Really great video and you are truly a natural in front of the camera Phil! Thank you for sharing the link with me and Dad. From Sarah (Paul Dunstall’s daughter).
Thanks Sarah! it was great exchanging email's with you and your dad this week. I appreciated his comments as well. Your dad did his work in the '60's and '70's. These were imperfect times. Some might be critical, easy to do from the peanut gallery. Many more tuners/builders came along and built on what he started. Your dad has a place in motorcycle history. Take a look at the comments on Mike's great video. I'm sure a majority agree. I look forward to more conversations, and to 2023 :) Sincerely, Phil
Very nostalgic and warming personally as I had among the 5 Nortons I owned a 1970 that had been “kitted” with several of the Dunstall components. And it was yellow. Specifically the 2 into one into 2 with those beautiful mufflers, the fairing and one or two bits I now can’t remember. I acquired it in 1975 when I lived in Reno, NV. It was my favorite of all of the 53 bikes I’ve owned and I kept it for close to 14 years. My brother and I would each year make two major trips on our motorcycles; one to San Diego on Mother’s Day to be with our Mom, the other would be a trip to Canada via Colorado, or perhaps to Big Bend National Park on the Mexico border or wherever. The kitted Norton was a faithful friend over many miles Thanks for featuring this beautiful bike.
Hi Phil, I just ran across your great video about your immaculate bike. I too know the thrill of owning one of these iconic bikes. In June of 1971, I showed up at Dunstall's shop and picked up my 810 cafe racer. I went for broke and ordered most of the options such as the 5 speed Quaif gear box, the finned covers, the ignition option and, of course, the camshaft option. I don't know if you remember, but there was a small parking lot where you could test drive the bikes, so I took my new purchase for a short ride and nearly flipped it up. The first gear was so low it surprised me. I then rode the bike to Dover and went on the now defunct hovercraft across the channel to Calais and took a tour through, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain, ending up in Madrid, where I lived for the next 16 years. The only problem I ever had was a loose bolt that held the 810 barrel on. A wonderful bike and one that let me travel on the autobahn without shame. I have a lot of shots from that time if you would be interested in seeing them. What great times those were for bike riders!
I visited Paul's race shop in England in the summer of 73' . I was traveling in Europe with Eurail Pass and owned a Norton Commando back home in California. I went to his shop to buy some rear sets pegs with shifter and a pair of mufflers. What a great guy. Turned out he was out of stock at the race shop but had another store in London. We hopped into to his car and he took me across town to his other store. I took the rear sets packed in a small box, but he shipped the mufflers over to me. I remember him saying that he used the road in front of his shop that was in the country to check out the top speed of his bikes that he worked on. It was a very cool experience.
Thanks for the comments guys. I had a great time with Mike and Dave in the cul-de-sac! Here are answers to the questions on registering the bike in England, and the crate. I signed forms as part of the "Personal Export Scheme"( saved VAT I was told) I paid to register the bike in England. As you see, I kept the numbers on the fiberglass behind/below the rear seat. Also kept the tag attached to the right front fork leg. The registration expired in July 1973. I may have been a bit tardy registering the bike and getting a plate in California :) I was never stopped by California police because of the British plates. I usually got a wave or thumbs up from the motor officers. If they were close I'd say Cheers Mate and keep riding. Initially I paid to have the bike crated and transported by sea. It was unclear to me how long that would take. I made a late decision to pay a couple hundred bucks more to have it shipped air freight. It was flown from London to Los Angeles and then trucked to our house in San Diego.
Phil, what a fantastic machine and story. Mike may have mentioned it but I've got my father's Dunstall 810 right across the river in the Gladstone/Milwaukie area with all original parts/paperwork etc. He ordered it in similar fashion and went over to England to pick it up from Dunstall's shop. He then toured England on it for a few weeks before shipping it back to the USA. My 810 barrel (bike has a 750 head right now) is in a box however, as according to my old man, the soft aluminum didn't seem to respond well to the extra compression and it would strip the threads and try to separate itself from the engine case. Curious to know if you ran into any issues with that over the years? It would be great to get together sometime and chat. Cheers! -Jake
@@jakebenz131 Thanks Jake! I'd heard part of your dad's story, but didn't know you were in Oregon! I'm out of town now. When I get back I'll have Mike get us connected. Let's have Mike and George K join us for a visit to see your 810. The world gets smaller :)
I bought a V8 race engine from Shaffirof in New York Air Freight from said to Darwin Australia Surprisingly inexpensive. Great bike mate! Thanks for sharing it to the community, cheers!
I lived a short bus ride away from Paul Dunstall's shop in Eltham, and used to spend many Saturdays as a teenager sitting on the Nortons being developed from the 750, to the 810, to the 830.When Paul switched to selling the Moto Guzzis, that stuck with me and I have a Le Mans to this day.
Great story indeed. Not only was it illuminating but I think the most touching bit to the testimony of Phil’s indifference to his fame and just where he sits in the pantheon of bike owners, racers, and riders is the personal email from Paul Dunstall half hanging out his back pocket.
I really like the addition of the drone video. I never heard of a Dunstall Norton Commando 810. It's great that Phil ordered this bike as a 19 year old young man and kept it all of these years.
Great story. Great history, Great Bike. I have had my Triumph since high school my brother had his Norton with a Dunstall kit we rode to school daily. Had road-trips with friends in high school. I kept the triumph’78 bought my brothers Norton shortly after school. They are always a family member first then bike second. Clips and stories like this stir the soul. Sent it to my my brother. He just bought a badass MB this year. Said it had to sound like the “ Norton “ the GT 6.3. That’s what the Norton would do to a Man.
Phil’s story must be unique. To be the first and only owner of such an iconic bike is amazing. Great that he has all the paperwork still. Also, great editing Mike! 👍🏻
Beautiful these days they are like trying to find hens teeth , I remember as a child seeing a white dunstall locally and instantly fell In love with it . Thanks for sharing Mike 👍
You’ve outdone yourself with this episode Mike. Absolutely great, great filming, great story, great knowledge, great editing, great drone pic’s. Thanks both. Ray 🇬🇧
Wow ! I have never seen one in-the-flesh Mike . What an incredible-story to go with an incredible-bike . You are the-Man Paul ! I had Dunstall-parts all-through my 750-Atlas (including a Dunstal-Commando-Head ) She blew a few head-gaskets until I went to solid-copper . The bike topped-out a tad over 120mph which felt-like a rocket-ship to-me at 21yrs-old . I sold it to a retired British Norton-mechanic who migrated out here (NZ) . It had a slight big-end-knock and I bet he was surprised when he tore-it -down Dave nz
Thanks a lot for sharing Dave, that was great to read! I cannot imagine riding a Commando at those speeds. It must have been exciting!! Best wishes, Mike
Fantastic. Great story. History on wheels. Paul Dunstall, the Messiah of millions of leather-clad youngsters (and not-so-youngsters) all over the world. PS: Loved the drone work.
Oh yeah the 850 Commando with the 5-speed and then then Mr dunstall... that's about the coolest bike on Earth. A young teenager I used to go to the Triumph Norton dealer and admire the machines 🙏🙏
Great show ! Always wondered about the Dunstall Norton. Bought a Triumph in England in 69 and spent 6 weeks camping in the UK and Europe . Shipped it back to Ohio and sold it when I moved to California. Always regret selling that bike, which I loved, and have always regretted not buying a Norton instead. ANYway, love your channel. Something about the sound of a British twin !! Memory lane !🤙
I enjoy your bikes and interviews, but this one was a beauty 👌 I at 70 years of age certainly was in dejaveu and ahhh slipping back to the past I loved so much. Thanks guys
It’s a special feeling of pride to be an original owner of a decades old bike that’s now become “vintage”. I have an ‘85 Harley that I special ordered as well. When it arrived I went down to the shop to take pictures. It was still in it’s un-opened crate. I took pic’s of the crate, then a tech proceeded to open it up while I continued to click away. I also still have the well worn magazines that inspired me back then, the bike, and those photo’s. It’s a beautiful day for Nov 6 here. I think I’ll take her for her end of season ride. Thanks for a beautifully done video, and an excellent subject bike.
The brother of a fiend of mine bought a new Ducati 450 Desmo in 1974. That's the last year of production, and he got the optional disc front brake. I once got a ride on it, circa 1988, it was still immaculate with 50k kilometers on the clock. That was one special bike. Quite a stretch to the clip-on bars. He put it on teh centre stand and told me to stand on the left of the bike and kick with my right leg. I sat on it, kicked with my left, and it started first try. He gaped, and said no-one had ever done that before. It was a great ride. I must ask if he still has it.
