Terblanche joins Norton

Interesting news! Norton obviously have some big plans.

South African motorcycle designer Pierre Terblanche will be heading Norton Motorcycles as head of product development and design starting from January 4th, 2011. This move comes as part of Norton’s efforts to establish itself as a global motorcycle brand, which will see the British bike-maker develop modern-day liquid-cooled overhead-cam motors based on Terblanche designs. The air-cooled pushrod-engine powered classic Norton Commando 961, which is largely attributed for Norton’s comeback, will run alongside the new range of products.
Click to expand...

They've done very well so far... in a year they went from announcing their intentions and showing a prototype, to delivering bikes to customers, out of a new factory.

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-featu...oins-norton-motorcycles-as-design-head/7361/1
 
851jim said:
Terblanche comes from a different era, this has to be bad news for Norton.
Click to expand...

Norton have expressed an interest in racing with rumours of a return to GPs by 2012, and Terblance designed the most successful (start:win ratio) Ducati of all time, the 999.

Where all the money is coming from... who knows?
 
miloVanMultistrada said:
Norton have expressed an interest in racing with rumours of a return to GPs by 2012, and Terblance designed the most successful (start:win ratio) Ducati of all time, the 999.

Where all the money is coming from... who knows?
Click to expand...

Got to agree Miles, I see it as a good move..... great bikes, not the prettiest. Maybe he has learnt his lesson and might balance looks and capabilities.
 
miloVanMultistrada said:
Norton have expressed an interest in racing with rumours of a return to GPs by 2012, and Terblance designed the most successful (start:win ratio) Ducati of all time, the 999.

Where all the money is coming from... who knows?
Click to expand...
Yes, really bizarre. MCN is all over Norton like a rash singing their praises and sucking up to Stuart Garner the owner but i believe there is still a slight 'delay' in customer getting bikes they have ordered.
That would concern me a bit paying a fair chunk or the whole amount and then being told different delivery dates for the bike.
So assuming they are still way behind with the first lot of bikes where is the money coming from ?? I would have thought you would have to be well on before announcing taking on Pierre T and going GP racing considering nobody is throwing money around for sponsorship very easily.
 
Aye, that had been Mr Websters. He was not at all happy. Did he ever get it sorted out?
 
isn't motogp a step too big for a company which is trying to get back on the stage?

who's gonna pay such a project? the few new commando owners?

i don't want to be misunderstood. i would like to see a larger grid in motogp, especially including a brand like norton but i can't see a solid product range to get some money in...
 
petzi said:
isn't motogp a step too big for a company which is trying to get back on the stage?

who's gonna pay such a project? the few new commando owners?

i don't want to be misunderstood. i would like to see a larger grid in motogp, especially including a brand like norton but i can't see a solid product range to get some money in...
Click to expand...
The mystery continues !
Norton had next to no success at the TT last year i seem to recall, delivering new bikes on a slow catch up process, employing Chris Walker as Sales Manager or similar and now going into GP !
 
Mike the Bike said:
The mystery continues !
Norton had next to no success at the TT last year i seem to recall,
Click to expand...

Was it not the case that the bike failed to make the start despite lots of promising noises in the run-up to the event?
The cashflow there must be a nightmare as it is all money going out and yet the plans seem to become grander by the month.
Can't help getting the feeling one day it is all going to implode in a spectacular fashion.
I really hope I'm wrong as it would be great to see Norton up and running and profitable but at the moment people seem to be buying into dreams of intent.
 
petzi said:
isn't motogp a step too big for a company which is trying to get back on the stage?

who's gonna pay such a project? the few new commando owners?

i don't want to be misunderstood. i would like to see a larger grid in motogp, especially including a brand like norton but i can't see a solid product range to get some money in...
Click to expand...

It does seem odd, but thinking about it a bit more, is there any other 'prototype' racing series with a decent profile where they could compete without having to make a road bike before they enter?

