norton commando advice

[Schtum]

*Dons rose-tinted visor*

Ahh yes, dem were da days....... c. 1977, actually.

 

[redtail]

To the OP. I have a small collection of Whitworth tools 'if' you end up with a Norton. Free after proof of purchase.

Wow, that is clean!

Don't see many bikes with right side shift capability anymore. Oh, and just curious, where's the plug wires?

 

[Carlo]

*Dons rose-tinted visor*

Ahh yes, dem were da days....... c. 1977, actually.

Hey Schtum! Nice to see you posting again.

May I suggest you visit the new Vintage Café down in the "clubhouse" section of the forum?
Repost that great photo of you and your Norton in there for the BARF vintage enthusiasts to enjoy.

 

[Schtum]

Hey Schtum! Nice to see you posting again.

May I suggest you visit the new Vintage Café down in the "clubhouse" section of the forum?
Repost that great photo of you and your Norton in there for the BARF vintage enthusiasts to enjoy.

Thanks Carl. Whaddya mean "vintage"? Heck that was only yesterday......wasn't it.

 

[inthewoods]

Looks clean in the pic because it's still in the stages of a rebuild.

 

[larry kahn]

My Commando in its "Interstate" outfit...wears metalflake orange Roadster stuff now...

 

[corndog67]

*Dons rose-tinted visor*

Ahh yes, dem were da days....... c. 1977, actually.

I used to love Dunlop K81s. Probably work like shit now, though.

 

[Tri750]

Dunlop K81 and K70's are probably better now than when they came out. they are
a modern, soft compound and stick very well. I have done some brisk laps at Sears and Big Willow on both of them when show bikes were allowed to do the AMA parade laps when they had the Motorcycle Days West. AHRMA's Jack Turner led them in a red T-Bird safety car and after T1, he would floor it until we got in sight of the grandstand.

 

[afm199]

Just do it. You might regret it like AFM199 is telling you, but you'll never know until you buy one.

If you get the right one, I'm betting you won't regret it. I happen to be very happy with my old bikes, even if I have to work on them occasionally.
It's how motorcycling is a hobby for me.

I loved my Interstate. I'm not sure you ever owned a Norton.

If you find one that has just been rebuilt, with fresh swingarm bushes, a working oil retention valve (keeps the sump from filling with oil), fresh valves (the stock ones were made for leaded gas), good frame bushes ( or it will wobble like a drunk sailor), fresh bearings throughout the motor, rebushed small ends on the rods, and electronic ignition, and never ride it over 5k rpm, it should last for years.(Almost forgot that you have to replace all the rubber bushings on the oil tank, the English ones are made from recycled condoms and last that long.) If you don't have all of these, you will be doing some serious work. I'm not sure what agenda Carlo has, I'm speaking from owning a shitload of these bikes, and riding them on street and track. They are absolutely beautiful to look at, I still love the look and sound. They are also forties tech bikes and do NOT last like modern turnkey Japanese bikes. Japanese bikes made in the seventies were sometimes problematic. Japanese bikes made in the last 10-20 years tend to be amazingly bulletproof. It's misleading to say "the right one" will last years. "The right one" is amazingly hard to find. Most of the ones of CL under $5k will be "the wrong one". I suggest, Carlo, that you grow up and stop making advice that is misleading. If you buy the right stock you will get rich.

I suspect Larry agrees with me on this. Beautiful bike, fun to ride, great sound, lots of tradition. Lots of work.

But at your own risk. "The right one" may be out there, but you won't know it if you see it. I won't and I know more about these bikes than anyone else posting here except Larry.

Almost forgot, need the double row layshaft bearing ( I think it was the layshaft) for the transmission rebuild. When you hear "rebuild" it can mean a lot of things. One of them is a fresh top end, rings and a few wonky bearings. Another is a total rebuild. If the seller says "rebuild", a proper rebuild is going to cost a shit ton of money.

 

[inthewoods]

I know more about these bikes than anyone else posting here except Larry.

[/QUOTE]That's pushin it.

 

[afm199]

Carlo: My apologies for the "grow up" remark. I do think that you have a duty, as a Vintage moderator, to go a bit beyond "buy the right one" and explain exactly what that means. Otherwise you're counseling someone to buy a potential disaster.

 

[afm199]

I know more about these bikes than anyone else posting here except Larry.

That's pushin it.[/QUOTE]

Maybe. How many have you worked on? I owned somewhere around seven.

Your bike is beautiful, and, I suspect, about as far from stock as you can get. Custom swingarm, konis, lots of nice bits and pieces. Beautiful job. You may well know the bike better than me. The point I am making is that it needs a lot of work to be a reliable commuter/pleasure bike. I also wonder how many miles a year you put on a dirt only machine.

 

[larry kahn]

I know more about these bikes than anyone else posting here except Larry.



Well, I am smarter than I look, but I've only owned my one Norton even though we've been almost forty years together. Closest I've been to married.

