Norton Motorcycles is working on a 650 cc motorcycle model which will be especially targeted at the high volumes market, especially in the Asian region, including India. Speaking to media on the sidelines of the joint venture announcement with Kinetic MotoRoyale, Norton Motorcycles CEO Stuart Garner said that the 650 cc motorcycle will be more powerful than the current Norton Dominator and Norton Commando; both powered by a 961 cc parallel-twin engine. The 650 cc parallel-twin engine, which is being developed in-house, will make around 100 bhp, says Garner.
Norton already has an agreement to make 650 cc engines for Chinese firm Zongshen, but the new 650 cc engine has been developed in-house for Norton, and will be more powerful, making around 100 bhp. In comparison, the 961 cc parallel-twin of the Dominator and the Commando makes just around 79 bhp. In the joint venture announcement today in New Delhi, Norton said that the company is already working on a new range of engines and platforms which will be shared with Kinetic MotoRoyale in subsequent years. Hopefully, the new 650 cc engines will be part of this new range of bikes.
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