Rotary Norton NRV588 'could go 200mph+'

"quietly confident they've built a 200mph+ road-racing bike"

As long as races take place on a 6 mile long, straight stretch of tarmac?

Fun as this all may be I'm struggling to see the merit in this being anything other than a jolly. If this is about race development surely track time is far more beneficial. Is breaking some poxy rotary powered land speed record really going to sell more bikes?

Posted: 10/09/2009 at 13:34

Posted: 10/09/2009 at 21:51

   Norton need to cut out all the marketing hype and bullshit and consentrate on producing a decent motorcycle that will sell instead of this pie in the sky illusional nonsence.The American Norton Commando designed by Kenney Dreer is one of the nicest looking retro bike's developed so far. Norton UK need to quicky put this bike into production and forget about wasting millions on the rotary engine. Very few people bought them in the past and even fewer people will buy them in the future. Learn from histery Norton ! All the other motorcycle manufacturers who made rotary engines lost multi millions and gave up flogging the dead horse years ago. I'ts only success has been powering spy drone aircraft and a few Mazda car's.
Posted: Today 02:24

Posted: 11/09/2009 at 02:27

Posted: 15/09/2009 at 14:50

1. You are reading this article therefore you have already read "NORTON' about five or six times.

2. What engine should they have. Ducati have twins sown up. Triumph are all about triples. If you make an IL4 then you are competing against the japs (and even BMW!). If they make it work good on 'em!

3. 200mph in a straight line pointless? What, like going 30 laps and ending up at the same point? Pointless....but glorious!!! Go for it lads!

(who wouldn't want a road bike with flames on the over-run???)

Posted: 15/09/2009 at 14:58

Wankels have poor fuel economy

Posted: 17/09/2009 at 08:57

The old wankels had poor fuel economy, have a look at the aixro xr50 kart for example it has fuel economy roughly the same as 4-strokes and even less maintanance and emissions.

Besides who the hell buys a 200mph bike for fuel economy?

Posted: 17/09/2009 at 11:04

its a 588cc rotor that puts out at excess of 170bhp at the wheel, the new Yamaha R6 can only boast 120+bhp at the wheel.

ill buy one as soon as they are on the market. its a beautiful bit of machinery that i hope will elevate motorbikes to a new level of speed and power that the piston engines cant reach. bring on the change.

Posted: 08/10/2009 at 06:27