Also... what if they are supplying just an engine to be placed into someone else's chassis - as happens in F1? Or possibly this is part of an attempt to show they are serious so they can get sponsors interested? :dunno:

I think I'm already looking forward to MotoGP 2012 more than 2011. A fit Rossi with time on a revised Desmo, and Norton in the paddock...
 
miloVanMultistrada said:
It does seem odd, but thinking about it a bit more, is there any other 'prototype' racing series with a decent profile where they could compete without having to make a road bike before they enter?
Click to expand...

to do the job a season in motogp it'll take roundabout 20-? mill euros. (i think the bugdet for the bologna factory is around 40-50 mill euros.)we'll see whether way they go: factory team, engine supplier or only media hype trigger

btw. to assign a starting grid in motogp the dorna takes 5 mill euros deposit.
 
Last edited:
petzi said:
to do the job a season in motogp it'll take roundabout 20-? mill euros. (i think the bugdet for the bologna factory is around 40-50 mill euros.)we'll see whether way they go: factory team, engine supplier or only media hype trigger

btw. to assign a starting grid in motogp the dorna takes 5 mill euros deposit.
Click to expand...

Ah, but there a few changes (like "Claiming Rule" Teams) being introduced in 2012 that should bring that cost down.

http://www.racers-republic.com/motogp/news/620/motogp-claiming-rule-teams-to-be-selected

The CR teams get to use more fuel and can use more engines across the season - so development costs will lower vs the full factory 1000cc or 800cc bikes. They can also use production based (vs prototype) engines, so there is nothing to stop someone taking say an S1000RR engine and heavily tuning it, which, funnily enough, is exactly what Eskil Suter is doing:

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/09/03/suter_introduces_2012_motogp_bike_but_wi.html

I don't think Dorna, or anyone else involved for that matter, want to go back to the empty grids of the early 90s...
 
petzi said:
because i'm getting the subscribed issues a half week later (or nearly never) what type of bikes terblanche has drawed?
Click to expand...

Just spotted the front page as I was at the supermarket and there was what looked to be a Diavel style power cruiser and two other naked bikes - one of which could well have been a scrambler.

The good news is they didn't look too crazy, which I think was the worry after news of PT's new assignment broke.
 
saw some sketches today on the mcn page. interesting to see that terblanche drawed every bike with a single-side swing...
 
petzi said:
saw some sketches today on the mcn page. interesting to see that terblanche drawed every bike with a single-side swing...
Click to expand...

the 999 was drawn with a SS it wast PT who wanted a twin sider its was Ducati Corse! they needed a bike to compete with other 1000cc bikes and knew every gm counted, an extra 200cc and you dont worry about the weight and pander to the marketing team.....
 
Here are the sketches from MCN.

norton-1.jpg


norton-2.jpg


norton-3.jpg
 
Pierre Terblanche quits Norton

:eek:

Just six months after joining the company, Pierre Terblanche has exclusively confirmed to Hell For Leather that he has quit the new Norton. “Norton, with the right finance and management, could do very well,” the designer told us this morning as he packed up his apartment. Acquiring Terblanche — designer of the Ducati Supermono, 999 and many other iconic motorcycles — from mega-manufacturer Piaggio was quite the coup for Norton, the reborn brand has only been operating since 2008.

Norton, located in the UK, currently sells a range of high-end motorcycles based around an all-new Commando platform and has said it’s developing a 1,000cc V4 racing motorcycle. In November, it was announced that the company would begin importing bikes to America, an operation that was to be headed by former Ducati North America CEO Dan Van Epps. Since that time, bikes have not arrived at dealers on schedule. Neither Dan nor Norton Motorcycles CEO Stuart Garner was immediately available for comment this morning.

Terblanche is both famous and controversial for bringing ambitious design to a notoriously conservative world. He’s probably most well-known for his time at Ducati, which saw public opinion favor work like that Supermono and the SportClassic range, while the 999 was famously ahead of its time. Recently, he penned a range of concepts for Moto Guzzi, marking a path into the future for a brand that’s spent too long stuck in the past.

“I’ve got another project already,” Terblanche told us, without divulging details. “I’m working on a new motorcycle.”
 
Norton saga continues........
As we suspected before things aint what they seem. Article in the new Classic Bike describes how the backlog of customers awaiting delivery of the 961SE is growing and one customer quoted how he has paid in full ( never a good idea ! ) and Norton aren't returning the calls !
Classic Bike contacted Norton for comment and they haven't replied.
They report that P. Terreblanche has not been paid -maybe that's why he packed it in !

The old saying of 'If it looks too good to be true then it probably is' is starting to look about right.

:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom