Norton 961 Commando retro/roadster (2022-) review

In this age of retro motorcycles, classic-inspired (and named) but modern-engineered roadsters designed to evoke memories of British biking’s golden era in the ‘60s and ‘70s as most successfully exemplified by Triumph’s hugely-popular Bonneville family, ‘design’ was always going to be key with the revived Norton Commando – and, finally, they’ve nailed it. There’s a huge back story to this bike but, to be brief, the historic British brand was initially revived in 2009 with the 961 Commando, a classic-styled, air-cooled, twin cylinder roadster with a sprinkling of updated engineering and modern cycle parts thrown in. It promised much, looked great, had an authenticity (being hand-made in the Midlands) even the mass-produced, Thailand-built Bonneville couldn’t match – and was blighted by a lack of development, a conspicuous lack of refinement, production, back-up and dealer issues, the list went on… Under-funded and miss-managed that Norton went into administration in 2020 and was promptly snapped up by Indian automotive giant TVS who promptly invested millions in an all-new factory, staff and more. The ‘new’ 961 Commando is the result, fully redeveloped and re-engineered (with 36% new parts). The style is unchanged – there was nothing wrong with its modernized interpretation of the ‘70s classic in the first place. The quality is improved and impeccable and, most impressively of all, it now goes and is as glitch-free as it always should have been. Two versions are being offered: the upright, roadster ‘SP’ (Sport Production) and the clip-on barred ‘CR’ (Café Racer) which looks racier but has a far more extreme riding position. For authenticity, class and enough real-world performance, we’d take the SP over a Bonneville any day of the week.

As alluded to above, it depends which variant of the 961 you go for. The £16,499 SP is classic upright roadster with wide, semi-raised bars. The £16,999 CR has quite low clip-ons for that café racer feel which is more involving when scratching through bends but the rest of the time quite extreme and uncompromising. We’d recommend the SP most. Both models share the same, slim, waisted tank and fairly thin but comfortable enough seat. The result is a little rangier and roomier than, say, the dinkier Triumph Bonneville or Royal Enfield 650 and taller riders will prefer it but the slim tank and profile also means seat height isn’t a problem. It also reminds more than a little of Ducati’s original 900 Monster and has a solid authenticity those two retro rivals can’t match.

A premium priced, luxury, prestige machine that’s as much, if not more, about its looks and evocation as it is dynamics, performance and transport, is never going to score highly – or care – about practicality, and all of that is true of the new 961 Commando. As a £16K+ prestige machine it should be discounted immediately from mere commuting or transport duties; as an unfaired roadster (albeit a respectably comfortable one), touring, load-lugging or taking a pillion doesn’t really come into it and, with an adequate but otherwise unimpressive 77bhp it’s no sportster or performance machine, either. That all said, the new 961 Commando happily does most things asked of it; is sufficiently comfortable and manageable to be decent around town (although it has to be said that it’s steering lock is a little restricted as is the ground clearance to the exhaust headers, so be careful when bumping over kerbs) and is hugely engaging and enjoyable at real world speeds on a sunny, Sunday afternoon and if that’s your type of motorcycling – as it will be for nearly all owners – you won’t be disappointed.

Although re-engineered, reworked and, to a degree, brought up to date by TVS, the 961 Commando’s air-cooled, pushrod, 961cc parallel twin is still decidedly ‘old school’ (hence not being able to gain Euro5 noise and emissions approval, instead only being road legal through Single Vehicle Approval). As a result, it was never going to have the slick, modern performance, electronic modes or sheer peace of mind offered by Triumph’s latest Bonneville 1200. So, where Triumph’s latest Thruxton, for example, produces 96bhp, has switchable riding modes and more, the 961 has just 77bhp and no electronics. In terms of authenticity and character, however, that’s mostly a good thing. That 77bhp is only 2bhp less than the more directly comparable Bonneville T120; for day-to-day road riding it’s more than sufficient and reminds very much of Ducati’s original 73bhp 1993 Monster 900, while the sound and sensation as you wind up the revs from 4000rpm up 7000 and beyond is simply one of the most invigorating, and audibly magical experiences in contemporary motorcycling. Brakes you said? Nearly forgot. There’re quality Brembos all-round: twin 320 fully-floating discs at the front grasped by powerful four-piston radial monobloc calipers with 240mm disc/twin-piston caliper set-up at the rear, all assisted by ABS. There’s nothing to criticize here.

