The company acquired some Norton trademarks, including the hybrid name of 'Norvil'. $150 Front Brake Master Cylinder Repair Kit. After successes in 1969 by dealer-entered machines like Paul Smart's second and Mick Andrew's 4th places in the Isle of Man TT Production class and a win in the Hutchinson 100 Production Class by Mick Andrew on the Gus Kuhn entered Commando and 4th by Peter Williams' Arter Bros machine, the company decided to produce a racing model, hence developed the S and "Yellow Peril" models. The main bearings were of two types at first, ball and roller. It came with a 4.10-19 front tire and a 4.10-19 rear tire.

Is an original Norton Commando a Good Investment? Stopping was achieved via single disc. In late 1968 Plumstead works was subject to a Greater London Council compulsory purchase order, and closed in July 1969. Check for records where parts have been replaced to see how much of the bike is original (where possible). Compression was reduced to 9.4:1. From its 1967 beginnings the Commando took part in racing events. The head steady would also fatigue and fracture from vibration (later improved). What a fabulous trip. The 1973 Norton Commando Roadster, Interstate & Hi-Rider continued on in MkV form, now with optional turn signals, which had only been listed for the first time as an option on the 1972 Norton Commando Interstate.

In the United Kingdom it won the Motor Cycle News "Machine of the Year" award for five successive years from 1968 to 1972.

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The 'Street Scrambler' and the 'Hi Rider' were launched in May 1971, with the 'Fastback Long Range' with increased petrol tank capacity from July 1971. The engine (rather like the BSA A7) is "semi-unit", in that the 5-speed gearbox is a separate casting, but is bolted directly to the primary chaincase. These mainly came from Norvil in the UK and two companies in the United States, Colorado Norton Works and Kenny Dreer's Vintage Rebuilds based in Portland, Oregon. The new Norton has received favourable press reviews. However, the most interesting development for original Commando fans was the development of re-manufactured original motorcycles. Further to that its also the go to for collectors and enthusiasts to ride around today. I could only find 5 for sale on eBay US and they ranged from $5,000-$16,500. The Commando Production Racer won the coveted Thruxton 500 mile race with Peter Williams and Charlie Sanby riding. The ignition switch mount would break from vibration (later relocated).

Because a new short-stroke 750 was briefly offered as an option on the John Player Norton & the Commando Roadster. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You could be forgiven for not knowing what the MTT 420RR is as it is as far from a regular motorcycle as you can get and it is very unlikely, The Honda CBR900RR fireblade is a motorcycle that has proven itself again and again ever since its inception back in 1992. The origins of the early Norton Commando 750s can be traced back to the Matchless factory in 1968, followed in 1969 by production moving to the Villiers factory in West Midlands, England. September 1970 saw the introduction of the classic Fastback Mk2, which had alloy levers with modified stands and chain guards. This drive mechanism wore out very quickly, as did any replacement, leading to no speedometer reading (never resolved). Learn more about us. The first Commandos had a twin-leading-shoe front drum brake. It came standard with low clip-on handlebars & rearset footpegs & foot controls. It could reach a top speed of 115 mph (185 km/h). Frame manufacturing was transferred to Wolverhampton, where a second production line produced about 80 complete machines each week. Why was it so successful? Many used the Commando name for their lead model, or included the prospect of a Commando twin at a later date. Required fields are marked *. Start it up, does it sound right when idle? With it came a new plan: Close Triumphs legendary Meriden factory & move all Triumph production into Nortons Wolverhampton plant. No part of this site shall be copied or reproduced in any way whatsoever without the written permission of GAUK Media, 1990 G reg LAND ROVER 90 4C SW DT DIESEL 4 X 4, 2005 05 reg NISSAN D22 2.5 DI 4 X 4 PICKUP - RUNS BUT TRANSMISSION PROBLEM (DIRECT GTR M/C FIRE), 2011 61 reg TOYOTA HILUX HL2 D-4D 4 X 4 ECB (DIRECT UNITED UTILITIES WATER), Jaguar MK2 2.4 MANUAL WITH OVERDRIVE - 1961, Ford Galaxy 2.0 TDCi 140 Titanium X Powershift, UK used car market declines -14.9% as coronavirus lockdowns curb 2020 sales, New Ford S-MAX Hybrid helps families go electric, Renault celebrates 60 years of the world-renowned 4L, SS, Hi-Rider, 850 Roadster, 850 Interstate, 745 and 828cc (45.5 and 50.5cuin) air-cooled OHV parallel-twin. Bauer tried to free the Commando from classic twin vibration problems, which had severely increased as the volume of the basic engine design expanded from the 500cc of Edward Turner's 1938 Triumph Speed Twin. The engine rubber mounting system, which isolated the rider from vibration very well, left the engine to its own devices, and it shook like a commercial paint can shaker at idle. This is what allowed Norton to be able to eliminate the vibration issue that caused endless problems with all British parallel twins at the time. He modernised the design and in the early 2000s went into series production of the Commando 961 SS, which combined traditional Norton cafe racer styling with new technology including carbon fibre wheels to reduce weight and a chro-moly tubular steel frame. The difference was that the 850 got it done with much less stress, at a lower rpm & was thus smoother & more reliable. By shortening the stroke to 80.4mm while retaining the 77mm bore from the 850, the new displacement was 749cc (the old 750 was actually 745cc), with a less undersquare engine geometry. The original model, called the 'Fastback' was joined by the scrambler style 'S Type' which had a high level left-side exhaust and a 2.5-gallon (11L) petrol tank. The steering head bearings were ball-type, and took a permanent set under the bearing pre-load, leading to weaving at speed (later switched to roller bearings).

