Norton Dominator - Who Am I?

And that's what it is - modern day materials fused together to make art - one that sings! The Norton Dominator was reincarnated out of the need for a production/road-legal Domiracer. Revealed in early 2015, the Dominator was available in two variants, one of which was the SS and limited to just 50 UK bikes, which were sold in no time. The standard Dominator (in the picture above) is the one heading to our shores. As a result of the joint venture between Kinetic Group’s Motoroyale and Norton, the Dominator will be the second bike from the British bike manufacturer to come to India after the Commando. Let's get to know the bike a little better, shall we? 

What is it?

A cafe racer. Inspired by the design of the Domiracer, it looks retro but couldn't be more opposite. Materials used to make this bike include carbon-fibre. Even the mechanical parts used on the motorcycle are of premium quality, but we will get to them in a bit. It has been made to look like a garage-built motorcycle with a short front flyscreen and a pointy tail. The riding position looks a little too committed, but that's what you expect from a Domiracers's road-legal cousin in the first place. And though the Dominator does not get the hand-rolled aluminium fuel tank and the open exhaust from the SS and the cafe racer, they are optional extras and will cost you more money than your average motorcycle. 

Motor

961cc parallel-twin. The motor has been developed in-house by Norton and is shared with the Commando. This motor uses pushrods with a compression ratio of 10.1:1. Power is rated at 80PS at 6500rpm and torque output is 90Nm at 5200rpm. Mated to this is a 5-speed transmission with a wet multi-plate clutch. Everything about this motor feels pure and the sound is just breathtaking. 

Frame, Suspension Wheels And Brakes

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

The bike uses high-quality components all around. To be a true old-school motorcycle, the frame is a double-downtube, double-cradle with a trellis swingarm made from steel tubing. Suspension duties at the front are handled by 43mm black-line Ohlins USD fork with adjustable preload, compression and rebound damping. At the rear, there is a 36mm Ohlins TTX mono shock with adjustable ride height, preload and compression. The wheels are 17-inch spoke units and get twin Brembo 320mm fully-floating, high carbon stainless steel discs and Brembo 4-piston Mono-bloc radially-mounted calipers up front and a single Brembo 220mm disc with Brembo 2-piston caliper at the rear. 

Well, all this seems very expensive!

You bet! The Norton Dominator is priced at around Rs 17 lakh in the UK. When you consider the fact that the bikes will be imported to India as Completely Built Units (CBUs) initially, expect them to be priced anywhere near Rs 30 lakh! Norton has, however, announced that it will begin assembling the motorcycles here by the end of 2018 at Motoroyale’s plant in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. This means you will be able to get the “more affordable” Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units as early as 2019.

Screw it. My neighbour is rich, by when can I see one in his garage?

Early 2018. Limited units of the Norton Commando and the Dominator will be imported as CBUs in the first quarter of 2019. These bikes will be special India editions and will only be sold here in the country. 

If you have any questions about Norton and their motorcycles, ask away. For more information on Norton, check out the stories below.

• Norton And Kinetic Announce Joint Venture
• Norton Commando - British Icon Reborn