California tested
First ride on the cool American inspired 961
This bike can’t help pulling a crowd. Every time you park up on the Norton its cool looks draw admiring glances. Filling up with fuel takes 15 minutes; two to fill the tank, 13 to talk to someone about the bike. The ride is pretty special too. On a sunny day it’s an evocative experience thumping along leafy country roads with an engine that feels, sounds and vibrates like a bike from yesteryear. It’s a long way from the mainstream, but can it justify its £16,500 price?
1 What’s a California?
To celebrate the Commando’s 50th anniversary, Norton released a limited run of 50 California models in 2018. These were simply Commandos with higher bars, chrome around the headlight and polished Öhlins forks. Each one carried a number plaque on its top yoke and came with an option of exhaust styles. The California we are riding here is a non-limited production bike, and aside from Euro4-compliant pipes, gold rather than polished forks and a black headlight, it is identical and costs the same £16,500.
2 It’s a bit quirky
Riding a Norton can be a frustrating affair as it has some quirks. The fuel-injection hunts on small throttle openings before clearing its throat and delivering an instant wallop of power at 1% more throttle opening. According to dealers this is due to the motor being strangled to meet Euro4. A de-cat link pipe, set of race cans and new fuel map remove this trait (but that’s another £1300). The steering lock is abysmal as the California shares the same sporty chassis as the Commando, if you fold the pegs up they stay folded up (you can remove a ball bearing to stop this) and the exhaust collector box doesn’t allow much ground clearance.
3 Will it be reliable?
The California is based around the MkII Commando 961 engine, which has a far better reputation for reliability than the MkI, which requires careful setting up. You get a two-year warranty as standard and dealers say spares availability is good. You are somewhat reliant on the actual dealer and some are more fastidious than others when it comes to checking the bikes over before they are released. MCN’s test bike, which was prepared by the factory, had a missing bolt resulting in the chain guard working loose. But on the whole it seems solid and well put together.
‘The engine feels raw like an air-cooled Ducati’
4 Styling it out
The high bars really suit the Norton air-cooled motor’s character and although the pegs are set slightly on the sporty side, it’s a comfortable riding position. Once you get on the gas the vibrations are a little irritating, especially through the pegs, but the agricultural feel of the lumpy big twin is in keeping with the bike. It’s not slow and there’s a good spread of torque, but the bewildering array of noises ranging from clatters to pops take a bit of getting used to. Refinement isn’t top of Norton’s priority list and the engine puts you in mind of an old air-cooled Ducati in its rawness.
5 Quality parts pay off
The chassis was designed by Norton-owned Spondon, while the suspension units are Öhlins’ finest and the brakes made by Brembo. With this in mind it should be no surprise the Norton rides well. The forks are plush in their action and so are the twin shocks once you have tailored their settings to your weight. The California is more than happy at a brisk pace, but ground clearance limits too much enthusiasm with the collector box touching down.