Norton announced they’ve just received the blessing of all of those folks carrying clipboards at the EPA, CARB and NHTSA, which means it’s now OK to sell their 961 Commandos over here in the US. I was surprised to see this because I had mistakenly assumed they had already passed all of the appropriate tests. This may explain why you don’t see these bikes on the road over here, though I hear rumblings deliveries have been a bit slow elsewhere, too.

I really like the look of these Nortons and I’ve been hoping the company would do very well. Ever since Kenny Dreer sold the rights and name they seemed to be doing all of the right things, but everything was moving in slow motion. Maybe now that everyone has signed off, we’ll see them on the road in greater numbers. I certainly hope so.

From Norton Motorcyles:

Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd today announces an important milestone with their ability to supply bikes to the North American and Canadian market upon the successful completion of the durability and emission testing for its Commando 961 series of motorcycles. The emission and durability testing was carried out by a certified testing laboratory and at specific intervals during its 15,000Km accumulation the bikes are tested to ensure compliance with EPA and CARB exhaust, noise and evaporative emissions. The lab’s testing also completes a significant durability and safety trial and the new 961 Norton Commando passed and exceeded all standards by a wide margin. This testing process included NHTSA’s safety and compliance documentation, plus the certification testing review and processing required by the U.S. EPA and the California Air Resources Board. The remaining steps in the certification process are primarily paper based compliance reporting and subsequent approvals from various departments.

Link: Norton