The 961’s chassis is, like the engine, essentially the same as the 2009 original but updated, strengthened and improved. There’s a spindly-looking tubular steel twin loop frame with a matching tubular steel swing arm. It looks a little bit lightweight but created no causes for concern during our 100-mile test ride; despite its stature and solid engineering it feels light enough and the steering is relatively intuitive, engaging and secure. On top of that, the multi-adjustable Ohlins forks, and twin rear shocks add a touch of class in the terms of refinement and a reassuring ride again above and beyond more basic rivals such as the aforementioned Bonneville T120 and Royal Enfield 650. Sure, the 961 Commando is no sports bike, but it’s sporty enough to be fun, especially in CR guise, and has a pleasingly amount of class and quality.

Difficult to be sure at this early stage – our test ride was ahead of any customer deliveries, and we didn’t have a chance to measure fuel economy, wear and suchlike. However, based on our experiences with the original version and the 961’s fairly average performance we’d be surprised if running costs are at all excessive. Give the performance we’d expect full consumption in the mid-50mpgs; consumptions of other consumables such as tyres, chain and brake pads is also unlikely to be excessive and, as most owners are likely to rack up minimal miles, overall running costs per year will minimal, too.

This is a big unknown – so far. The original 2009 Commando 961 was notoriously unrefined and under-developed and, although only a few hundred were sold, there were reports of heavy oil consumption, poor starting, erratic running and even some engine failures. However, going by how much effort and expense has gone into the new, re-engineered TVS version (over £100million has so far been invested, the whole bike has been reassessed and Norton claim 36% of all the components are new – mostly in the engine), we’re pretty confident (although it is worth saying that we noticed during our test ride that the headlight switch wasn’t working and the poor steering lock and ground clearance still hadn’t been resolved).

The 961 Commando’s manufacturer-backed warranty is fairly industry-standard in covering all parts and labour for two years with unlimited mileage, so no surprises there. As regards servicing, after the first 500-mile break-in, oil and filter affair, regular services are due every 6000miles, which, again, isn’t massive but is not atypical, either, especially considering the minimal miles this kind of treasured bike is likely to undertake. What IS atypical, however, is that, as Norton currently has no dealers (nor plans to get any), all servicing has to be done at its new Solihull HQ, a bit like CCM does in Bolton.

Five stars out of five may sound overly generous for a fairly basic, old school style motorcycle with nothing by way of the latest rider electronic aids, flash colour TFT dash of luggage and extra touring equipment – and it is. Our defence is simply that the 961 Commando is very much a pure, straight-forward, ‘old school’ style bike, it deliberately has few modern frills (electronics etc would be incongruous and unnecessary) and nor does it have any touring or OTT equipment ambitions. Instead, it has exactly what it needs, what it has is good quality and that’s that. So… twin chrome analogue dials for speedo and revs contain a small LCD digital panel for ODO, clock etc). The switchgear is traditional and unfussy. Mirrors are chrome and work. Cycle parts from Brembo and Ohlins are high quality. And that’s that. I can’t think of anything extra I’d want to add to it anyway…

The 2009 961 Commando already had bags of style and appeal. This ones just the same but now has the thoroughly developed mechanicals and the reassurance of a big business backer to make it a viable buy. As a ‘modern classic’ it’s far more credible, classic and authentic than most plasticky retros. It makes a Triumph Bonneville seem a flimsy fraud; a Yamaha XSR a disposable joke. As a riding experience it’s engaging, visceral and thrilling – pure yet raw, simple yet ‘soundsational’ and reminding (for me at least) of Ducati’s original 1993 900 Monster. And as an icon, a metal, motorcycling jewel to cherish and show off, there’s little that comes close – certainly not for 16 grand. It’s not perfect: there’s the steering lock, ground clearance, headlamp switch and the lack of dealers, plus the fact servicing has to be done back at it’s HQ. As a bike, though, the 961 Commando is now the one it always promised to be.