Norton – iconic British bike brand coming to India

Norton, one of the most celebrated British motorcycle brands will soon be seen on Indian shores. Thanks to the new deal signed by Kinetic Group and Norton, the bikes will be available in India. The deal is to assemble Norton bikes in India. However, initially they will come via the CBU route. Kinetic group company Motoroyale already sells MV Agusta motorcycles, The new partnership comes as a good news to motorcycle fans who will have yet another bike option that is regarded as an icon. At the ongoing EICMA 2017, the two companies have come together to seal the deal. As per this JV, Norton Motorcycles will be assembled at Kinetic’s plant in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The bikes will be retailed in India and also exported to other Asian markets, which include Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Cambodia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

A formal announcement of the same will happen later. Things will start to fall in place by the second half of 2018. It is believed that initially two models of Norton – Dominator and Commando will be brought here via the CBU route. Later on these will be assembled after being brought in as CKD kits.

Norton Dominator

Another retro styled bike, the Norton Dominator is propelled by a 961cc parallel twin with dry sump lubrication. The fuel injected Euro 4 compliant motor has 88mm x 79mm Bore & Stroke. It comes mated to a 5-speed gearbox and develops around 78bhp of power at 6,500 rpm and 90 Nm of torque at a low 5,200 rpm.

The Dominator is fitted with 43mm USD Ohlins forks up front which adjust for preload, compression and rebound. The rear sees Ohlins TTX 36 mono shock which has adjustability for ride height, preload and compression. Twin Brembo 320mm discs up front and a single 220m disc paired to a two piston caliper are the brakes that come on this bike.

Norton Commando

The Norton Commando has most components common with the Dominator. It does get Ohlins spring at the back and slightly different styling that is more retro than the other.

The prices of these bike are yet to be revealed, but expect these to be in excess of INR 10 lakhs. These bikes are celebrated around the world as iconic brands and they are also a very niche category. Purists who know about British Classic bikes will relish owning one.

After Royal Enfield being in India for several decades, another British iconic brand was Triumph who made its mark in India. Mahindra has already bought over BSA, however it is yet not clear whether the brand will come to India. This time it is Norton which is making it way here.