SPORTSBIKES

Norton turn their TT racer into a road-legal superbike. With its 200bhp V4, cunning electronics and rear view camera, it puts the super back into superbike

Assuming you’ve managed to drag your eyes down from the amazing picture, let’sV4. 200+bhp.wade deep Single-sider,into the spec. bespoke 1200cc Öhlins, carbon fibre wheels and bodywork. Leading-edge electronics. Oh, and a rear view camera. Wow indeed. Norton are using their respectable TT efforts to push their new superbike – it’s not just race developed, they say, but road race developed. Their SG5 racer has had a seventh-place finish on the Isle of Man and averaged almost 131mph, so they’ve got half a clue about making a bike work at speed on real roads. Racers used Aprilia’s RSV4 engine, but the road bike’s Euro 4-compliant motor is a new 1200cc 72˚ V4, measuring 82 x 56.8mm. It’s been developed with Ricardo, who’ve worked for everyone from BMW to Suzuki. It has rideby-wire, variable-length inlets, two injectors per cylinder, titanium valves, chain driven camshafts and a sky-high 13.6:1 compression ratio. It’s ‘banging out north of 200bhp,’ says Norton gaffer Stuart Garner. Go for the optional titanium race exhaust and there’s 10bhp more, plus an 8kg reduction.