I've been waiting for this one and it didn't dissapoint. Thanks Mike and proud owner. I had 3rd gear layshaft issue once which locked the gearbox, fortunately the final drive became disconnected as the chain let go and rapped me on the left shoulder which only stung a bit!
Brilliant history story this Autumn damp morning in Liverpool UK. Reminds me of my childhood back in Anfield , a guy a couple doors down used to fire up his Norton early morning to go to work and my brother and I would jump out of bed to see him roar off past our house. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.😅
Bam! Home-run on this video; you knocked it out of the park. I agree with what everyone has already said. Just a wonderful story and guest, and love the drone footage. Very, very enjoyable video.
'Epic' the real deal for sure. Thanks to Phil first of all for hanging on to his bike for all these years & secondly for taking time to visit & share his story .. 👍👍 atvb t .. 😉 .. 🏍
Great video and history of the Dunstall. Thank you for posting. Wish I could get my hands on one of the "kits". I noticed the drone work immediately, then spotted Dave's Mustang in the background...... Thanks again.
I had a yellow Dunstable Norton 750 back in the late 70’s looked similar to your bike. Really loved that bike. Great memories riding it. Beautiful bike.
I purchased a Dunstall 2/1/2 exhaust for my 750 Commando back in 1974 and it made the bike noticeably faster and smoother, after a few other minor mods like velocity stacks on the carbs and electronic ignition the old Commando could keep up with or usually beat all my mates with their BMW's and Japanese 750's and as long as I kept the Isolastic mountings adjusted properly the handling was excellent. The only thing I can't praise is the front disc brake which was pretty poor but I got used to that and just squeezed the lever harder. Reliability was good with only one roadside failure as a result of the gearbox layshaft inner ball bearing collapsing resulting in the bike having to be recovered but that happened only once, fuel consumption was excellent with an average of 65 mpg and if I really tried hard I could get nearly 80 mpg!. I wish I'd kept the old girl as the Norton was a good friend to me, in the 5 years I owned it and the 50K miles I put on the speedo using the bike as my daily ride I never crashed it once and I always rode the fucking wheels off it 💗
Good work Mike. Happy to say Phil Lane got my vote that day at the Quail. You did a valuable service to our Brit bike community by archiving this astonishing original & rare survivor.
Jerry! great meeting you at the Quail. Thanks for your work as a judge. Appreciated the vote! Mike did an amazing job on this video. Hope to see you down the road, All the best, Phil
Hi and thank you very much for your kind note. I appreciate it. I've seen a few great videos featuring Brighton, including the London to Brighton ride of course but also some other cool events along the sea front. Best wishes, Mike
Thank you John, I appreciate it. I'm hoping to have some more visitors next year as there are still tons of bikes out there in the local area. Best wishes, Mike
What an excellent story and motorcycle. Must be extremely rare these days. Also to get such a special at 19…wow! With the previous video of the chap with the Honda Scrambler you are setting a very high standard in the cul de sac. Mr Swooshes drone work is also 1st class. Spot on as always👍🏻
A stunning bike. Thank you for sharing your story, loved the history and the connection to Paul Dunstall. I restored a 1959 Model 99 Dominator in 1975 and went with the same color scheme, Dunstall Yellow.
I'm from Adelaide south Australia. When I was a kid a bloke around the corner named Peter chambers ordered and imported 1 of these exactly the same colour and all. He paid $3500 AUD from memory. There was a 1/2 page local news paper article about it at the time. His brother had a Triumph Hurricane. It sounded great these 2 bikes coming down the road.
fantastic Tale from the Cul de Sac........50 years of ownership with a history so worth telling; thanks for sharing. His girlfriend who became his wife must have great understanding and memories of her own. well done Mike and Dave, right up there with the best, thank you.
A really interesting video, all the more interesting for me as I lived 2 miles from Paul Dunstall's shop and would often walk there to look in at the bikes and bolt on goodies. You must have good neighbours there Mike, with your regular visitors. Chris B.
