VOL. 53 ISSUE 24 JUNE 21, 2016 P87
normally aspirated spinoffs from
that. We're going through quite a
few scenarios right now, but one
that sticks out is a 1970s-style
red, white and blue John Player
Norton street-legal road racer
with a modern super lightweight
650cc parallel-twin engine that's
supercharged. We think that
could be a real show stopper,
and then the obvious thing is that
it could spin out into a naked
streetfighter version.
Would that be unsuper-
charged, however?
We'll see. We may well offer
both versions for production in
those models. We may also do
a street scrambler 650 twin,
and it could even lead to a full
dual-purpose on/off-road model
if the market is there for it. I think
one of the things we'll have to
take a long, hard look at as we
get closer to putting a prototype
out to launch is how the market
is moving. But I repeat, the 961
Commando isn't going any-
where; that model platform will
remain in production practically
indefinitely, just being constantly
improved as in the latest Mark
product development, is by
racing in the Isle of Man TT
for the past four years with
an Aprilia RSV4 engine in a
Norton chassis. You had a
much better result this year,
with your new Aussie rider Da-
vid Johnson aboard. Are you
satisfied with the way things
went?
We had a great TT this year,
and we're now up with the lead-
ers thanks to Davo Johnson's
hard work, which we're very
grateful to him for. He posted a
fastest lap time of 130.87 mph
on the Norton, and scored a
fabulous seventh-place in the
superbike race. He was go-
ing well again in the senior TT
before he slipped off the course
at low speed, fortunately without
hurting himself. It's been a huge
step forward for Norton this year,
but we're always pushing for
more, and have lined up a great
starting point for our assault on
the 2017 TT, again with Davo
riding.
Since the very day we came
back from the Isle of Man last
year, we'd been investing heavily
in developing this year's bike.
There's a new chassis, a new
swingarm and a new rear link,
but the big thing for 2016 has
been a new electronics package
on the bike. We've been working
closely with the Aprilia factory,
and have the use of their ECU as
developed on their World Super-
bike championship-winning bike.
So you're saying that now
that Aprilia is out of World
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT WE BRING
PEOPLE INTO NORTON WHO ARE
HERE FOR THE PASSION AND
THE SKILLS THEY CAN ACQUIRE,
RATHER THAN TO FLAUNT AN ACADEMIC
CERTIFICATE OR DIPLOMA.
II version of the engine, which
has essentially been completely
retooled in order to reduce
noise, vibration and harshness,
and to further refine the prod-
uct.
One of the ways you're
promoting the existence
of Norton, as well as doing
Johnson's Norton SG5 TT racer.
