TWIN TWINS
Norton’s decade-long ride down the comeback trail under the ownership of Stuart Garner is now reaching fruition.
As you read this, production has commenced of the historic British marque’s twin Twins — its 650cc parallel-twin Atlas range. Launched at the Birmingham NEC Show almost a year ago, they will initially be available in Nomad and Ranger street scrambler versions, one (Ranger) more decidedly dual purpose than the other. These two all-new motorcycles presage what Garner promises will be a constantly expanding range of entry-level models in the Norton range — all without in any way impacting on the company’s current air/oil-cooled Commando 961 retro twin, which continues in production in Euro 4 compliant form — alongside its 1200 V4 Superbike family which entered production one year ago. Pricing is at the upper end of the middleweight market, with the Nomad retailing at £9,995 OTR (on the road) including 20% British tax, and the Ranger at £11,995, compared to the Kawasaki Versys 650GT at £8,649 ($9,199 in the U.S.). [At time of printing, U.S. prices and launch dates for the Norton 650s have not been announced as the bikes are undergoing emissions processes, but “early 2020” is hoped for. — Ed.]
Indeed, the Atlas duo are a direct spinoff from those 1200 V4 models, with the liquid-cooled 8-valve DOHC parallel-twin wet-sump engine common to both versions. The engine essentially represents the front cylinder bank of the 72-degree V4 engine, with the same chain camshaft drive up the left side of the Atlas engine, which is fitted with a 270-degree crank. This has been stroked slightly to obtain a full 650cc, so that instead of the V4’s 82mm x 56.8mm format, the Atlas engine now measures
