961 - Heavy Misfire - the full kangaroo

[TerryW]

Terry, are you joining us today at the NOC meet?

Nice to be remembered. I have now bought a very nice 2018 961 in manx silver. Done 600 miles and cost me £12500. A reasonable deal given that it has a years manufacturer’s warrantee. I pick the bike up on Monday. Fingers crossed.

Now that I have my Norton thrte is no excuse to miss NOC meetings. When is the next one.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Sounds like a bargain!

Never mind NOC meetings, it’s 961 meetings that matter.

Keep yer eye out for the next one...

 

[TerryW]

Picked the new 961 up today. Done 200 miles on it so far. Trying to complete its running in. Not pussyfooting around though. Runs very well and is a bit mechanically quieter than the failed experiment. I can feel the engine getting less and less hesitant as it picks up miles. It is very noticeable. This one now “troggs” along at 2200 revs in top without complaining and will pull comfortably into the power band. I am staying below 5000 rpm just for now.
First job is to plan how to make it LOUDER.

 

[BritTwit]

Picked the new 961 up today. Done 200 miles on it so far. Trying to complete its running in. Not pussyfooting around though. Runs very well and is a bit mechanically quieter than the failed experiment. I can feel the engine getting less and less hesitant as it picks up miles. It is very noticeable. This one now “troggs” along at 2200 revs in top without complaining and will pull comfortably into the power band. I am staying below 5000 rpm just for now.
First job is to plan how to make it LOUDER.

Great news.

 

[MxMartin]

Picked the new 961 up today. Done 200 miles on it so far. Trying to complete its running in. Not pussyfooting around though. Runs very well and is a bit mechanically quieter than the failed experiment. I can feel the engine getting less and less hesitant as it picks up miles. It is very noticeable. This one now “troggs” along at 2200 revs in top without complaining and will pull comfortably into the power band. I am staying below 5000 rpm just for now.
First job is to plan how to make it LOUDER.

If it's already done 600 and you've added another 200 then job done, get the decat pipes and short/long open silencers with ecu remap if not already fitted.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Like mx said.

Or, the Thiel Motorsport pipes like I have, they look more like peashooters and sound awesome! Same map as shorties.

 

[Glenn Harman]

Like mx said.

Or, the Thiel Motorsport pipes like I have, they look more like peashooters and sound awesome! Same map as shorties.

Are yours the 'short' Thiel cones or the 'long', they do look good

 

[Fast Eddie]

Short. They just look ‘right’...

 

[Glenn Harman]

Short. They just look ‘right’...

View attachment 10122

Definitely!

 

[TonyA]

Yes , I like them too. Is it still debatable which are louder ? These or factory shorties ?

 

[Britfan60]

I would say comparable in db but the shorties are raspy and nasty, bad ass. Like a termignoni on a Duc. but louder. The longs are baritone yet mellower. I prefer the longs.

 

[BritTwit]

The longs are baritone yet mellower. I prefer the longs.

Me too.

I'm waiting though to see and hear the Thiel 2-into-1 exhaust.
Which Nigel continues to promise, Ollie will have available soon.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Yes , I like them too. Is it still debatable which are louder ? These or factory shorties ?

General consensus is that the Thiel shorts are throatier than the factory shorties. In a good way though, even the boys at the factory commented how good it sounded.

 

[TerryW]

I’ll have a look at Thiel silencers. I failed when I searched for aftermarket popes. I was lucky enough to buy a pair of new std silencers for £90. A dealer in the west country got stuck with them. My intention is to remove the central baffle tube thus creating an open-long silencer. Not sure how it will turn out. Got a decat coming from Norton. Need to be aware of warrantee issues though. Adding a Theil exhaust would affect warrantee. Not sure about converting a std silencer as it will effectively be the same as their own open long silencers (more or less). They would have to be pretty mean to complain given that the untouched setup is so rough at low speeds. In effect, if you buy a new one you have to fork out an extra £1300 to get one that runs properly. Not a position that I would like to argue in court.

 

[TerryW]

Just looked at Theil silencers. Did I read 1300 Euros for the pair? Not much of a saving financially over the real thing. I am probably being a bit tight but to me that is extortionate.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Thiel pipes do not effect warranty. Yes, they’re not at the cheap end. And you still gotta buy the de cat and sort out the mapping (I already had de cat and map).

As to home made modifications, can’t say what they’d do to warranty.

Don’t forget that quote from the factory includes mapping. Not sure how your gonna map it in yer shed...

IMHO, considering the fun and games you’ve just gone through, I’d go the factory route, then you know it’s right.

Not that it’s much help now, but that Anniversary bike I posted for you would have had £4K worth of extras on it, inc open pipes and factory re map. Jus’ sayin’ !

 

[Clive]

I was lucky enough to buy a pair of new std silencers for £90.

Looks like you're half way there - my factory long opens have the front section with plain tube and sound perfect. Can you see the baffle arrangement from either end? Ideally if you could de-baffle without splitting the outer case open.

 

[TerryW]

I am just going to experiment by drilling out the central baffle tube and seeing what I am left with. My guess is that it will look rather similar to the open long silencer. There are plenty of videos about removing fixed baffles on youtube. If it all turns to hell I’ll just fork out for long opens and get the guys in Donnington to work their magic.
Remapping can be done by any Norton dealer. The Norton map for a decat plus long open silencer should do the trick.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Please keep us posted Terry, especially with regards to the mapping. Lots of folks seem to struggle with varying issues, usually low speed running issues, until they get the open pipes and remap (mine had open pipes and map from new, I’ve never actually ridden a ‘standard’ one).

I’m also interested if your dyno people can conduct remapping, I thought these units were locked to none Norton authorised intervention ?

 

[Clive]

If it all turns to hell I’ll just fork out for long opens and get the guys in Donnington to work their magic.

If you do then ask for what was known as the 'Clive modified' open longs as I described. You won't be disappointed.