Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer launched at Rs. 23 lakh

Motoroyale and the Norton Motorcycle Company have launched the Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer in India. The bike will be imported as a completely built unit (CBU) and is priced at Rs. 23 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune). The booking amount for one of these bikes is Rs. 11.5 lakh and deliveries will take around 2-3 months.

The Commando 961 Cafe Racer is a retro-styled bike with a wheelbase of 1,400 mm and a seat height of 810 mm. It has an adjustable 43 mm Ohlins upside-down front fork and adjustable Ohlins twin shock absorbers at the rear. 

The bike has a classic cafe racer appearance with a round headlamp and a short wind deflector at the front. It has clip-on handle bars and a twin-pod instrument cluster. The fuel tank has knee recesses and it has a curved tail section with an integrated tail light and twin stainless steel exhausts. At present, the bike is only offered in a silver colour option.

The Commando 961 Cafe Racer is powered by a 961 cc, air/oil-cooled, parallel-twin cylinder, push-rod actuated engine that develops 79 BHP @ 6,500 rpm and 90 Nm of torque @ 5,200 rpm. The engine is paired with a 5-speed gearbox via a wet multi-plate clutch. Braking duties are handled by twin 320 mm floating discs with Brembo 4-piston monobloc radially-mounted calipers in the front and a single 220 mm disc in the rear with a 2-piston Brembo caliper. 

The Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer will compete with the Triumph Thruxton R in the Indian market. At present, the former is priced significantly higher than its rival. However, its price is likely to drop once local assembly commences, which is expected by the end of 2018.

Source: Autocar India