Norton Atlas Review I The new segment benchmark I You should wait for this ADV I BikeWale

[music] This motorcycle [music] looks much nicer, much bigger in the flesh than it does in pictures.

It has a very distinct sound. It almost

sounds like a weaving.

It just behaves like a seamless accelerating motorcycle.

Impressed with the ride quality on this motorcycle.

[music] This doesn't seem like a 200 plus kg motorcycle.

Yeah, I mean it looks like a touring motorcycle, but it does work off-road as well.

This is the Norton Atlas. It is a made in India motorcycle and it is set for India launch in a couple of months time.

When it is launched, it will go up against the [music] BMW F450 GS and the upcoming Royal Enfield Himalayan 750.

Now, compared to those two motorcycles, this will of course be more expensive, but it'll also be more powerful and significantly more featurerich. Question

is, all that looks good on paper. How

does it behave on the road? Well, we've

been riding it all day in Iceland. We've

ridden it on uh highways, hit 160 km/h.

We've ridden it in the city, ridden at 40 km/h. We've hit some dirt roads and

40 km/h. We've hit some dirt roads and all of that. And now we have a clear understanding of what this motorcycle is all about. So, let's get started. And if

all about. So, let's get started. And if

you're interested in this motorcycle, wait till the end because we've also answered some questions that you asked us on social media.

Let's start with the design of the Atlas. And the one thing is very clear

Atlas. And the one thing is very clear that this motorcycle looks much nicer, much bigger in the flesh than it does in pictures. So when we looked at it the

pictures. So when we looked at it the first time in the evening yesterday, we were quite surprised with the sheer size of the motorcycle. We saw that with the RTX as well from TVS table. This of

course uh TVS is also making. And it is highlighted by these chunky panels.

You've got one big panel here, then another panel here, this another. And so

there isn't a lot of uh things going on in terms of design. So it's pleasing as well. It looks modern also. And [music]

well. It looks modern also. And [music]

it has a very understated charm to it.

So uh this is a motorcycle that when you look at it in the flesh I think you will certainly like. So just don't discount

certainly like. So just don't discount it if you don't like it in the photographs or in the video because this does look really good uh when you see it in the flesh. Now the design of course is apart from the big panels uh you can

see it's got a really short tail. It's

got a really kick up on the rear seat.

The low seat is of course there because uh they wanted to reduce the seat height because it has 220 ground clearance and so it's more accessible to people. But

otherwise in terms of design, in terms of quality, all of that is pretty well put together. We found a couple of

put together. We found a couple of places where the plastic did match. But

that's something that uh I think we'll have to see when the Indian models come out whether they're able to match it or not. But overall a good-look motorcycle.

not. But overall a good-look motorcycle.

Now, like we mentioned earlier, it has a 845 mm seat height. Uh, this is a tall motorcycle in the sense that it's got uh over 200 mm of ground clearance. Now, I

am 5' 8 in and you can see that I can't really flat foot and that's why you see the reason that uh the seat is so scooped out compared to let's say the

pillion seat. Now what this has done is

pillion seat. Now what this has done is that when I move my foot up to the footrest the distance between the seat and the footrest is actually quite less.

So it feels a little cramped. Now if the seat were a little higher then I would have had a little more room uh in terms of uh how my legs sit. What this also

does is that it puts me in a hole of sort. So if I want to move forward or

sort. So if I want to move forward or back I don't have that sort of space. So

over [music] long distances, long hours of riding, when you want to adjust yourself, you might find that difficult.

But there is a comfort seat that's coming, maybe they will do a rally seat and then of course it'll be a significantly more comfortable uh sitting motorcycle. Seat height will go

sitting motorcycle. Seat height will go up, but if you're tall, you can use that. As far as the handlebars go, easy

that. As far as the handlebars go, easy to reach, wide enough, and the seat uh handlebar relation is actually quite good. And it's a motorcycle that uh

good. And it's a motorcycle that uh apart from the low seat or the scooped out seat, everything else on the motorcycle ergonomically works quite well. So, we're quite happy with it, but

well. So, we're quite happy with it, but yeah, we would have liked a little higher seat height there.

