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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/958653
2018 NORTON COMMANDO 961 LIMITED 50TH EDITION CALIFORNIA FULL TEST P96 dry-sump OHV pushrod motor. This is made in-house at Norton by the skilled craftsmen who pre- viously plied their trade at local chassis specialists Spondon, be- fore Stuart Garner completed his purchase of the firm, and moved it to Norton's HQ at Donington Hall. This retains the same steer- ing geometry as the Sport, with the highly polished Ohlins 43mm fork set at a 24.5° rake with 3.9 inches of trail, but the wheelbase is a little shorter than before, at 55.1 inches. Crank the powerful starter motor, and the undeniably butch-looking motor rumbles immediately into life, settling to a throbbing 1300 rpm idle via the 2-1-2 exhaust system. This Euro 4 version of the motor seemed to have the same great torque as the 961 engine's always had, but with the revised mapping for cleaner emissions also delivering a more linear power delivery up to the 8000 rpm limiter, so that the Norton just keeps on pulling almost to the redline. Despite the gear-driven counterbalancer fitted there's a little vibration, especially above 5000 rpm, but not enough to be annoying, and there's still the same great punch in the gears. Low down fueling is good, like when you're just crawling along in a line of traffic, but then spot a gap and gas it up hard, and the Cali catapults you forward in a totally addictive way, thanks to its meaty torque, which means it'll take almost any gear you throw at it. It pulls hard from barely off idle, then strongly from 2000 rpm upwards. This is a very friendly and usable motor, with 4000 revs the gateway to more serious urge and from there to where you can feel the engine peak out at 6500 rpm, is the happy zone. There's no point in revving it anywhere near the rev- limiter, just surf that power curve, and ride the waves of torque. The five-speed transmission doesn't need a sixth ratio, because the engine has such a wide spread of torque and power you can change gear when you feel like it, not because you must. The handling has always been a strong point of the Commando 961, so the Cali steers faultlessly, tipping easily and controllably into a turn on the brakes, without falling into the apex when you let them off. It feels light and agile, yet stable and forgiving, a confidence-inspiring motorcycle that you can trust completely over a variety of surfaces. Hitting a bump cranked hard over in a The engine is finished in the classic combo of a silver cylinder head sitting on a black cylinder block, as featured on the hotted-up Combat version of the original 745cc Commando. The Californian's Euro 4-compliant engine delivers 72 bhp at 7500 rpm and peak torque of 67Nm at 6500 of fun.