Norton has finally unveiled the specs of its much-awaited adventure-tourers, the Atlas and the Atlas GT. The Atlas is more adventure-focused, while the Atlas GT is more road-focused. Here is everything you need to know about the Norton Atlas and Atlas GT.
Design and Chassis
The Atlas and Atlas GT are among the first Norton bikes to adopt its new design language. They follow a very simplistic design language as compared to the modern-day adventure-tourers. Upfront, the Atlas and Atlas GT get twin LED projectors and a daytime running LED light. It also gets handguards with turn indicators integrated in them, which gives the front a minimalistic look. Norton is also offering an option to retrofit cornering lights and puddle lamps. The Atlas and Atlas GT have clean lines and a good mix of boxy and curvy design elements. Norton is offering four colour options - Matrix black, trophy Silver, Verona Green, and Sinopia Orange with the Norton Atlas and Atlas GT. Both the Norton Atlas and Atlas GT get a Steel trellis frame and a cast Aluminium swingarm. The Atlas weighs just 188kg without fuel. It gets a 15.4-litre fuel tank, has a seat height of 845mm and ground clearance of 220mm. While the Atlas GT gets a lower seat height of 815mm and a lower ground clearance
Engine and Gearbox
The Norton Atlas and Atlas GT are powered by the same 585cc parallel-twin-cylinder engine, which produces 69bhp at 9300rpm and 56.5Nm of torque at 7300rpm. This engine gets a 270-degree crank order, which offers a distinct firing character and wider torque delivery. The engine is paired with a six-speed gearbox, and it also gets a bi-directional quickshifter as standard.
Suspension and Brakes
Upfront, the suspension duties are handled by fully-adjustable KYB 43mm upside-down forks with 180mm of travel on the Atlas and 140mm travel on the Atlas GT. The rear suspension duties are handled by a fully-adjustable KYB monoshock with 180mm travel on the Atlas and 140mm travel on the Atlas GT. It also gets a hydraulic preload adjuster, which helps adjust the suspension through a hand-operated control. The Atlas and Atlas GT get Dual 310mm discs with radial calipers upfront and 270mm disc at the rear.
Features and Rider-aids
In terms of features and rider-aids, the Norton Atlas and Atlas GT get an 8-inch touchscreen TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation. It also gets multimedia controls, Go Pro controls, over-the-air software and firmware updates, and Norton rider app integration. In terms of rider aids, the Norton Atlas and Atlas GT get five riding modes - urban, rain, sport, tour, enduro. It also gets drag torque control, wheelie control, dynamic cruise control, cornering ABS,rear lift control and rear slide control.
Atlas Apex
The Atlas Apex is essentially the same bike as the Atlas, but it gets a better electronics suite. It gets features like cornering lights, puddle lamps, combined electronic braking, and vehicle hold control. The Norton Atlas apex weighs 192kg, which is 4kg more than the standard Atlas.
Pricing and rivals
Norton has priced the Atlas at £8250 (₹10.56 lakh ) and the Atlas Apex at £9450 (₹12.09 lakh ). The Norton Atlas will be locally assembled here in India in TVS’s Hosur plant, and we expect it to be priced around ₹6 lakh to ₹7 lakh. Once launched in India, it will go against the BMW F450GS, Honda NX500 and Kawasaki Versys 650.
