Norton V4SV Superbike Revealed

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The Norton Motorcycle Co. Ltd.’s new, reworked V4SV superbike, here in Manx trim. (Norton Motorcycle/)

Norton’s 1,200cc V-4 superbike was first shown five years ago amid a flurry of ambitious plans but the same bike became emblematic of the company’s downward trajectory before it entered administration in January 2020.

The Norton name might live on, but the business behind the current iteration is very different to the one that went under during Stuart Garner’s period as CEO. The intellectual property and Norton branding were bought up by Indian firm TVS, which has since relaunched Norton as a new company, with new premises and facilities and, most importantly, the backing of a vast motorcycle manufacturer with deep pockets. Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd. is dead, and in its place we have The Norton Motorcycle Co. Ltd.

The 1,200cc model retains the handmade aluminum chassis and carbon bodywork of the original V-4, but detunes the engine to make a claimed 185 hp. (Norton Motorcycle/)

While the new company had originally planned to fix the problems that the owners of the original V4 were suffering, on further investigation it discovered that the troubles ran too deep. Eventually a list of 35 defects was discovered, 20 of them considered safety critical, and as a result the decision was made not to try to repair the bikes. Now, after a year of development work, The Norton Motorcycle Co. Ltd has shown the first images and details of its reworked V4, which goes under the name V4SV and is set to be available in two forms—a lower-spec Manx and a more expensive Carbon model.

Related: Norton: What Went Wrong And What Happens Now

Details are limited, but the high-end Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes look to be carried over from the old model, as well as riding modes and traction control. (Norton Motorcycle/)

The main elements are as before. The carbon bodywork’s styling looks the same as the old model, and the frame is the same handmade, TIG-welded aluminum tube chassis. The engine, too, is essentially the same 72-degree V-4, but detuned from the 200 hp that was claimed for the previous generation to 185 hp in the new model.

That power loss is likely to come not from the fixes applied for reliability but from the fact that Norton finally intends to make the V4SV a genuine road bike. The previous models were never fully type-approved as production bikes—the handful that reached owners were registered in the UK using rules designed to allow kit-cars and home-built machines to be made road-legal, with far more relaxed emissions tests—and as such the original bikes were never seen with catalytic converters or street-approved mufflers fitted. Although Norton’s new pictures of the V4SV also show the bikes fitted with track-only exhausts, the company is expecting to fit bigger, quieter, and cleaner pipes for road use. That might also explain why the specs show a weight increase from the older model’s claimed dry weight of 395 pounds to 426 pounds, also measured dry.

Electronics include a rearview camera and a quickshifter. The bike here is shown with a track-only exhaust unit, but consumer models will likely get bigger and quieter (and probably less attractive) pipes. (Norton Motorcycle/)

The limited available specs for the new bike show no significant changes to the engine, retaining an unaltered 13.6:1 compression ratio, the same twin-injector-per-cylinder setup, titanium inlet valves, and slipper clutch as before. The new bike’s 185 hp is hit at 12,500 rpm, the same revs as the old model achieved its claimed 200 hp, but torque peaks 1,000 rpm lower at 9,000 rpm, and at 92 pound-feet it’s 3 pound-feet short of the previous claimed maximum.

The darker and higher-spec Carbon model emphasizes the carbon weave bodywork and fits carbon fiber BST wheels as well. (Norton Motorcycle/)

Like the frame, the suspension is carried over from the old bike, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as it’s high-spec Öhlins kit, with NIX 30 fork and TTX GP shock. It’s the same story with the Brembo brakes, and as before the electronics include three riding modes, a rearview camera, and a quickshifter. There’s also keyless ignition and lean-sensitive traction control.

Carbon body panels on the Manx version are painted silver while the red alloy wheels are forged alloy. (Norton Motorcycle/)

While all the Norton V4SVs have carbon bodywork, the Manx version features silver paintwork and red Oz Racing forged alloy wheels, while the Carbon model has the carbon weave on show and features carbon fiber BST wheels. There’s no word on price yet, but in the UK the original V4SS—which was due to be a limited-edition, introductory model—cost 44,000 pounds ($60,000), while the planned mass-produced version, the V4RR, was listed at 28,000 pounds ($38,000).

Carbon weave nose detail on the V4SV Carbon version. (Norton Motorcycle/)
The new bike is 30.5 pounds heavier than the previous V4, which was never fully approved as a production model. (Norton Motorcycle/)

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