Norton Commando: All You Need To Know

Under the new Kinetic-Norton joint venture, Kinetic MotoRoyale will be assembling and selling Norton motorcycles in India, beginning late 2018. One of the first Norton motorcycles to be sold under the new joint venture will be the Norton Commando. The Norton Commando is not an all-new name though. Like most British motorcycle manufacturers, the first Norton Commando was in production from 1967 till 1977 and was powered by a 750 cc parallel-twin engine, made by the Norton Motorcycle company. Current Norton Motorcycle CEO Stuart Garner, formed a new company, Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd and established a factory at Donington Park, Leicstershire, UK in 2008. The first new Norton Commando was launched in 2010.

The Norton Commando's design takes styling cues from the original 1960s Commando

1. The current Norton Commando is powered by an air-cooled, fuel-injected, 961 cc, parallel-twin engine, with a 270-degree crank, which makes 79 bhp and 90 Nm of peak torque. The engine gets new die-cast cases, head and cylinder, with Nikasil bore plating inside the cylinder.
   

   The five-speed gearbox is a separate unit from the crankcase

2. Like the earlier Royal Enfield engines, the five-speed gearbox of the Norton Commando is a separate unit, bolted directly to the primary chaincase.
   

   Styling cues are inspired from the 1960s Norton Commando, particularly the fuel tank and the engine

3. The new Norton Commando is a true modern classic. Some parts of the new Norton Commando's styling takes cues from the original Norton Commando, especially the engine and the fuel tank. But suspension, cycle parts and other components are completely modern, as is the new engine.
   

   The Norton Commando gets top-spec cycle parts, including Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes

4. The Commando gets adjustable, hi-spec Ohlins suspension, with upside down forks and twin Ohlins shocks at the rear. Braking is handled by top-spec Brembo calipers.
   

   Both variants of the Norton Commando will be assembled and sold in India by late 2018

5. The Norton Commando is hand-built at the Donington Park factory, and it takes two full days to build one bike. There are currently two variants of the Norton Commando in production - the Norton Commando 961 Café Racer MK II, and the Norton Commando Sport MK II.
   

   The Commando is hand-built at Norton's Donington Park factory in the UK

6. The Norton Commando retails at around 16,000 GBP (around Rs. 14 lakh) in the UK. Although there's no word on pricing in India yet, local assembly from completely knocked down (CKD) kits will likely make the price of the Norton Commando competitive, if not outright affordable.