Pictures of your Norton Commandos

There are some really beautiful Nortons here! And you guys have some pretty sweet garages! I just got my first Norton. She runs great. I wouldn’t say that she’s a total beater, but as you can see she is not a stock OEM bike. The handlebar switches and master cylinder are Magura. The rims are Akront with an 18” rear. The rear turn signals are wonky and need to be redone. It has a mystery front end. I was told that the previous owner wanted to rebuild the forks with Race Tech springs and Gold Valves, but they couldn’t do the upgrade with the stock forks and he swapped the Norton front end out for a front end from a Yamaha XS750 and put the Race Tech stuff in that. Maybe, I don’t know for sure, but it ain’t stock. It works pretty well, though. I like this bike a lot. It runs great, it’s really fun to ride, and I don’t have to feel like I have to keep it stock…..kind of liberating from an ownership standpoint.
 

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Kane said:
There are some really beautiful Nortons here! And you guys have some pretty sweet garages! I just got my first Norton. She runs great. I wouldn’t say that she’s a total beater, but as you can see she is not a stock OEM bike. The handlebar switches and master cylinder are Magura. The rims are Akront with an 18” rear. The rear turn signals are wonky and need to be redone. It has a mystery front end. I was told that the previous owner wanted to rebuild the forks with Race Tech springs and Gold Valves, but they couldn’t do the upgrade with the stock forks and he swapped the Norton front end out for a front end from a Yamaha XS750 and put the Race Tech stuff in that. Maybe, I don’t know for sure, but it ain’t stock. It works pretty well, though. I like this bike a lot. It runs great, it’s really fun to ride, and I don’t have to feel like I have to keep it stock…..kind of liberating from an ownership standpoint.
Click to expand...
Nice bike you have there Kane. The use of Yamaha forks gives you the option to fit a better caliper if you find that sliding one lacking.
One thing I would definitely advise you do is to fit a return spring to the brake pedal. ( I can’t see one fitted in the pics). Without it, If the cable happens to snap, the pedal will drop to the ground and launch you.

andover-norton.co.uk

Motorcycle parts and spares for Norton motorbikes - Andover Norton Spare Parts - Andover Norton Motorcycles Parts - Original Andover Norton Parts

Motorcycle parts and spares for Andover Norton motorbikes: Andover Norton manufactures and supplies all Factory Spare Parts for Norton motorcycles built before 2002.
andover-norton.co.uk

Cheers,

cliffa
 
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Thanks cliffa! I didn’t realize about this as the brake pedal returns from the spring at the drum. Definitely sounds like a good idea and I’ll put one on. I don’t see it in the parts book…was this for a particular year or model?
Thanks for the heads up!
 
Kane said:
Thanks cliffa! I didn’t realize about this as the brake pedal returns from the spring at the drum. Definitely sounds like a good idea and I’ll put one on. I don’t see it in the parts book…was this for a particular year or model?
Thanks for the heads up!
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These guys are in a handy location for you
www.eurojamb.com

Hard To Find Norton Motorcycle Parts: Carburetor Electrical Engine and Chassis - Eurojamb.com

Norton Parts for Classic Vintage European Motorcycles - Carburetor, Chassis, Electrical, Engine and Memorabilia at Eurotrash Jambalaya
www.eurojamb.com www.eurojamb.com
 

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Interesting.The Eurotrash Jambalaya shop seems to have its origins in the old Britalia Motors shop in San Jose. I knew Britalia Motors well as I grew up in the S.F. Bay Area and rode a Moto Guzzi 850-T and later a Triumph Bonneville. Britlia Motors was my go-to parts place when I lived closer to San Jose, and later when I lived in San Francisco it was Munroe Motors. Those two shops had the Bay Area covered for British and Italian bikes.I often think about Britalia Motors and it’s great to know that Eurotrash Jambalaya is carrying on from them. I’ll definitely stop in there next time I’m in the Bay Area. Cheers!
 
Kane said:
Thanks cliffa! I didn’t realize about this as the brake pedal returns from the spring at the drum. Definitely sounds like a good idea and I’ll put one on. I don’t see it in the parts book…was this for a particular year or model?
Thanks for the heads up!
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No worries Kane, they were not fitted from the factory as far as I'm aware, but a definite requirement for peace of mind. It will fit all commando's except for the MKIII which has a hydraulic rear disc.
 
Hello, new guy here. Just picked up this '76 Mk III. Previously owned for 20 years by a retired aircraft mecanic. He upgraded every part on the bike during his ownership. 200 miles on engine / trans overhaul. All nuts and bolts possible switched out for stainless. English frame. I heard previous ones were Italian? Smith clocks.
 

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Edfury828 said:
Hello, new guy here. Just picked up this '76 Mk III. Previously owned for 20 years by a retired aircraft mecanic. He upgraded every part on the bike during his ownership. 200 miles on engine / trans overhaul. All nuts and bolts possible switched out for stainless. English frame. I heard previous ones were Italian? Smith clocks.
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Welcome Edfury828 !! That looks like a very nice bike you have there. As far as I'm aware the later frames were manufactured in Italy when Reynolds pulled out or Norton the bean counters looked for cheaper options, but I stand to be corrected.
 
cliffa said:
As far as I'm aware the later frames were manufactured in Italy when Reynolds pulled out or Norton the bean counters looked for cheaper options, but I stand to be corrected.
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It's possible Verlicchi stopped supplying frames during 850 Mk3 production.

Perhaps they weren't getting paid on time due to the financial situation at NVT or the cost per frame had risen substantially so it was no longer cheaper to buy Italian-made frames (could have been around the time the frame numbering system changed from F1xxxxx to the matching plate/engine/gearbox number, however, that is only a guess).
My Mk3 is a 'matching numbers' frame with Imperial size tubing.
 
According to Ken Sprayson's book, after Norton switched from Reynolds to Verlicchi for Commando frames, Reynolds continued to supply frames at the rate of 100 per week, until their stock of supplies was used up. Unfortunately, he doesn't include any date information. But it does appear that there was a period where Norton were receiving frames from both suppliers.

L.A.B. - How does one tell difference between the two frame manufacturers? Is it just a matter of measuring the tube diameter?

Ken
 
lcrken said:
L.A.B. - How does one tell difference between the two frame manufacturers? Is it just a matter of measuring the tube diameter?
Click to expand...

The majority of frames made during the period Verlicchi were supplying Norton seem to have a 60mm O/D spine tube and other 25mm O/D tubing. There seems to have been the odd exception, possibly due to Reynolds getting the job of correcting any Italian frame defects.

What I believe to be Verlicchi-manufactured frames are those with the 5-digit (batch?) number (from 001xx) stamped on the L/H side of the steering head. Les Emery once informed me that the F1xxxxx numbered frames were the Italian ones, however, that may not be totally accurate as it seems not all F1 frames have metric tubing.

The Reynolds frames have a 2 1/4" O/D spine tube and 1.0" tube, also an 'R' (presumably for Reynolds?) and a (month/year) date stamp on the L/H frame gusset plate behind the Z-plate.

The later 850 Mk3 frames are (all?) made from Imperial-size tube but without a stamp on the gusset plate so perhaps they were manufactured in the UK (maybe at Wolverhampton or by a local supplier?) but not by Reynolds.
 

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