Why Norton are no longer a bit… rubbish
Garner-era Nortons were not good. Current test and development engineer Ben Stevenson gives a taste of what’s gone into getting the V4CR up to scratch
Iworked under Stuart Garner for maybe a year – I started as a powertrain engineer on the 650 project. We used to assemble parts on a carpeted floor in effectively an office. There was development done on the engine and chassis [for the V4], by Ricardo and at the TT, but testing was dyno-based – there were no miles put on bikes. We’re doing tests we’d never have done before. ‘There have been six verification builds for the CR, each for different tests. This bike is VB3 – Verification Build number three – specifically for CWT and ABS testing. CWT stands for climatic wind tunnel and is verification of the cooling circuit, both water and oil. All the green and yellow wires are K-type thermocouples, on the reg/rec, underside of the tank, ECU, battery… there are around 16 on this bike. Brakes have sled-type thermocouples, thin bits of metal set to just touch the surface of the disc; they don’t cause friction or heat, but they record radial heat and send it to a little display which shows front and rear brake temps and brake pressure. ABS regulations say the brakes have to be a certain temp before tests, and you must apply ‘X’ amount of force. The studs welded on the chassis are for outriggers, or skids, for these ABS tests. ‘I conducted the last test. You cruise along and brake as quickly as you can with a sharp input. It’s hard to grab a fistful of brake and close the throttle very quickly and seamlessly – you want real snatch and bite. Then there’s also MFDD – a mean fully developed deceleration.
‘Engines are tested on rigs. They do predefined RPM cycles, sitting at, say, 7000rpm for half an hour, then 12,000rpm, with varying loads. If we’re on a dyno we can restrict the rear wheel and make the engine work hard while only putting out a specific output. It’s what we call a lugging test. In addition, our ‘mileage bike’ will do 30,000 road miles. We have a third-party crowd who ride the bike for 420 miles every day in two shifts, over defined routes.
‘I’ve been working on the V4CR from the start – around 18 months, give or take. It’s such a massive change to ‘old’ Norton. Poles apart.’