BACK IN APRIL 2020, TVS MOTORS bought the famous Norton brand, taking ownership of an iconic name with an unattractive and controversial recent history. In a short space of time (and in the midst of a global pandemic) the Indian motorcycle manufacturing giant restructured the Norton business, introduced new personnel and built and commissioned a brand new multi-million pound HQ and production headquarters in the English Midlands.
“New” Norton had—and still has—much to do to restore the public’s love for the marque, central to that process being putting right the defects and supply issues that have blighted the old regime’s V4SS superbike. The new Norton team identified no fewer than 35 problems with the bike and set out on a project to completely re-engineer the machine; to rectify every fault and improve reliability and longevity.
Norton stripped back the old V4SS, looked at and tested each component, and then rebuilt, redesigned or used entirely new parts where necessary, to produce the new bike, the V4SV.
And this is it. The new V4SV, redesigned and rebuilt by new Norton. We rode the it at the Mallory Park racetrack in the United Kingdom, not too far from the new company’s new headquarters.
I was one of a small group of journalists to ride the old Norton V4SS. It was during an exclusive test in the south of France over two days back in 2019. I was determined to give the bike a thorough examination and covered 800 kilometres over two days, thrashing the poor 1,200-cc V4 mercilessly every step of the way. And, guess what? Aside from a dodgy fuel light, it was impressive—even the gimmicky reverse camera worked!
In hindsight, I know I was lucky. The
