The Crittenden Automotive Library

Norton - Commando passes US and Canadian regulations

Topics: Norton Commando

Norton - Commando passes US and Canadian regulations

Matt Hubbard
Speedmonkey
August 27, 2012

Norton Motorcycles have just announced that they can now supply bikes to the North American and Canadian market. Their Commando 961 series of motorcycles has just passed the stringent durability and emission testing required by those markets

The bikes are tested by a certified testing laboratory and includes compliance with EPA and CARB exhaust noise and evaporative conditions, the NHSTA's safety and compliance documentation plus the certification testing review and processing required by the US EPA and California Air Resources Board. Which in English means the floodgates are open and they can now sell as many Commandos as they can produce via their dealer network.

Stuart Garner, Norton CEO, said, "I would like to thank the dedicated Norton team for accomplishing such a monumental feat. For the bike to come through the rigorous 15,000Km testing shows its’ great durability and build quality. It’s a credit to both our design and production teams, along with our key suppliers who have also worked alongside us on to ensure we have the very best quality components.

The process of opening the key USA market began two years ago with the recruitment of Dan Van Epps, an industry veteran and ex-CEO of Ducati North America. Dan has helped steer us through the process which has taken continual resource and investment to achieve the approvals, which of course alongside Europe give us another of the most significant markets in the world. I would also like to thank Peter Howes, Norton Canada who has worked tirelessly to make this possible.

Both Norton America and Norton Canada have been busy building our dealer network and we now have a solid foundation to invest in and build upon.

It has taken the Norton team a little under four years to successfully rebuild this iconic British motorcycle brand. However, whilst there is much left to do, our immediate focus will be to continue to work hard to get our early UK orders delivered ahead of growing production volume for the export market.”