Is Norton REALLY scrapping the Commando?
Norton has announced plans to drop one of its most popular models, but is that REALLY what’s happening here?
Wait. What? Norton is going all-in on hyping its resurgence, but says it plans to dump the 961 Commando from its line-up. How does that make sense?
The Commando is one of Norton’s most iconic platforms. To the extent that I’ll bet most motorcyclists would actually struggle to name another Norton model. Norton without the Commando is like Triumph without the Bonneville, Harley-Davidson without the Sportster, Moto Guzzi without the V7, Indian without the Scout… I could go on.
The Commando, launched in 1967, was lauded by journalists and enthusiasts alike when it first came out. It earned “Machine of the Year” from MCN for five years in a row. In the United States, it became a centrepoint of stories and columns by motorcycle writer Peter Egan.
The 961 Commando was one of the few things that Norton managed to get right under its previous ownership - at least from a styling and sales standpoint, although problems did occur.
Indian manufacturing giant TVS Motor Company has spent five years sorting out the messes of previous stewards of the brand, as well as developing an all-new line-up aimed at driving the iconic name forward - which it plans to unveil at EICMA 2025.
“As one chapter ends, another begins, and the waiting is now almost over to reveal our exciting future,” says Richard Arnold, Norton’s Executive Director. Norton’s rich and storied history has always been built on a forward-thinking mindset, and our resurgence reflects a bold vision for these legendary British motorcycles.”
OK, we understand the idea of not wanting to hold onto emotional deadweight, but killing the Commando?! Surely not.
And here’s the thing: the more we think on it, the more we’re inclined to guess that, actually, the Commando probably WON’T be going away.
Sure, Norton has said that it intends to wind down production of the 961 Commando - along with the V4SV and V4CR - but that’s a different thing to abandoning the Commando platform altogether. There’s nothing to say Norton couldn’t return the Commando to its original 750 or 850 displacements, for example.
One of our reasons for thinking this is the fact that Norton clearly understands how important the Commando name is.
“[The 961 Commando is] revered the world over,” observes Arnold.
Backing that up is the fact that Norton has already sold out its final production run to dealers. Riders are speaking in favour of the bike with their wallets.
And with their hearts. Just a day before it announced plans to drop the 961 Commando, Norton released a four-and-a-half-minute video in which a rider speaks of her deep emotional connection to the Commando platform.
Unless one hand is completely ignorant of what the other is doing, this tells us that TVS and Norton are fully aware of the icon that they have on their hands and that it won’t be disappearing completely.
Will it be part of the line-up revealed in November? We’ll have to wait and see on that one, but we’re pretty sure it won’t be too long before a new take on the storied model is seen on UK roads.
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Chris Cope is a fourth-generation journalist, originally from Texas. He has lived in the UK for roughly two decades and has been writing about motorcycles for most of that time. He has written for dozens of publications and websites in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.
