After MV Agusta, Kinetic is set to bring another superbike company in India.
Domestic two-wheeler brand, Kinetic, has formed an alliance with British company Norton Motorcycles, to sell the latter’s superbike range in India. The Joint Venture (JV) was announced at the 2017 EICMA in Milan.
Kinetic Group's Motoroyale, which also sells MV Agusta in India, will assemble Norton Motorcycles at Kinetic's manufacturing facility based in Ahmednagar. Local assembly would help Norton bypass excessive import duties and price their motorcycles competitively in India. Additionally, through Kinetic, Norton will also expand its reach to neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh.
For those unaware of Norton Motorcycles, it is one of the oldest motorcycle companies, formed in 1898 is Birmingham, UK. The company has a long history of racing involvement as well. Presently, Noton makes four bikes - V4 RR, Dominator, Commando 961 Cafe Racer MK II and Commando 961 Sport MK II. The V4 RR is a 1200cc supersport, while all others are 961cc cafe racers.
The Dominator and Commando are expected to be Norton’s debut models in India, which are powered by a 961cc parallel-twin, fuel injected motor that produces 79bhp and 90Nm. These bikes are expected to arrive in India as CBUs initially. As mentioned, local assembly of these bikes will be commenced by Kinetic soon afterwards.
"We are now taking the next big step forward and delighted to form this alliance with the Kinetic group. I believe that the style, passion and beauty of Norton products coupled with the experience of Kinetic will make a winning combination and deliver a fabulous range of Norton motorcycles across the ASEAN territories," Norton Motorcycles CEO and owner Stuart Garner said.
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