Mine's a 1975, so you have to be aware in particular of this year's issues with soft camshafts, poor layshaft bearing, and mis-matched valve guides. So other than the top end, bottom end, and gearbox work the're great! (although most you'd be likely to find would have all this fixed by now)

I used to call mine my "exercise bike" from pushing it so much.

So if my Norton is like my wife (stay in the kitchen!), my Bonneville is my girlfriend and my Dufuckincati is my whore. If any of that helps the OP any.

 

[clutchslip]

My Commando in its "Interstate" outfit...wears metalflake orange Roadster stuff now...

Why for? Is that all original in the picture? If it is, it looks showroom fresh. Very impressive. Have you just slept with it all this time, or what?

Sidenote: I have blue doors, too. Hmmmm. Must be a seventies thing.

 

[Tri750]

I was thinking closer to 10k for a Norton for a novice. One that's had most of its warts removed and could be ridden from time to time. Plus a good paying job to insure it would be maintained correctly.

I've owned over 20 Triumph twins, just one Trident, couple BSA twins, one too many BSA singles, and one Norton. This was the only Brit bike it ever regretted buying. It was a 71 euro spec Commando that I literally pulled from a shed where it had been for 20 years. Most bikes like this are grateful to be rescued and respond well to care and cash.
This one, I think gave up or was just done, as it never came out of it. I spent money on whatever it needed, my Brit bike mentor spend countless hours on it and it was never right, never happy.
Anyone who doesn't think that Brit bikes or bikes in general don't have the soul or presence to respond this way probably shouldn't own one.
After 4-5 years of no Brit bike, I drove to your neck of the woods last week, San Mateo, and rescued a new old friend. A bike discussed here on BARF. '78 Bonneville.
The adventure continues.

 

[larry kahn]

Why for? Is that all original in the picture? If it is, it looks showroom fresh. Very impressive. Have you just slept with it all this time, or what?

Sidenote: I have blue doors, too. Hmmmm. Must be a seventies thing.

That's repainted Interstate components from a parts bike I had been given along the way but I prefer the feel with the original Roadster tank/seat. With the big tank it feels sorta fat BMW-like, the Roadster stuff gives the sub-400lb feel we all love. I also got rid of all the electric starter stuff, went with the older style taillight and removed the handlebar switches and instruments And I have spent some notable portion of my life polishing...


So where's the OP after all this? We scare her off? Out looking for a Bonneville?

 

[MrLeaner]

Memories...

Back in the '70's...So forgive my faulty brain, but...
My '70-'72 Norton had many improvements:
Dunstall double disc front end
Mikuni carbs (eventually)
Single row primary chain
Electronic ignition
Dunstall bodywork
"S" high side pipes
Here on the way to an AFM trophy.

Was a great street bike that I could ride to the track and race. Sold it to build a Rickman Kawasaki.

 

[afm199]

Sweet! Looks like T11 at Sears Point

 

[inthewoods]

That's pushin it.

Maybe. How many have you worked on? I owned somewhere around seven.

Your bike is beautiful, and, I suspect, about as far from stock as you can get. Custom swingarm, konis, lots of nice bits and pieces. Beautiful job. You may well know the bike better than me. The point I am making is that it needs a lot of work to be a reliable commuter/pleasure bike. I also wonder how many miles a year you put on a dirt only machine.[/QUOTE]

Owned 1, for 45yrs. Started live as an Atlas. Raced damn near every weekend. My father paid 600$ in 1970 for the frame/swinging arm. I would not have a Norton as an only bike.

 

[moto-rama]

Norton MC Advice

In the early 70's I owned a series of 4 Commandos, 3 runners, one that was primarily for parts.

On the occasion that any one of those was in good running order, the experience was truly magical. To be slaloming along the twisty roads around the East Bay, and the occasional road trip.

I depended on the first of those Nortons to commute from Oakland to San Francisco. That particular specimen was about 70% reliable, but I can recall a number of strandings, a couple of which occurred on the Bay Bridge and a few others in various inconvenient locations.

To be sure those Nortons, as well as the 2 BSA's and several Triumphs that I have owned have good days; but you pay for those good days, both in terms or the inability to predict when you will have to either shell out a pile of cash or spend hours of your time wrenching, just to have that ownership experience.

My advice: Bring enough money in the first place to buy a 100% sorted out bike. And be willing to endure the inevitable times when that bike will make you wait in the driving rain on Hwy One, south of Point Arena, with a pint of Castrol in your right boot, or with a broken clutch cable or snapped clutch push rod, or grenaded crank bearing.....

And when you get one, be sure to have at least one modern, running reliable bike to ride, because you'll need one to ride over to the nearest British parts specialist...(are there any left?)

Why am I being so negative? I want to spare you the suffering....
here I am the day I rescued a '67 Spitfire and got it all the way home, only to start a bad 7 year relationship with it.

Like others have suggested, get a Hinckley Bonneville of some kind and make it cool. I took mine out on the Shoreline the other day and had a great ride, and guess what, I never thought once it would break down, and it never has....
See? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKaEnUmdjco