How Just One Engine Destroyed Britain's Greatest Superbike: Norton Commando

Comments · 50

• BO

  @bobhauser3833 · 1 month ago

  Thanks for a nice summary of the fall of Norton a history I lived through but never quite understood. In the early 70's I helped a friend tune his Norton and coming from, Japanese 2&4 strokes had never seen a more complex tuning and maintenance system. The fact that the Norton survived so long with a decades old engine and electrics is amazing and a testament to a loyal group of customers.

  3

• PH

  @phillpearson7531 · 1 month ago

  The story of Norton is essentially the story of British industry. I have owned many Nortons and loved them all, having said that, who owns Jaguar, Bentley, Range Rover and others. All seem to have suffered a similar fate but have investors to run their them efficiently at least for now.

  3

• RA

  @RayLocke-i2f · 21 hours ago

  I left NVT and went to Canada .I got a job with Inco as a machinist !

• ST

  @steven-k7j7v · 1 month ago

  I always wanted an 850 commando interstate es in black and gold. I never bought one even after eventually having enough money. Now retired and returned, after several excursions, back to the bikes I grew up with and trust, Honda, the analogue ones. 😉

  2

• AL

  @alphafox400 · 1 month ago

  I bought my metal flake blue, 1974, 828cc Commando in 1976. I still have it. It is magical. No bike looks and sounds better. It is light and feels like a living extension of the body. Riding on the back is all the foreplay a girl needed. Often she literally couldn’t wait until we got home. We had to stop on the side of the road. Believe it or not, OEM parts are still available as are all sorts of performance enhancements. You can add electric start, Mikuni or Keihin carbs, electronic ignition, alloy gas and oil tank, Brembo brakes. It is a bike that any decent do-it-yourselfer can work on himself with mostly standard or homemade tools, though I recommend a set of British Whitworth wrenches. The bike still feels as powerful, fast and responsive as I could want, though it’s specs are dwarfed by modern bikes. It simply has torque everywhere I need it. The bike was never really mass produced. It was a hand built, limited production, specialty bike with parts hand fitted on each bike. In today’s dollars, my bike cost about $26,000 when new. Back then as a 22 year old I could afford such an extravagance. Today, enthusiasts have no idea what they are missing.

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• MR

  @MrPotatochips4 · 4 weeks ago

  Bought a new '74 Commando in San Diego never had a problem -- most fun bike I ever owned.  Rode up and down Mt Palomar on the weekends, got to know that road pretty well.  420 pounds, lots of torque, vibrated less than my previous Honda 350. Yeah, it had soul.  Could almost keep up with a Z-1 on a long straight road.  You really needed a fairing at that speed, so that was the only time I went that fast.  Sold it in '89 to a collector who put it in a show room.

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• 90

  @9014jayvictor · 1 month ago

  I loved mine it was 12 second fast in the quarter ! How ever we were used to the japanese Motorcycles and the  engines and 10k RPM may not have been recomended The yamahas could do it and not explode The sx 650 cam advance would break at 10,500 rpm but it did not destroy the bike . however after repeated runs at about 7,500 rpm the crank shaft on my comando S jumped out of the cases destroying the entire engine and that finished the bike ! Spare parts for the Camando were rare ! I worked as a test rider for Norton in those days ! I did not get paid enough to keep my machine running !  Oh well it was a fun job !

  8

• SA

  @saywhat2014 · 17 hours ago

  Lack of innovation, out of touch management , refusing to accept changing market pressures, &nbsp;and quality and reliability not up to the competition.<br> This also applies to present day Harley Davidson.

• NO

  @nortoncommandoupgradestrav2474 · 1 month ago

  The Commando never had it&apos;s swing-arm pivoting on the frame, from day one it was connected to the gearbox cradle to eliminate chain mis-alignment. Max power was 48bhp - never 65bhp. The so called monocoque was a dual beam extrusion design. I could go on. Who ever wrote the script for this film has been totally mis-informed or doesn&apos;t know what they are talking about.

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• JO

  @johnmarsh2078 · 1 month ago

  The British motorcycle industry was a Cinderella industry. Banks never saw it as an investment worth making. A young man with a few bob in his pocket bought a second-hand Mini or MG Midget rather than a dangerous motorcycle his girlfriend wouldn&apos;t ride pillion. He wanted something he could woo her inside, &nbsp;that would keep the rain off and had a heater.Family men didn&apos;t want combinations any more and bought small cars. Cinderella was never going to the ball but along the way she built some really great bikes. The Commando, &nbsp;except for the hand-grenade Combat model was one.

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• TH

  @TheGoldtopdude · 1 month ago

  Beautiful

• JU

  @julianrose810 · 3 weeks ago

  A more pralltical scooter would be the <br>Honda 350 adv .