P124
RIDE REVIEW I 2026 NORTON MANX R
Transfer to the track, and I
had two distinctly different ses-
sions at Circuito Monteblanco.
With one of the customizable
track modes selected, the Manx
R became a sharper tool with
a more direct throttle response
and greater stability offered
from the Marzocchis. But I was
still having issues with the throt-
tle response and its delayed
delivery of the go juice when
I asked for it. This resulted in
plenty of slightly missed apexes,
where you'd be pushed off line
by five feet at the point where
you really wanted to get moving
and had to wait for the system
to give you the power.
Here's where things get inter
-
esting. For the second and final
session, the Norton engineers
telling me "No," and I could slide
the rear properly to get corners
squared off and get more drive
to the tire in a more predictable
way.
Out of the final second-gear
right-hander at Monteblanco,
the Manx R dug in and leaped
out of the corner as the engine's
mid-range torque was swiftly
dealt with. The Manx R doesn't
have a huge top-end kick but
continues to build power until
right about 11,000 rpm, which
was difficult to reach given the
rather tall street-based gearing
we used on the test.
and I switched everything off—
traction control, wheelie control
and slide control—and the result
was a machine transformed.
The Manx R suddenly became
a motorcycle, not a bunch of
computers jabbering to each
other in code. With no lean-
angle-sensitive throttle to navi-
gate, just a proper one-to-one
ratio from my right hand to the
rear tire, suddenly the bike that
was hidden away behind the
electronic paywall burst into life.
Feel at the rear tire went way
up as there wasn't the computer
As a street superbike, the
abundance of torque makes for
a relaxed ride, letting you lug the
Norton from corner to corner in
almost any gear from third up.
