“I bought the Norton 4 years ago. It's a 1971 model, and was in a pretty rough state - but basically all there. I stripped every nut and bolt and either changed to stainless or polished fasteners. I took the head and barrels off, de-coked it, polished the ports, bought new cycles parts, fitted new exhaust pipes and re-sprayed the tank, side panels and mudguards using a two-pack pearlescent red. “The frame is painted with cellulose which, unlike two-pack, needs to be regularly waxed and polished to keep the shine on it. But the black cellulose frame certainly looks better than stove enamel or powder coating. “The saddle, incidentally, is from Corbin, and the primary chain case has a two-pack finish. “It’s not my first Norton Commando. I had another some years ago, plus various other bikes: a BSA Barracuda, a BSA C15, and a BSA 650cc Triton. "But I particularly like this Norton Commando. It rides nicely and looks good. When I finished it in 2009, I felt it was worth maybe £4000. That has to have gone up since, but I've no idea what anyone would pay for it now. In any case, it's not for sale, so the question doesn't arise. “It took a long time to finish, partly because I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis—which I’ve had since I was twenty two. I need to have blood tests every month, and I’m on a pretty gruelling range of medication. | “Also, I’ve got a metal plate in one hand, and my joints ache a lot, especially when getting down on the floor and polishing things. I need a new knee joint too, but I can’t have that fixed due problems I had some years ago when withdrawal from the medication I was on led to a heart attack. I’m okay now, mind, but the condition limits what I can and can’t do. When the pictures of me and the bike were taken at the Ace Café, for instance, that was the furthest I’ve been able to ride it—and only then after stopping constantly to rest. It’s the wind blast that does it, plus my bad hand that gives me problems holding onto the ‘bars. “I did consider getting a little fairing or something to help out a little, but that would require lowering bars, so I’ll probably just leave it the way it is. “Actually, since the pictures were taken, I’ve changed the colour. That is to say, I’ve bought new cycle parts and have kept the red parts. The new colour is black. But not any black. It’s a very special pearlescent metal flake in which all the colours, under the right conditions, go into reds, greens and blues. It’s amazingly rich and deep and unlike anything I’ve seen before.” [Norton Commando buyer's guide] [Norton Commando quick review] |
