Norton Motorcycles has released the
official renders of the new Norton Atlas 650 neo-scrambler. The Norton Atlas 650 will make its debut
at the Motorcycle Live 2018 bike show at National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in
November 2018. It will be the first 650 cc bike from the British bikemaker after
its resurrection. The bike features a minimalist scrambler design, which is
inspired by the old Norton Atlas.
The new Norton Atlas 650 is shod with
chunky USD forks up front and a rear mono-shock unit. The bike features a
tear-drop scrambler fuel tank and single-piece seat. It rides on wire-spoke
wheels paired to knobby off-road tires. The engine neatly hinged onto a tubular
chassis. The Atlas 650 features a round headlight with windscreen, wide
handlebar, engine bash plate and an upswept exhaust.
The Norton Atlas 650 employs a
newly-developed 650 cc, parallel-twin engine. Norton hasn’t revealed the specifications,
but the motor is reported to develop between 70 bhp to 100 bhp of power.
Braking will be aided by twin discs at the front and a single disc at rear with
Brembo callipers. ABS will be standard. The bike will likely to get two
variants – ‘High’ and ‘Low’.
At first glance, the entry-level Norton
offering looks like a rival to the upcoming Royal Enfield 650 twins. However,
the bike will be a very expensive alternative to the highest displacement Royal
Enfields. The Norton Atlas 650 is likely to get a
price tag of 10,000 pounds . The bike will be a global offering and
Norton is expected to launch the bike in India, via its JV with Kinetic Group.
Norton Motorcycles plans to commence CKD operations in India from next year.
