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Norton plans 1200cc V4 and 650cc twin

Norton V4
Norton V4 artist's impression

Norton Motorcycles plans to break with tradition and produce bikes with a 1200cc V4 engine and smaller parallel twins, says design head Simon Skinner.

The announcement comes after a £7.5 ($A16) million investment at the company’s Leicestershire headquarters last month, creating 600 new jobs. The investment includes a £4 ($A8) million Government grant.

Norton Motorcycles announced it would use the grants to increase its current single engine and four model line-up to three engine platforms and seven or eight models.

READ ABOUT THE PLANS

Now Norton Motorcycles has expanded on that announcement, saying it plans to produce a 200bhp (150kW), 1200cc V4-powered sports bike and a new 650 parallel twin.

Currently, all Nortons are powered by a 58kW/90Nm 961cc parallel twin.

“It has been something we’ve wanted to do as a brand since 2009,” says Simon.

“When I first started with Norton we had very early discussions talking about V4 and the type of bikes we wanted to do. But we had to get the business right first, get the Commando right first, the suppliers, the dealers and all the boring stuff right.”Norton V4

The unnamed bike will be inspired by TT race bikes, feature an all-new V4 engine developed by Ricardo Motorcycles and use design influences from some of the greatest names in British engineering including Aston Martin, and the British F1 car industry.

Norton released some sketches of the new V4 bike and says it will be a high-end bike costing up to £30,000 and would rival the Ducati 1299 Panigale.

It will have carbonfibre fairings and wheels, an aerospace aluminium frame and billet parts welded and polished by hand at Norton.

It is also expected to have a lot of hi-tech rider aids such as ABS, traction control and engine maps.

There are no more details on the 650cc, but it could be a cheaper version of the current Commando range.

Their current lineup is the Commando 961 Sport ($31,490 plus on-road costs), Cafe Racer ($35,490) and SF ($37,490) and limited edition Dominator SS (about $38,000).

Around one-fifth are sold in the UK, with the rest exported to Australia, USA, Europe, Japan and Korea.

In Australia, they are sold at Fraser Motorcycles Sydney and Melbourne; Rocker Classic Motorcycles, Brisbane; Adelaide Motorcycle Centre; Bike Craft, Cairns; and Cyclespot Group, Auckland.