INSIDE ANDOVER
BEAUTIFUL HANDLING. Breath-taking acceleration. Vibrationfree. Outstanding good looks. Those are some of the reasons that I, and many others, bought a Norton Commando. And after three seasons of riding my Roadster, for better or worse, I was curious about the place they come from.
I had spoken with many other Norton owners, been a real Norton fan at the races, and read Dennis Howard’s History of Norton, an excellent book. So, while in London this autumn I took the opportunity to visit the Norton works in Andover. The factory used to be in London, but a cash incentive as part of the government’s ‘New Towns’ programme promoted the move to this former market town in Hampshire.
After a dull 1¼-hour train ride from London – I had left my Norton chained to my house in Brooklyn – I was at the low, modern Norton Villiers assembly plant. And assembly plant is just what this is. Parts from all over arrive here: engines which are assembled at the Norton-ajs factory in Wolverhampton, electrics from Lucas, frames from Italy, etc. Norton uses over 400 suppliers, 10% of whom are on strike at any given time. This means there are often times when up to 40 essential bits just aren’t there, making it very difficult to manufacture a motorcycle under such conditions, much less keep a supply of spares at dealers – but that’s the situation in Europe, and in England in particular.
In a way, I picked the wrong time to visit Norton. It was the end of the season, many workers were on holiday, and those remaining were on their afternoon tea break. But I did walk the production line and see how all those parts, which look so familiar in place, got there. It’s all quite simple, really. The bare frames are put on a stand on a rollerbearing conveyor. Drop in the gearbox and engine, oil tank and battery, wiring harness, controls, bars, forks, lights, chain, wheels and tyres and you’ve got yourself a brand-new Norton Roadster, Hi-rider, Fastback, Interstate, Interpol or Production Racer. In full swing, the production line issues a new bike every seven minutes.
After assembly, the bikes are sent with slave tank and seat to the race circuit at Thruxton. Here, new machines receive 12 miles of road test. Some don’t pass and are sent back to be fixed. This road testing, as well as pressure-testing the engine cases at Wolverhampton, helps to ensure the buyer a reliable machine. Only after testing are the machines partly disassembled for crating and container shipment.
My tour completed, I had tea with Mr WB Colquhoun, Vice-president of Norton-villers in Long Beach, California. I’ve experienced no mainbearing seizures or cracked frames to complain about, but I did ask about my three new clutch cables, loose exhaust pipes, leaky transmission seal and a few other odds and ends.
All in all, my Norton has been quite reliable, although there have been times, I was working on her when I should’ve been riding.
Mr Colquhoun explained the evolution of the Norton twin, from 500cc Dominator to the present 750cc Combat engine, and the problems experienced on the early Commandos; most of the minor problems, such as the exhaust pipes that would work themselves loose every 26 miles or so, have been ingeniously eliminated. However, the pushrod twin in this age of overhead-cam multis, water cooling and even rotary-engine Wankels, is an anachronism.
Norton, of course, is developing a new engine – but as to the nature of the powerplant, Mr Colquhoun was tight-lipped.
Until the new machine is introduced, which is several years away, the immediate future for Norton will consist of expanding the marketing and dealership programme as well as developing and strengthening the racing effort. Racing always improves the breed, and much has been learned from the new John Player Norton Team’s ventures already. A stronger gearbox was installed for the 1972 Ontario 250-mile road race, which allowed the team to see what would be their next problem. The same weekend as Ontario, the Motor Cycle 500-mile production race took place at Thruxton. And here the Nortons were first, second and fourth. This kind of result, as well as a range of spirited motorcycles, is quite something when you consider that the name Norton almost vanished a few years ago.
Mr Colquhoun asked me if I thought a place exists for a machine like the Norton on the American market. I explained to him that not every motorcyclist wants to drag fat engine cases on every bend, nor do they want an inexpensive acceleration sled that won’t handle – and nor do they all want a chopper. I reassured him that there were many people like myself, who dig the sound, simplicity and classic lines of the British twin. And as long as Norton builds that kind of machine, they’ll have no trouble finding those people.
Turn over to read about the Ducati factory in 1972