Norton Motorcycle Company Limited (NMCL), now owned by TVS Motor Company, is moving to recall Norton V4 SS motorcycles after complaints from owners of these bikes built by the previous Norton management, before TVS acquired the brand. The Norton V4 SS bikes sold to customers between 2019 and 2020, before TVS acquired the British motorcycle brand, are showing many faults and quality issues, according to customer complaints. A review into production practices and quality control by Norton's new management revealed that the 2019-20 specification V4 SS motorcycles have as many as 35 different faults that would put the motorcycle and their rider at risk.
The new Norton management is taking 'responsible' action to fix the issues, underlining TVS Motor Company's greater emphasis on quality. Although the 'new' Norton management has no legal responsibility to fix these issues, as part of the management's customer focus and long-term brand building approach, the bikes will be recalled and the issues fixed. TVS also announced a new permanent senior leadership team for Norton Motorcycles, emphasising the investment in the business and the brand, which will ensure engineering and quality will be a priority going forward.
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The affected bikes were manufactured and delivered to customers while Norton was under previous management
The affected bikes were manufactured and delivered before TVS acquired Norton in April 2020. When TVS bought the rights to the Norton name and their bikes, they set up a new company rather than buying the existing one, which means they have no legal obligation to customers of Norton Motorcycles UK Limited (NMUL), under disgraced former CEO Stuart Garner's leadership. With Norton Motorcycles moving to a new state-of-the-art facility, with modern engineering equipment, R&D and design centre, TVS is serious about giving a new direction to the Norton brand. The recall of the faulty V4 SS bikes is a reassurance, to both existing owners and prospective customers, that there will be no compromise on quality going forward.
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The new facility set up by owners TVS Motor Company will serve as the headquarters of the Norton Motorcycle Company Ltd
The 'new' Norton motorcycle company may not be legally bound to address these issues, but NMCL is voluntarily taking certain actions under the guidance of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to assist with potential safety concerns and to ensure the Norton brand is not affected.
"As part of an ongoing quality assessment and product development program for V4 SS models manufactured by NMUL Realisations Limited, we have identified certain defects and safety concerns on V4 SS bikes sold to customers in 2019 and in early-2020. Under the guidance of the DVSA, we are in direct contact with all affected registered V4 SS owners to address the safety issues in relation to the faults that have been identified," said John Russell, interim CEO of Norton Motorcycle Company Limited (NMCL).
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Interim Norton Motorcycles CEO John Russell at the company's new state-of-the-art factory
"Since acquiring the company last year, we have been carrying out due diligence and product review protocols that we follow to strict measure in order to ensure the safety of the customers that ride the motorbikes which bear the famous Norton name. As a result of that process, we have discovered 35 potential defects in total that fall into one of three categories, either a safety recall, a check and replace if required, or a service action. While the 'new Norton' management was not involved in the production and supply of these bikes and is not responsible for the cause of these faults, we are voluntarily taking certain actions under the guidance of the DVSA to assist with potential safety problems and to ensure the good name of Norton continues."
"We appreciate the owners of these bikes will be concerned. We are advised by the Liquidators that affected owners may be able to make a claim for the cost of repairs to NMUL Realisations Ltd (in Liquidation) as part of the Liquidation and have worked with the Liquidators to ensure that those owners have been told how such claims should be made," added Russell.
The defective bikes seem to have been manufactured under Stuart Garner's managemen. Garner was in charge when Norton slipped into administration in February 2020, while a pensions fund scandal Garner was involved in, is still under investigation.
