Norton focus on luxury

New prototype V4CR cafe racer has crowds swooning, though expected price is a worry

Bike’s highly scientific poll of people wandering past the new Norton cafe racer prototype at the NEC bike show suggests they’ve got the styling cock-on. Everyone we interviewed loved it, with the only complaints being whether the revitalised company could be trusted, and the expected £25,000+ price.

The V4CR is the first prototype to be designed, engineered and built at the new factory (see page 66) and shares all its major components with the freshly revamped V4SV superbike. That means it gets a 1200cc, 185bhp V4 engine, a hand-welded and polished aluminium frame, a swingarm machined from a single lump of aluminium and carbon fibre fuel tank. Differences include the rear subframe, which is shorter, plus of course the lack of fairing, though the carbon panels manage to cover almost all of the engine, presumably to hide unsightly pipework.

The prototype took 16 months to design and build and was shown in two colours – black and silver.

‘I think it’s a work of art and I hope they succeed with it,’ says Malcolm Ward, who rides a KTM 1290 Adventure. ‘It’s not my type of bike because I don’t want to drape myself over the petrol tank but I think it’s beautiful.’ ‘I agree,’ chips in Andrew Taylor (Honda Crosstourer). ‘The problem for me is it’s more of a piece of art than a bike. I really hope they introduce a more usable range that normal people can buy and ride.’ This seems unlikely to happen any time soon, given the statement from Norton’s new CEO Dr Robert Hentschel at the V4CR’S unveiling: ‘The prototype is the next step in Norton’s strategic growth plan on its journey to becoming the world-leader in luxury hand-crafted motorcycles.’ With the middleweight Atlas models now officially on the back burner, knocking out an affordable 650 does not appear to be a priority.

Though most of the show-goers Bike spoke to recognised the new company is on a considerably firmer footing than before, there were still doubts. Graham Hart put a £500 deposit down on a V4SS two years ago, but like many others lost his money as the Garner-regime collapsed. ‘I like the look of the cafe racer,’ he says, ‘but could I bring myself to buy one? Probably not.’

HEADLIGHT Round headlight is the clearest nod towards traditional cafe racers. It contains an LED light unit. NOT CHEAP It’s not a spec’d-down V4SV. Wheels are Oz Racing forged alloys, brakes are premium Brembos, hand-laid carbon is everywhere. [ NORTON V4CR ] CHASSIS Identical to the V4SV, and welded by hand at the new Solihull factory. Forks are Öhlins NIX30 and there’s an Öhlins TTXGP shock. ENGINE Based on the previous regime’s 1200cc V4, but now engineered properly. The cafe racer’s power is the same as the superbike’s: 185bhp. Weight is predicted to be a sniff under 190kg.