Norton Commando 961 Sport

Next year onwards, the Norton Commando will be assembled at Kinetic’s facility in Ahmedabad. The bikes will continue to be imported but would now come via the CKD instead of CBU route. This move should help drop prices from Rs 23 lakh to around Rs 15 lakh.  

Launched at Rs 20. 99 lakh (ex-showroom pan-India), the Norton Commando 961 is a classic yet modern motorcycle from the stable of the British bike manufacturer. The Commando 961 is inspired by the popular classic cafe racers of the 60's. It features a small flyscreen up front that sits on top of the circular headlamp, a chiselled fuel tank to let you place your legs comfortably, a curvy rear section with an integrated tail light. And, to add to its exclusivity for India, the bike features a hand-painted British flag on the fuel tank, the customer’s name embossed on the motorcycle along with a specially allocated serial number.

It sports a dual-seat layout and is available in red, black, silver, grey, green and white. The Commando draws power from a 961cc fuel-injected, air-cooled, parallel-twin engine which produces a max power of 80PS at 6500rpm and a peak torque of 90Nm at 5200rpm, mated to a 5-speed gearbox.  

At the front, suspension duties are taken care of by 43mm Ohlins USD forks while at the rear, there are fully-adjustable Ohlins twin shock absorbers. Braking is courtesy 320mm twin Brembo discs at the front and a 240mm single Brembo disc with 2-piston caliper at the rear. The bike comes with 120/70 front and 180/55 section tyres at the front and rear respectively. In India, the bike rivals the Triumph Thruxton R, the Ducati Monster 1200 S and the BMW R nineT.