Now, two things about the Atlas really stood out. One, of course, is the engine

stood out. One, of course, is the engine and the other is the chassis and suspension. We'll get to the chassis and

suspension. We'll get to the chassis and suspension part a little later. Let's

talk about the engine. It is of course a twin. It's a liquid cooled twin. It runs

twin. It's a liquid cooled twin. It runs

a 270 degree crank and uh because of that it has a very distinct sound. It's

almost sounds like a we twin and uh the exhaust also is set up quite nicely so you can hear the motorcycle and overall this engine is a nice smooth

uh engine. It has significant almost

uh engine. It has significant almost over 90% of the torque is available from 4 and a half thousand RPM. So when

you're riding, if you keep it above 3,000 RPM, it just behaves like a seamless accelerating motorcycle. So you

can just open the gas and it responds instantly. So the performance really is

instantly. So the performance really is very strong. Like I said, it's smooth.

very strong. Like I said, it's smooth.

It sounds nice. And the only drawback of sorts is the fact that if it drops under 3,000 RPM, that's the time you will find

some sort of jerking that happens. So,

but again, it's not a lot, but you can feel it. So, you want to keep it above

feel it. So, you want to keep it above 3,000 RPM. And then, of course, it's

3,000 RPM. And then, of course, it's it's lovely. We on the highway, we hit

it's lovely. We on the highway, we hit 160 easily, and it would go faster than that. in the city. We were riding at uh

that. in the city. We were riding at uh 40. We were short shifting throughout.

40. We were short shifting throughout.

You don't really need to use the rev uh range at all. But even if you choose to, there's no uh spot where you'll find that the engine vibrates quite a lot.

So, it remains smooth and nice throughout. Of course, at about 5 5 1/2

throughout. Of course, at about 5 5 1/2 6,000 RPM, some sort of wipes you will be able to feel, but they're not u you know, a lot anyways. Uh it just feels

like it's a motorcycle. So overall I think the engines come out really well.

It's a engine that you can you will easily fall in love with and one of the reasons to buy this motorcycle will be this engine. Now the only thing that we

this engine. Now the only thing that we found needs improvement and I apologize uh for the sound of the aircraft.

Thankfully the motorcycle sounds much better than it than the aircraft. So

that's nice. Okay. Now the fueling on this motorcycle when you're accelerating it's great. It's fine. It's very

it's great. It's fine. It's very

seamless. It's very intuitive. You can

really use it. But when you want to hold uh you know the throttle at a particular speed, you want to keep it there and then you will find that the fueling uh is a little erratic. Um and that's

something that uh I think it needs fixing because uh it shouldn't happen.

It feels a little odd and we've given that feedback uh to Norton and hopefully when these motorcycles come to India that thing will be sorted. But apart

from that, I think engine performance, uh rideability tractability top-end performance, you want to go touring, all of that, this engine does beautifully

well. Yeah. So, a a good piece uh for

well. Yeah. So, a a good piece uh for this trip.

And now to the other highlight of the Atlas, and that is the way the chassis and the suspension's been set up. At the

front, you've got upside down forks, 43 mm KYB forks with 180 mm of travel. At

the back, again, KYB monoshock with the preload adjustment and 180 mm of travel.

You also get rebound adjustment at the back, and you get compression and rebound adjustment at the front. So,

clearly an adjustable setup. I have no idea what setup we got it on, but we didn't feel the need to touch it. Maybe

it was in the middle. We'll find out later. But the way this motorcycle

later. But the way this motorcycle rides, I mean, Iceland, the roads are not butter smooth. They're not mirror smooth. You've got these bumps. You've

smooth. You've got these bumps. You've

got port holes. You've got uh uh you know uh the roads folded under the weight of the cars. You've got off cambers. You've got step bumps. You got

cambers. You've got step bumps. You got

all of that. And the Norton took all of that in its stride really well. I'm

really uh impressed with the ride quality on this motorcycle. And it's not just the absorption, it's also how it settles. And so you can go through a

settles. And so you can go through a ripple of roads and it stays quite flat.

