REINCARNATED British manufacturer Norton has released details of a seriously light, seriously powerful superbike.
Norton claims the new V4 RR’s 1200cc V4 engine produces more than 200hp (10hp more than a CBR1000RR, give or take) and the bike weighs in at 179kg (20kg lighter than the CBR).
But before you run to the door with your cheque book, this maniacal Pom is not going to come cheap.
The CEO of NF Importers Ltd, which brings Nortons into Australia, is Warren Lee. Warren told The Bike Shed Times that production of the V4 was still some time off.
“It’s not possible to provide an accurate final price, timeframe and availability at the moment,” he said.
“When they do arrive in Australia, they will be sold and delivered by the current select Norton Dealer Network.”
We do know that the Brits will be paying 28,000 pounds for theV4 RR, which is near-on $AU48,000. Add a whack of import duties and such, and we guess they’ll be $60k-plus by the time any roll onto Aussie soil. That’s more than three CBRs.
Norton says the V4RR’s chassis design was developed at the Isle of Man TT.
“The geometry, weight distribution and ergonomics were all tested and developed on the SG5 TT race bike which finished seventh at the Superbike TT,” it says. The SG5 achieved an impressive 131mph average speed lap in 2016 at the hands of Australian rider David Johnson.
Suspension is by Ohlins, brakes by Brembo, and wheels are forged aluminium. High-techery includes three engine modes (road, sport and pro-race), a quick shift system with an auto down blipper (always wanted one of them, hey?), multi-setting traction-control, wheelie control, launch control and cruise control.
The V4 RR will take the Norton range out to five models, the others being the Dominator, 961SF, Cafe Racer and, our favourite, the Sport which really does capture the design lines from the Commando of old. Norton built the last of its original bikes (a Commando) in 1976 and was brought back to life with the release of its first modern Commando in 2010.
The company was founded in 1898. It produced its first engine a decade later and by the 1930s the brand was selling 4,000 bikes a year. Between the wars Norton won the Isle of Man Senior TT race ten times and, between 1930 and 1937, won 78 out of 92 Grand Prix races.
By the way, that Norton dealer network mentioned by Warren Lee can be found here.
There’s not a dealer in Perth, but if you’d like to pay someone to fly to Adelaide and ride one back, we might be able to help …
