When John Russell was the interim CEO of Norton Motorcycles, he made it clear for V4 SS owners his ambition to address the model’s issues.
There are 35 issues identified, out of which 20 were being said to be critical.
And Norton, at that point, had advised V4 SS owners not to ride the motorcycle unless they fix these issues.
While the new CEO Robert Hentschel now says Norton is under no obligation to do it. Which he says is due to the sourcing of components.
The letter says
“As we have mentioned in our previous letters, from the moment we found evidence of the problems with the NMUL V4-SS. We have been searching for the best way to support you with a practical and safe solution.
I hope you will understand that our view of the likely best solution has changed over time as we identified material defects.
The legal responsibility for the defects remains with NMUL, which is now in liquidation. You should have received a claim form from the liquidators of NMUL regarding this matter.
Therefore, you may please be in touch with the liquidators of NMUL for settlement of your claims.”
“Following the completion of the liquidation. We will offer you a new Norton V4 motorcycle as a gesture of goodwill, at a special price.
And it will come with a 2-year warranty that starts from the date of handover.
Concerning your NMUL V4-SS, as explained in previous letters. It should not be used or ridden on the road due to the number and severity of the defects.
We have thought long and hard about the feasibility and safety of repairing the existing motorcycles.
We have decided not to offer to repair the NMUL V4-SS motorcycles. Because we are unable to source all the parts needed from NMUL suppliers.”
Conclusion
“I would also like to inform you about the current situation regarding our new V4 motorcycle.
We are still working through what must be done to bring the new motorcycle up to the standard of safety and reliability we all expect from Norton.
I should stress that the new V4 will be a re-engineered motorcycle and not a continuation of the NMUL V4-SS.
We are committed to taking the time needed to validate the motorcycle’s safety. And reliability which means that we cannot yet confirm a Start of Production date.
Our current estimate is that we may be able to start production in Q4 2021, But you will appreciate that it will be tough for us to commit a particular date at this point.”
“I will remain closely involved with this process, although I cannot personally respond to you on an individual basis.
I should also add that while we are and always have been committed to maintaining honest and transparent communication with you. We think it is fair to communicate with all owners simultaneously and in the same way.
For that reason, it is inappropriate to respond to individual enquiries. My team and I remain committed to supporting the liquidators and owners as much as possible, despite these difficult circumstances.”
via Ridepart
