuff and yes he is definitely a perfectionist great video glad your happy now and have 1000’s of miles trouble free journeys ride safe take care 👍👋
Who would I complain to?
@@SongsFromTheSaddle I would of thought Norton should have a complaints department to contact and they should put it right free of charge or pay Stuart your bill as a gentleman’s agreement
@@nicholasjarrold8649 We are talking about Donnington Nortons. That business went bust and no longer exists. The new owners of the Norton brand, TVS, have distanced themselves from Donnington bikes. There is therefore no-one to complain to.
@@SongsFromTheSaddle oh right I’m not up to speed on who or what they are they are charging a lot for the bikes I would of thought there would be someone to go to oh well even more reason not to buy one I’ll stick with my triumph rocket if I have a problem which I haven’t I’ve got somewhere to go to ride safe
Great video,really informative. I own a 2018 model and that will be going down to Stuart at the end of the year. I’ve known him for a while now and to honest,i’m already looking forward to riding it next spring after he’s cast his magic over it. ❤👍
Very interesting video lucky you being able to get out still a tad chilly here maybe next week fingers crossed.
LOL, as I thought, the 961 is a nice bike, but a Lemon, just like the Zane produced Laverdas. ;-) of which I have 2. Fine Bikes, but so full of it… ;-)
The 961 is not a Lemon. It is an excellent bike. The issue is simply one of quality control during assembly.
Jeez, the build quality was shocking though. Awful really for such an expensive bike.
Just shows the importance of quality control during assembly.
What was the total cost? I just bought a 2013 so might ship mine from the U.S. to Stewart.
Cost will depend on what Stuart finds. He is very reasonable, as he has low overheads.
This is a man at ease in his natural environment, it’s amazing the difference in presentation to the interview you did with Stuart were he was a tad camera shy here he is in his element I could watch these sort of clips of a maestro at work for hours!
It amused me that as you were praising Stuart for giving the bike a valet, you were riding through a farm entrance covered in manure, I hope you washed the Norton when you got home😅
Ha ha. Yes I spend 2 hours cleaning it when I got home after that ride as Stuart returned it to me in such a beautiful state.
They not built very well your just buying the name
I disagree. They are very good bikes. The issue was quality control and consistency.