Norton has revived its Atlas model name with two scrambler offerings – the Nomad and the Ranger. These bikes are built around a brand-new parallel-twin engine and they look impressive. While both bikes are scramblers, the Nomad is more suited towards road-riding while the Ranger is meant to be more aggressive for off-roading.

Both models feature all-LED lighting, a flat seat and chopped fenders; however, the Nomad misses out on the flyscreen, headlight guard, sump guard and braced handlebar seen on the Ranger. Other components like the tank, seat and exhaust appear identical on both motorcycles.

Both, the Atlas Nomad and Atlas Ranger use tubular steel frames. In terms of suspension, the Nomad (given its on-road characteristics) uses a 50mm, fully-adjustable USD fork with 150mm wheel travel and a monoshock with 150mm travel as well. The Ranger, on the other hand, uses a similar 50mm, fully-adjustable USD fork and monoshock, but features 200mm wheel travel.

Powering the bikes is a 650cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin, DOHC motor that makes 84hp at 11,000rpm and 64Nm of torque. The Nomad rides on an 18-inch wheel with a 110/80 R18 tyre up front and a 17-inch wheel with a 180/55 R17 tyre at the rear. It’s more adventure-oriented twin, the Ranger, uses a larger 19-inch wheel with a 120/70 R19 tyre at the front and a 17-inch wheel with a 170/60 R17 rear tyre. Both bikes ride on spoked-wheels and feature Avon Trekrider tyres.

On both motorcycles, braking is taken care of by twin 320mm front discs and a 245mm single disc at the rear, with dual-channel ABS. The bikes have a fuel-tank capacity of 15 litres and a dry weight of 178kg. Owing to the increased ground clearance, the Ranger has a higher seat height of 867mm, as compared to the Nomad’s 824mm.

The Nomad and Ranger are available in the same five colour options – grey, silver, red, black or white. Norton will build 250 units of each model and have promised to deliver the bikes before the end of 2019. In terms of pricing, the Nomad costs £9,995 (Rs 9.21 lakh) while the Ranger has been priced at £11,995 (Rs 11.05 lakh).

The closest machine that rivals the new Atlas bikes – especially the Nomad – in terms of role and ability would the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled that was recently refreshed for 2019. The Ducati uses an 803cc, air-cooled, L-twin engine that makes 73hp and 67Nm of torque. It is expected to be priced at par with the Nomad at £9,800, making it considerably more affordable than the Atlas Ranger.

Norton is currently retailed in India by Motoroyale, with a few models on sale. Given the limited status of the current Atlas models, it isn’t yet clear if Motoroyale intends to offer these bikes in India. But we are confident that this platform will spin-off into more affordable Nortons. Those models are certainly expected to be manufactured in India by Motoroyale, considering the manufacturer's recently inked partnership with Norton. We expect to hear more on this later in 2019.