Fantastic episode Mike - Great to see such a truly wonderful Norton, correctly a "Dunstall" in your cul-de-sac. They are truly a wonderful machine and when tuned they perform butter smooth - considered the Aston Martin of motorbikes back in the 1970's. I sold my own (orginal 1972) Dunstall 810 earlier this year and having watched this episode I'm regretting that decision, should have kept it but they need to be ridden and the cafe racer position, especially around town at low speeds was too much for my ageing neck and back LOL! Keep up the excellent channel Mike, wonderful vids and the drone use was a nice touch to see the bike and location from an above ground perspective - very Top Gear !
Many thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed this episode. Yes, this was a special one 😉 we spared no expense with the production for this one 😉. Pilot @swooshdave brought his drone along and those shots really helped with the video. Best wishes, Mike
That was a great story, it must be unique and so well told by your mate, it took me right back to my youth when we were fitting those Dunstall silencers on to our commandos and Bonnies. I believe Gordon Blair was a boffin at the University of Belfast. If it was my bike I think I would have to give that engine a refresh, a good job for the winter.
Yes, "Queen's University, Belfast". In the late 60s and 70s, you could get a mechanical engineering degree in motorcycle design. If memory serves (and it often doesn't), Professor Blair and his students designed, built, and developed a 500 cc two stroke they called a "QUB". It was a monster and proved to be a highly-developed simple engine (other people were using rotary intake valves and reed valves, etc.) but at that time, a two-stroke was seen to having being overtaken by 3- and 4-cylinder 500s. But there were good results, even a second finish only behind G. Agostini at the '69 Ulster GP. I think it was quite a marvel and provided a lot of data for tuners, but it was never developed for production and sale. Besides doing engineering projects such as the Dunstall exhaust, Dr. Blair did tuning work on Yamaha twins with good success and many other highly admired projects.
I had one , but with a bare metal tank . Well second hand when I bought it for £500 in Stroud , Glos , uk . Memories come flooding back , thank you . So light handling and quick !
I had a bare metal tank 810 which was bought from Essex by someone in Glos if I remember correctly. Glad to see the back of it. The biggest heap of junk I had the misfortune to own. Z900 was the way forward. 😂
What a great bike, owner & back story for a truly professional grade production. Well done Mike & thanks as always for sharing. Making it to the cul-de-sac is ever edging towards making it to the cover of the 'Rolling Stone' magazine status!✌️
Great story and beautiful bike; brings back memories of my first summer out on my own in 1974 after leaving high school - I ended up hanging around Edmonton, Alberta for a few weeks and I can remember seeing a couple of Dunstall-ized Nortons being ridden around the city streets - what a glorious sight and sound. In retrospect, Edmonton was and is a silly place to own a cafe racer as it is flat prairie with the city built on a grid pattern so all roads tend to be straight - but in those days those bikes were just the epitome of cool to me.
Beautiful piece of history,I remember them well but hadn’t realised then just how special they were oddly enough I had just bought my Bonnie almost at the same time👌❤️
I lived not far from Carlsbad Raceway during that same timeframe and while participating in a “Run what you brung” event with a friend in his ‘69 Mustang fastback there was a Dunstall Norton present. That distinctive exhaust note caught our attention but if that was you allow me one correction: The other blokes were knocking back Coors; we distinguished ourselves with Heinekens.🥴😄
A shame we didn't meet James. Coors fit well with the '65-67 Mustang crowd. Anyone with a '69 fastback then should have Heinekens in the cooler. After parking the bike for the night, and under legal age, I would have accepted a spare Falstaff if offered :)
Wow!!! Just Wow!!!! What a bike and what a story! Thanks Mike for sharing this! When the time comes for this gentleman to pass the torch of this bike maybe he should contact the Barber Motorcycle museum in Alabama. If anything I’d bet the Barber folk would let him take the bike a few laps on their track. This bike is an icon of motorcycle history! ❤😊
Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley NC. Had a very fast very built 600cc Norton Dominator with a vertical head from the Norton racing program. Bought in & built in the UK then brought to the US. Shut down everything on the road back in the day, at a large southern university. My tuner/mechanic figured out the rocker arms were backwards. Gained 25% more intake and exhaust flow. Dual Amal concéntrics and wide open intake and exhaust. Even the Bonnie’s could barely do the ton. I could run to about 115 easily more than 50 years ago. Eventually dropped a 49 HD Springer front end and a candy apple metal flake apricot tank. In the first chopper era it was a real eye catcher and conversation piece. My retirement project is a Matt Capri 02 Triumph Daytona tuned up 15+%. Single previous owner, 12k miles. 11 flat stock. But went from restomod 63 Atlas to the whole Commando era, don’t like 80s-2000 UKMs. Chased Speed triples til I found out 19?more HP than a Speed Triple, plus another 15% across the curve. Wish I still had the Dominator but excited to see how far into the tens I can get with the Daytona. But yours is beyond anything Norton I have ever seen. I am stoked by seeing both your bike and mine. Going to ride again for as long as I can hold it down. Thanks again for this video. -Matt’s dad
I bought my red 1971 Commando Roadster from Ed La Belle at his Felton St shop in Philly. It had the Dunstall pipes, cibie curved headlamp, fiberglass gas tank, drum brakes and combat head and took it with me when I moved to Anchorage. It sounded great and was plenty fast enough for me.
