Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer Launched In India; Priced At Rs 23 Lakh

Motoroyale, the official distributor of Norton Motorcycles in India has stated that the Commando 961 Cafe Racer will come to India via CBU route. The Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer can be booked by making an advanced payment of Rs 2 lakh. Currently, only one unit of the bike is available for sale in India and more units will be imported as per demand.

Previously, we had reported about the partnership between Norton Motorcycles and Motoroyale. Under the joint venture, Motoroyale will locally manufacture Norton bikes in India. The local production of the Norton motorcycles will begin from late 2018 or early 2019.

The newly launched Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer is a modern-classic bike and the overall design is based on the classic cafe racers. The motorcycle features a round headlamp, a small windscreen, sculpted fuel tank and curved tail section. The tail light is integrated to the rear cowl.

The Commando 961 Cafe Racer is equipped with aluminium clip-on handlebars and mudguard and windscreen made of carbon fibre. Braking duties are handled by 320mm dual disc brakes with the 4-piston Brembo caliper at the front and 220mm single disc brake at the rear.

The Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer draws power from a 961cc parallel-twin air/oil-cooled engine producing 78.9bhp and 90Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The bike gets aluminium spoke rims and features 43mm Ohlins upside down forks at the front and Ohlins twin shock absorbers at the rear.

Thoughts On The Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer

The Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer is a modern-classic motorcycle from the stable of British bike maker. Currently, there are no rivals for the Commando 961 Cafe Racer. However, the closest competitor for the bike is the Triumph Thruxton R priced at Rs 11.92 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi).

Norton Motorcycles aims to retail around 2,000 units in the Indian market by 2021. When the local manufacturing begins in India, Norton will price the motorcycle more competitively. Norton will also develop an entry-level model with a 650cc engine.