So that's good. So, and uh it's not just on the road. At slow speeds, even high speeds, we had some really big

undulations going at about 130 140 km/h, but nothing seemed to move this motorcycle, even the crosswind. So, very

settled motorcycle on that front. But

this ride doesn't compromise the handling of this motorcycle. So, we've

had some fast sweeping corners. We've

had some tight hairpin bends. We've got

hepin bends going up, coming down, bumpy at places. And this doesn't seem like a

at places. And this doesn't seem like a 200 plus kg motorcycle. The way it reacts, the way it settles under braking, uh how intuitive it feels.

Again, the grip levels from the tires are also fantastic. So, it's a it's a nice agile feeling motorcycle in the city, even on the highway. And the

straight line stability, like we said earlier, is is great, too. So overall,

the suspension, the chassis setup is really well done. We saw that with the RTX that TVS makes. We saw that with the BMW that TVS makes. And we're seeing that with the Norton that [music] TVS

makes. So clearly uh when it comes to

makes. So clearly uh when it comes to riding dynamics, TVS engineers have really or the Norton engineers have really uh sorted this out on this

motorcycle. Now, the chassis in terms of

motorcycle. Now, the chassis in terms of feedback uh on what it's doing, what the rear is doing, what the front is doing.

There's so much feedback coming through that you can really push this motorcycle hard without feeling nervous. We've had

a wet morning and the grip levels were again great and we could really feel what's happening. We didn't have to back

what's happening. We didn't have to back off and I think that's a huge confidence building thing. So, if you're looking

building thing. So, if you're looking for a motorcycle to tour on, if you're looking for a motorcycle to go on the twisties over the weekend, if you're looking for a motorcycle to commute on,

I think this does all of that quite well. And and um I think that like the

well. And and um I think that like the engine, the suspension, chassis is also really strong points on this motorcycle and the reason to buy one of the reasons

to to buy the Atlas for sure.

[music] Now, we also rode uh the Atlas off-road a bit. We rode it over uh rocks like

a bit. We rode it over uh rocks like river bed rocks. We rode it over hard packed uh mud. We rode it over gravel,

hard packed gravel, something like budgery that we call. And again, uh these are the same tires that you get on the RTX. And we're very impressed with

the RTX. And we're very impressed with the grip levels that they give off-road.

And these two were super impressive.

Overall, even the weight of the motorcycle. Like I said, it's a it's a

motorcycle. Like I said, it's a it's a 200 kg plus motorcycle, but it doesn't feel it. The balance is so good. Now,

feel it. The balance is so good. Now,

the one thing that you want when you're riding off-road is [music] good standing air goes, and this has it. The only

challenge is that this whole section around the tank [music] and the midsection is actually quite smooth, so you keep slipping. So, if you're going to buy this motorcycle and ride it off-road, my suggestion would [music] be

to get either bathroom tapes or tank grips on this because that's seriously needed once you're hooked on. I think

the standing arrows also work well. You

can have your uh elbows nicely [music] bent. You can settle, you can hold the

bent. You can settle, you can hold the bike with your uh boots [music] and your uh you know legs quite well in the center. And even the way it reacts, the

center. And even the way it reacts, the way the rear comes out under throttle, it's not snappy. The bike doesn't just snap out. It's like a long wheelbase

snap out. It's like a long wheelbase motorcycle. So you can feel the rear

motorcycle. So you can feel the rear coming out and coming back in. So it's

it builds that sort of confidence. It

allows you to play a little. We didn't

jump it anywhere. But I think when we get it in India, then we'll know how the suspension [music] takes all that impact. But for this hard packed

impact. But for this hard packed off-road stuff, I think we were very impressed with the feel that it was offering, the confidence it was giving, and how playful it is under throttle. So

yeah, I mean it looks like a touring motorcycle, but it does work off-road as well.