At the bike's front are inverted (USD) forks and twin disc brakes.

That summer, we happily fulfilled the mileage requirement while traveling to Istanbul, Turkey and back. Initially having a nominal 750 cc displacement, actually 745 cc (45.5 cu in), in 1973 it became an 850 cc, actually 828 cc (50.5 cu in). In October 1973, the last 750 rolled off the assembly line. The wheelbase was 57.01 inches (1448 mm) long. While the Combat engine continued to appear in the catalog briefly, it had been canceled in 1972 because the problems were just too great & Nortons scarce resources needed to be directed into its mainstream line of engines. No wonder the Norton is so frequently picked as the riders favorite. The bikes popularity continues to this day. After some police forces expressed interest in the Commando, Neale Shilton was recruited from Triumph to produce a Commando to police specifications. This page was last edited on 23 November 2019, at 20:16. The engine was the Norton Atlas engine in a newly designed frame. Norton introduces new Commando 750 Interstate style, a long distance strider with the speed of a sprinter. My wife Lynn, God bless her, had found a basket case for me to fettle. The UK Government decided to bail the company out with a financial rescue package, providing it would agree to merge with Norton Villiers. Too little play brought the vibration back; too much, and the result was "very poor" handling. The entire model line had benefited from the engine fixes developed to counter the Combats tendency to break pistons & eat main bearings. Once might BSA & Triumph had sustained huge losses & suffered from horrendous management & were on the verge of collapse. The 'Combat' delivered 65 bhp at 6500 rpm with a 10 to 1 compression ratio, but the stressed 750cc twin proved extremely unreliable, with main bearing failures and broken pistons common. There was a rear chain oiler which covered the rear wheel in oil, and had to be pinched off by the owner. A division of A07 Online Media, LLC. This was relatively easy as the engine was "pre-unit", that is, the gearbox was not integral with the crankcase, and the change gave three benefits: (i) the centre of gravity was moved further forward; (ii) this allowed more space behind the carburettors for the airbox; and (iii) it gave an attractive raked appearance to the motorcycle. My labors have not gone unrewarded.

In March 2010 Norton shipped the first new Norton Commando for over 30 years; and by mid-April 2010 the Company was shipping 5-10 new machines per week. So NVT decided to concentrate production of the Commando at Wolverhampton and Small Heath, causing unrest at Meriden which resulted in a workers sit in and stopping production at Small Heath. The compression ratio was lowered to 8.5:1. The Norton Commando 750 Roadster was a twin, four-stroke Naked motorcycle produced by Norton between 1968 and 1973. TROUBLE IN PARADISE This eliminated the extreme vibration problems that were apparent in other models in the range, as it effectively separated the rider from the engine. This bike belongs to the category of classic and the first model of the Norton commando 750 roadster generation marketed to the general public in the year 1972, that's why incredible as it may seem, we are talking about a a motorcycle generation that already has 50 years. Over several years, and with great pleasure, I brought this machine back to life. The Norton Commando 750 was named Motorcycle News Motorcycle of the Year 5 years in a row. The Conservative Government withdrew the subsidy in early 1974: it was restored after a General Election by the new Labour Government. His company, Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd, established a new factory at Donington Park, Leicestershire in 2008 to manufacture a new Commando model, designed by Simon Skinner. wBW providessubjective opinionsand information on hard-to-find and unique motorcycling products. To sum up the characteristics of this bike, it has an engine displacement of 745.00 cc (45.46 ci) and a total power of 60.00 hp (43.8 kw) at 6200 rpm with an twin-cylinder, 4-stroke engine with kick start.