Norton’s stunning new 1200 V4 tested on th Isle of Man
It’s Britain’s first home-grown superbike for a generation, and MCN is first to ride it
The snarling bark from Norton’s 72-degree V4 is deafening. If I couldn’t see the carbon-clad V4 RR road bike in front of me, I’d assume it was their SG6 TT race bike that was settling down to a raucous idle. Earplugs should be made compulsory with the RR. Even at tick-over it’s hard to maintain a two-way conversation without shouting. Blipping the throttle to just 4000rpm elicits such an angry bark that I feel wary about doing it again. If it’s snarling at 4000rpm surely it’s going to blow my eardrums out at the 12,500rpm limit. Of course, the production bike will come with a road-homologated exhaust, but this pre-production prototype I’m about to ride instead has the optional full titanium race system that’s standard on the top-spec SS version. With legs astride the handstitched leather seat I can feel the urgency of the engine pulsating, straining to be let off the leash. It feels like it’s breathing, like it’s alive. Norton have developed their V4 road bike very publicly, racing successive development versions on the most famous and challenging race track in the world: the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. Many laughed at their brazen ambition – taking on the might of Honda at their own game was surely madness? How could a small British firm dare to compete with the near-endlessly funded Japanese and German manufacturers? It’s like David thinking he could nip round Goliath’s house and sleep with his wife while he was at work.
But at last year’s TT both Nortons finished the Superbike and Senior races. BMW didn’t. And then Guy Martin, Honda’s remaining official rider, deemed the new Fireblade unrideable. Norton, meanwhile, were lapping at just below a 131mph average, embarrassing many TT giants at their own game. How the tables had turned.
On the Island, the critics have been all but silenced. And now I’m about to ride the £28,000 road-going version of Norton’s eagerly anticipated 1200cc V4 RR. Can David get one over on Goliath here, too?
Mountain excitement
This is the first time anyone outside of Norton’s inner circle has thrown a leg over the road V4 RR. Yes, it’s still a prototype – but it’s not a million miles away from the final production bike. As you’d expect with any preproduction machine, there are parts you won’t see on the final bike – like the prototype numberplate bracket. The rear-view camera that replaces conventional mirrors has yet to be installed, along with the clever keyless ignition. The fullcolour TFT dash is close to the final production version, but what makes our test so groundbreaking is the opportunity to try Norton’s all-new, Britishbuilt, V4 1200cc engine for the very first time. So it’s in with the heavy clutch, up one on the race-shift into first gear. Let’s see if it lives up to the promise. Immediately the brand-new, cold 200-section rear Dunlop lights-up and is quickly brought neatly back into line by the
‘Here on the TT course it all feels instantly so right’
6-axis IMU-controlled traction control. Here on the famous TT course it all feels instantly so right but I have to remember that it’s cool and damp and I’m aboard Norton’s primary development bike which MCN has just insured for £100,000. I’m not taking it easy, but I have to be careful. But as I ride through Tower Bends I’m feeling right at home. The steering is natural, the suspension plush. This isn’t a hard race bike with road bodywork – the RR is well sorted and perfectly suspended. The bars are reassuringly wide, the full-colour dash easy to read and even the beautiful seat is comfortable. Despite the V4’s fierce bark, its bite is utterly seductive.
Power with control
Up to the Gooseneck, back two gears. No need for the clutch, just nudge the lever up twice (the race shift is optional) and let the autoblipper take care of the rest. The fuelling low down is not yet perfected (hardly a surprise on a pre-production bike) which makes my exit at the Gooseneck a tad aggressive. And with the throttle wide open it’s now a case of balancing wheelies against wheel spin, as the cold Dunlop and new electronics do their utmost to control the Britishbuilt V4’s 200 horses.
To ascend the Mountain you need power and drive and the 1200cc Norton delivers both in spades. The Öhlins NIX30 fully-adjustable forks have a lovely progressive action on the road and feel plush over the Mountain – as you’d expect from a TT-developed bike. I manage a few fast passes into Windy Corner thanks to some helpful Manx road workers who close the road briefly. It’s superb. The V4 music reverberating down the valley is intoxicating. I bet people can hear it on Douglas seafront. A gentle squeeze on the big Brembo stoppers, back to third gear, tip in, knee skimming tarmac at around 100mph as Öhlins’ finest control the grip from the now warm Dunlops. I wind the throttle on again harder. Enveloped in that V4 soundtrack I coax a little wheelie on the exit. Does it get any better than this?
No holding back
Although the Mountain section has no speed limit, I wait until later in the day to really let the V4 loose, this time at Jurby, the former airfield turned race track. On road, the RR felt seriously quick, taking me by surprise. But here, with heat in the rear Dunlop, I was more able to truly start pushing its limits – and boy does it perform. The only surprise being how little it wheelies over the bumps on Jurby’s back straight where powerful bikes usually start pointing at the sky. Instead, the RR just digs in and fires forward. The fairing is the same size as the TT bike, but its screen is much smaller, which means it’s hard work getting out of the wind blast. Once into fifth gear it becomes hard to hold on, and, at over 160mph, you really need a larger screen. But let’s be honest, most owners aren’t going to be travelling at 71 metres per second very often.
‘Knee-skimming tarmac at 100mph I wind it on harder’