The Atlas sets a new benchmark when it comes to equipment. You get adjustable hand levers, aluminium foot pegs with removable rubber inserts, a rugged bash plate, some protection, [music] an

adjustable windscreen, and a rear luggage rack. All as standard on the

luggage rack. All as standard on the Apex version. Lighting is all LED with

Apex version. Lighting is all LED with twin projector headlamps, integrated DRLs, and as we mentioned, handguard mounted indicators. There's cornering

mounted indicators. There's cornering lights, a multi-function tail lamp, and even a puddle lamp. Again, all of this is available in Apex, [music] but you can choose to get either of these features on the base version as an

accessory. The headlamps, meanwhile,

accessory. The headlamps, meanwhile, have variable intensity, which alter depending on how fast you go. So,

[music] the faster you go, the deeper the reach of the headlamp. There is an 8 in fullcolor touchscreen TFT display with Bluetooth and built-in [music] eSIM. It offers navigation, music and

eSIM. It offers navigation, music and call controls, GoPro integration, right telemetry, not an app connectivity, and overthe-air software and firmware updates. Convenience features include

updates. Convenience features include keyless ignition with electronic steering lock, a keyless seat opening, USBC charging, tire pressure monitoring, and integrated heated grips. The heated

grips were really helpful in Iceland when it was low single digits. There are

five ride modes: urban, rain, sport, tour, and enduro. And all these are backed by Borch's sixaxis IMU and a comprehensive electronics package that

[music] includes drag torque control, cornering ABS, traction control, cruise control, wheelie control, [music] and rear lift control. So, as you can tell, the equipment list is really, really

long.

So, that is the Norton Atlas for you.

Let me just sum it up for you in terms of pros and cons. So the pros for this motorcycle is the visual presence that it has. The engine of course it's

it has. The engine of course it's smooth. It's talky. It's usable. It

smooth. It's talky. It's usable. It

works in the [music] city. It works on the highway. Very flexible, very

the highway. Very flexible, very enjoyable. Sounds nice, too. The

enjoyable. Sounds nice, too. The

suspension, the chassis, the ride is comfortable. It takes off all sorts of

comfortable. It takes off all sorts of road. It remains stable in a straight

road. It remains stable in a straight line. So, you know, touring it helps.

line. So, you know, touring it helps.

It's great at cornering. It feels alive.

It feels nice and nimble. And so

dynamically again [music] a lovely motorcycle. In terms of equipment, it

motorcycle. In terms of equipment, it has [music] the most that you can get in this class. And uh the list is so long

this class. And uh the list is so long that we'll uh have to read it out. So

I'm not bothering with that. Uh but I mean if you want a featurerich motorcycle, I think you [music] can't do better than this. So these are the big positives for this motorcycle. Even the

build quality overall is is [music] pretty good. maybe that doesn't match

pretty good. maybe that doesn't match the price that they want, but uh overall the build quality is really good. Now,

let's get to the cons. And I think one of the big cons for this motorcycle is the adjustable uh windshield, so [music] to say. We've used it in the top setting

to say. We've used it in the top setting and the bottom setting, but the wind buffeting just doesn't disappear. So,

that's a design that needs work on. Uh

the second is, of course, the seat. We

would have liked it to be a little higher because it just compresses and makes it very crammed to be in for longer hours. The fueling which uh is

longer hours. The fueling which uh is should be an easy fix [music] for Norton uh where it just starts to stutter a little instead of having a smooth thing if you hold it uh still when you open

it. Then of course the fueling is great

it. Then of course the fueling is great and um that really uh makes up for the cons of this motorcycle. So as you can say see I mean there is very little to

complain about this motorcycle. The big

thing remains however is what it's priced at. We feel [music] if the entry

priced at. We feel [music] if the entry level Atlas is priced at 5.5 lakh and this the Apex is priced about [music] 6.5 not higher then this makes for a