Great video, thanks. The sound is so different than any other bike. I was always interested with the Brit bikes in the 70s but no funds at the time. I was only able to manage a used 2cyl 2 stroke Suzuki street bike back then.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 91 | คู่เอก "คมอาวุธ vs อเล็กเซย์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/V0RkEfYFsgM/mqdefault.jpg)
Really great video and you are truly a natural in front of the camera Phil! Thank you for sharing the link with me and Dad. From Sarah (Paul Dunstall’s daughter).
Hi Sarah, many thanks for commenting on the video. It was a pleasure being part of this video and hearing the amazing story. Best wishes, Mike
Thanks Sarah! it was great exchanging email's with you and your dad this week. I appreciated his comments as well. Your dad did his work in the '60's and '70's. These were imperfect times. Some might be critical, easy to do from the peanut gallery. Many more tuners/builders came along and built on what he started. Your dad has a place in motorcycle history. Take a look at the comments on Mike's great video. I'm sure a majority agree. I look forward to more conversations, and to 2023 :) Sincerely, Phil
Very nice motorbike, I’m Nick Dunstall, one of his relatives, it was really nice of you to review the sweet motorbike
Very nostalgic and warming personally as I had among the 5 Nortons I owned a 1970 that had been “kitted” with several of the Dunstall components. And it was yellow. Specifically the 2 into one into 2 with those beautiful mufflers, the fairing and one or two bits I now can’t remember. I acquired it in 1975 when I lived in Reno, NV. It was my favorite of all of the 53 bikes I’ve owned and I kept it for close to 14 years. My brother and I would each year make two major trips on our motorcycles; one to San Diego on Mother’s Day to be with our Mom, the other would be a trip to Canada via Colorado, or perhaps to Big Bend National Park on the Mexico border or wherever. The kitted Norton was a faithful friend over many miles Thanks for featuring this beautiful bike.
Hi Phil, I just ran across your great video about your immaculate bike. I too know the thrill of owning one of these iconic bikes. In June of 1971, I showed up at Dunstall's shop and picked up my 810 cafe racer. I went for broke and ordered most of the options such as the 5 speed Quaif gear box, the finned covers, the ignition option and, of course, the camshaft option. I don't know if you remember, but there was a small parking lot where you could test drive the bikes, so I took my new purchase for a short ride and nearly flipped it up. The first gear was so low it surprised me. I then rode the bike to Dover and went on the now defunct hovercraft across the channel to Calais and took a tour through, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain, ending up in Madrid, where I lived for the next 16 years. The only problem I ever had was a loose bolt that held the 810 barrel on. A wonderful bike and one that let me travel on the autobahn without shame. I have a lot of shots from that time if you would be interested in seeing them. What great times those were for bike riders!
I’m so glad that you were able to connect with Phil. Best wishes, Mike
I visited Paul's race shop in England in the summer of 73' . I was traveling in Europe with Eurail Pass and owned a Norton Commando back home in California. I went to his shop to buy some rear sets pegs with shifter and a pair of mufflers. What a great guy. Turned out he was out of stock at the race shop but had another store in London. We hopped into to his car and he took me across town to his other store. I took the rear sets packed in a small box, but he shipped the mufflers over to me. I remember him saying that he used the road in front of his shop that was in the country to check out the top speed of his bikes that he worked on. It was a very cool experience.
Thanks for the comments guys. I had a great time with Mike and Dave in the cul-de-sac! