International Dealer News 159 Feb/Mar 2021 IDN159 Feb/Mar 2021 | Page 28

THE BRADLEY REPORT

THE BRADLEY REPORT

Norton completes factory move

The new HQ will be a permanent base for all staff and incorporates state-ofthe-art design , engineering , manufacturing and quality control capabilities . The opening is the result of a multi-million-pound investment from Norton ' s new parent company , TVS Motor Company ( India ). Commissioning is expected to be completed in Q1 2021 and the company says that " over 50 high quality new jobs have already been created and more are expected to follow as business activity grows , providing a welcome boost to the local economy ". The site at Solar Park , Solihull is the most advanced facility that Norton has ever had in the 122-year-old motorcycle brand ' s history . The premises will be the central hub for all of Norton ' s operations , providing a
permanent base for design , engineering , purchasing , sales , marketing and support teams , as well as the skilled production team that is resuming manufacture of motorcycles . Some of the specialist tooling and equipment previously used by Norton has been carried over to the new site in Solihull , but the site is benefiting from substantial new investment . In addition to some of the existing tooling , the company says that " the new facility will make use of modernday , quality-assured production processes , skilled technicians and state-of-the-art new manufacturing equipment to ensure all bikes are built with great precision and quality . " Norton will resume production of the Commando Classic model at the Solihull site , building a limited quantity to honour customers that had ordered and paid for a deposit on these bikes , with production of the V4SS commencing soon ". Sudarshan Venu , joint Managing Director of TVS Motor , said : " The opening of the new headquarters represents a significant step forward for Norton Motorcycles . The opening of this state-of-the-art facility will create the foundations for a sustainable longterm
future for Norton . " 2020 was a tough year for the world , but we are excited to be moving into our new home and we are delighted this has been created by the Norton and TVS teams in just nine months . This new facility will produce bikes truly worthy of the illustrious Norton brand and take it into the future . We are setting out to create a future for the company , our employees , our customers and our partners that lives up to the highest expectations and enable Norton to once again become the real force its history deserves . " This investment also represents the
start of an important partnership between the West Midlands and TVS Motor . With Tata-owned JLR also based in the region , the West Midlands has a good relationship with India that we are constantly looking to improve through the West Midlands India partnership . This investment by Norton exemplifies what exactly we are trying to achieve with the partnership , and I am delighted to welcome the company back home ."

100 years of Moto Guzzi

Moto Guzzi ' s 100th anniversary celebrations will culminate at its Mandello del Lario headquarters with a special three-day GMG festival of all things Moto Guzzi - Giornate Mondiali Moto Guzzi - from September 9 through 12 . To mark the year , Moto Guzzi will produce a limited series of their models in a special Centennial Livery - available on V7 , V9 and V85 TT in 2021 only - " an exclusive , elegant and attractive colour scheme , evocative of a unique heritage , drawing its origins from the aesthetics of the legendary bikes which made motorcycling history , first and foremost the Otto Cilindri of 1955 . A mad and visionary idea , an extraordinary bike created to compete in the World Championship 500 class , a project so bold that it was ten years ahead of all global motorcycle production . " This milestone in motorbike history has an extremely elegant colour scheme in its purely racing essence , combining the satin-finished metal of the fuel tank with the green of the fairing and the leather on the seat . Colours that also characterised the 350 Bialbero , one of the most victorious bikes in history , the unbeatable
dominator of the 350 class in World Championship GP motorcycle racing , with the amazing record of nine consecutive world titles ( five Rider and four Manufacturer ) from 1953 to 1957 . " Green was also the first colour ' worn ' by a Moto Guzzi with the Normale , the first model , and probably the most iconic of the eagle ' s colours . The Style Centre reinterpreted it in a modern approach with a matt finish and associated with metallic colours , it expressed the solidity and authenticity of the Larian brand ". It was 15 March 1921 when the " Società Anonima Moto Guzzi " was established with the goal of " manufacturing and sales of motorcycles and any other activity pertinent or connected to the metal mechanical industry ". In memory of one of the founders ' brothers in arms , the eagle with spread wings was chosen as the new company ' s symbol and the eagle has been Moto Guzzi ' s
symbol ever since then . The operational headquarters in Mandello del Lario is the same plant where Moto Guzzis are still produced to this day - a factory that has seen manufacturing of many famous bikes such as the GT 500 Norge ( 1928 ) ( ridden to the Arctic Circle by Giuseppe Guzzi , brother of founder Carlo ), the Airone 250 ( 1939 ) and the Galletto ( 1950 ), which contributed to mass motorisation in the post war period . " In those years , the wind tunnel was opened - the first in the world in the motorcycling segment , which can still be visited in the Mandello plant . It was greatly coveted by a close-knit team that included extraordinary engineers such as Umberto Todero , Enrico Cantoni and a designer who would soon become a legend , Milan native
Giulio Cesare Carcano - father of the incredible 285 km / hour Otto Cilindri ( in 1955 ) and the prototypes which , between 1935 and 1957 , won no fewer than 15 world speed titles and 11 Tourist Trophies . " In the ' 60s , after the Stornello and Dingo light motorcycles , Moto Guzzi breathed life into the 700 cc 90 ° V-twin with cardan shaft final drive , destined to become the very symbol of the manufacturer from Mandello through legendary models like the V7 Special , V7 Sport , California and Le Mans . This engine has been consistently evolved on this architecture , all the way to driving the most popular modern Moto Guzzis such as the V7 and V9 range in the Roamer and Bobber versions and the V85 TT Traveller , the first ever ' classic enduro ' in the world ."
28 IDN - FEBRUARY / MARCH 2021
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