NVT have even had the guts to make a share offer, which after the Hesketh debacle should have been laughed at, but actually generated a great deal of interest amongst the motorcycle fraternity - at least the price of the bike puts it firmly in one of the few areas of motorcycle sales that are still buoyant and the Norton name carries some kind of weight. My guess is that the success of the bike will depend entirely on how well they style the thing. All the other attributes of the engine (lightness, simplicity and smoothness) are all old hat; with lovely devices like Honda's CBR600 on the road for under three grand (discounted) any new bike, whatever the engine capacity, will have to be endowed with exceptional abilities to take on the Japs, these days. In the past there were huge gaps that rivals could plug (weight, handling, etc) which are no longer available. So, the future of NVT is down to style.
The 'new' Bonnie relies solely on better build quality and components machined to more exacting tolerances, to shake off its self destruct reputation. There are any number of ways to improve the engine but part of the licencing deal under which they are built stops any major modification. The few owners I've come across have been impressed with the quality of build and reliability, but the effect of noise and pollution controls on an ancient design of cylinder head means economy is very poor for the performance, which rather mitigates against the whole design concept.
The Matchless is a different ballgame with a relatively modern SOHC, four valve Rotax engine in a typically British style rolling chassis, only spoilt by the use of a front disc brake. I can't actually believe that they will use the same type of engine as in the Jawa bargain basement version - anyone who tries to sell a 500cc single with a kickstart on the left hand side and no electric start really does need to have their head examined... just what happens if you stall in traffic - most people will find toppling over easier than starting a big thumper with their left leg. But I'm sure the British wouldn't be silly enough to produce a bike with such a design...
Which neatly enough brings us to Armstrong, who bought up a number of non-road motorcycling concerns and sell a Rotax engined bike to the military. I certainly hope that they can improve on the design of frame they use in this bike. OK, so it works alright but so many welds and so many separate tubes and bits of steel plate? Surely one of Britain's leading automotive component suppliers can come up with something a little bit more advanced if and when they finally make it into the road bike market.
Indeed, it is somehow disconcerting to find companies making motorcycles limited by the design of the motor. Vincent were, I suppose, prime examples of a motorcycle manufacturer actually designing the engine and frame together, and although this device didn't handle so well, I suspect its handling limitations were more a result of its strange suspension than chassis rigidity. Of course, the Japs are equally lax in this department, but then they have only just worked out how to make bikes handle, whereas the Brits have had that all sorted out for ages.
The NVT Wankel is a prime candidate for, at the very least, having the swinging arm bolted onto the engine - their use of a fabricated steel sheet frame is so strange as to be almost perverted. But what the hell, the British are making a comeback, bring out the flags, roll out the nostalgia, dance to the hype and, er, keep your money safely tucked under the bed until the dust settles.
Johnny Malone