2023 Norton Commando 961 First Look

It’s been a long and bittersweet decade for Norton Motorcycles, from hope and promise early on to financial impropriety, vague pronouncements, and outright embezzlement of funds under owner Stuart Garner. Then in 2020, India’s TVS Motor came from out of basically nowhere with a lifeline, offering to buy the beleaguered British marque and restructure it into a solvent, legitimate brand.

The ensuing year saw huge injections of cash, the building of a new state-of-the-art factory/headquarters in Solihull, UK, and a near-complete reengineering of the inherited designs by the TVS team. These impacts have been profound, and the resurrected Norton Motorcycle has delivered on its promise. New models are now rolling off production lines, including the just-released Commando 961.

Related: Norton Commando 961 Returns, Again.

The company’s updated website confirms the lineup thus far, which in addition to the Sport and Cafe Racer variants to the Commando includes the already-released 1,200cc V4SV superbike.

But the Commando is the first to be made at the brand’s new facilities at Solihull, and after the V4SV, is the second Norton model to get a refresh (if not an entire retooling) once TVS took over ownership of the marque. The new bike may look like a dead ringer to the one introduced under Garner, but it was given a complete makeover.

The new Commando 961′s engine is also visually identical to the one in the Garner-era machine. Both variants are powered by a 961cc air- and oil-cooled pushrod parallel twin churning out a claimed 76 hp at 7,250 rpm and 60 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,300 rpm; this power is sent through a five-speed transmission with a wet multiplate clutch. We see the same 88mm bore and 79mm stroke numbers as the old Kenny Dreer-designed lump, but the power claims are down a touch, so it’s a safe bet those changes to the previous machine were made mostly in the engine room. The performance numbers won’t set anyone’s hair on fire, but with Norton positioning the Commando as a “modern classic,” they’re not likely meant to. We’ll have a First Ride report on this bike to address that as soon as practical.

Related: Norton Motorcycles Acquired By TVS Motor

If you’re thinking an air-cooled pushrod twin is kind of old school, you’ll love the dual analog gauges, speedo, and a tach with inset LCD windows displaying additional info, perched above the lovely aluminum bar. It all dovetails with the Commando’s overall aesthetic, which carries over its iconic retro styling with that beautifully sculpted tank, its indents narrowing to a classic hourglass waist at the seat junction. Geometry and dimensions of the tube-steel frame are likewise unchanged, though Norton says its materials and design have been thoroughly reworked to improve strength, with hand TIG and MIG welding done in-house at the new facility. The same goes for the new stainless steel exhaust, which the firm assures us is “designed and crafted at the Norton factory to amplify every decibel.”

There are of course modern bits too, including a gold-anodized, fully adjustable 43mm inverted Öhlins fork matched to a pair of fully adjustable Öhlins shocks. The suspension is complemented by a full Brembo braking system with radial-mount calipers at the front and with ABS. There’s also a billet aluminum top yoke and carbon fiber front fender to further drive home that the Commando is a premium product.

The only difference between the two new Commando variants is styling, and honestly it just comes down to the bars and the seat. The Sport model gets black anodized bars that sit the rider in a more upright position, while the Cafe Racer opts for lower-set billet aluminum clip-ons to deliver that classic cafe racer crouch. Oddly enough, in the photos, the Cafe Racer (CR) trim shows a pillion seat, while the Sport (SP) version is shown with an integrated seat cowl. In fact the pillion seat is available for either model as an option. Missing altogether is the brief headlight cowl seen on the residual Commando 961 Classic models the new Norton firm inherited from Garner, and built for customers last year to honor their deposits.

In any case, you get a choice of two color schemes with either the SP or the CR, Matrix Black or Platinum Silver, each of which is also applied by hand. Regardless of color, the CR comes only with polished rims, while the SP in Matrix Black can be paired with either polished or black rims.

Related: 2022 Norton V4SV First Ride Review

Although it appears there are no real innovations on this recent model compared to the prior Commando, the company says necessary refinements and upgrades to design and materials were made to address reliability issues. The Commando is not likely to be meant as a real challenger to the current Triumph Thruxtons; as spec’d and equipped, it has less power, fewer amenities, and costs more. It’s more of a collector’s bike for those looking to own a piece of (reimagined) history.

Clearly TVS means business, and the rest of the new Norton lineup is slowly coming into focus. Based on the latest announcements, it will include the V4SV’s semi-stripped-back cafe racer cousin the V4CR as well, though the CR is said to be a limited edition that likely won’t be launched until 2023, due to currently ubiquitous supply issues. The brand is also planning to build an electric bike in the UK, but according to a recent statement from Norton CEO Dr. Robert Henstchel, the 650cc parallel-twin Atlas Nomad and Ranger models have been scrapped, at least for now.

The Commando 961 bikes, which start at an MSRP of 16,499 pounds, are currently available only in the UK. Interested non-Brits can signal their interest on the official Norton website, with deposits being taken now. Delivery of the bikes is expected by early 2023.