wonderful motorcycle to buy. But if it's more expensive than that then that premiumness that premiumness you [music] don't get in terms of the way it's finished in

terms of you know how it exudes uh uh richness around you that is missing. So

[music] if they can price it between this I think they have a winner on their hands because really there isn't anything like it in the market now. So,

if you've been waiting for a motorcycle that you can tour on, that you can ride every day, that gives you that big bike feel, well, this could be it if not in prices well. [music]

prices well. [music] And now it's time to answer the questions that you asked [music] us on our social media channel.

Firstly, go for shorter riders around 5' 6 in. Well, I'm 5'8 and I could put my

6 in. Well, I'm 5'8 and I could put my both feet firmly on the ground. So, for

5'6, chances are you will tiptoe. Even

though the seat height seems [music] high, it's got a narrow waist, so you'll have to try it. But I think 5'6 would be borderline. You should be able to manage

borderline. You should be able to manage it.

Next up, good upgrade [music] over the 390 Adventure or the Himalayan 450? I

would think so. Most definitely because in terms of engine character, in terms of performance, in terms of equipment on offer, it feels and rides and behaves like a bigger bike. So when you move

from a 390 Adventure or the Himalayan 450, it will feel like a significant upgrade.

Next up, how is the weight management and whether it feels heavy at slow speeds? Now, this motorcycle fully

speeds? Now, this motorcycle fully fueled up is a little over 200 kg, so [music] it's not a light motorcycle, but the weight distribution on this is really good. So even on a standill when

really good. So even on a standill when you're pushing the motorcycle riding at slow [music] speeds, it feels really well balanced. So it doesn't feel as

well balanced. So it doesn't feel as heavy as the weight uh its official weight suggests. So yes, ride it and you

weight suggests. So yes, ride it and you will find that it is lighter than it seems to be.

Next up, expected price. So now um Norton hasn't really indicated what the pricing will be in India. uh if you look at its UK pricing, its uh [music] Europe

pricing, it is on the more expensive side, but for what the motorcycle is, we feel an entry- level price of 5.5 lakhs and then maybe a little under 6.5 for

the Apex topsp spec would be good value proposition and [music] should introduce the motorcycle to a whole new set of tires.

Now, does it have remote preload adjuster for its rear monoshock? Well,

it does, but here's [music] the catch.

It is extremely difficult to use it. I

don't know why Norton's decided to design it like that. It's hidden inside and you probably would need to remove one of the side panels to [music] access it. So, it actually defeats the purpose,

it. So, it actually defeats the purpose, but yes, it is there.

Fuel tank capacity and expected mileage.

We don't expect this motorcycle to give a lot more than 20. 20 would be a fair uh assessment of what it's going to give you in Indian riding conditions and then you've got a fuel tank of over 15 uh

liters. So you can do the math 15 into

liters. So you can do the math 15 into 20 and you know what your range is going to be.

what will be the service reach [music] like now for uh starting uh again Norton hasn't said what its Indian spread [music] for dealerships is going to be

like but what we understand is that Norton will not be sold from the TVs dealerships so they're going to be standalone dealerships for Norton along with service center so you probably have

a 3S system service pairs and uh sales of course [music] and but uh we will find that out in a couple of months months time when the motorcycles officially launch but we don't expect

the spread to be [music] wide or covering all the Indian cities to start with bigger cities possibly [music] and our final question is how loud or

bassy does it sound in [music] person uh it does actually sound quite nice it doesn't have the same um let's say big capacity feel as let's say [music] the

650 from Royal Enfield uh And it's got more a dirt bike sort of sound. So the

more you rev it, the more, you know, br it sounds. Uh it's got a different

it sounds. Uh it's got a different character compared to the 650 uh Royal Enfields. But [music] yes, it does have

Enfields. But [music] yes, it does have a bassy nice sounding exhaust.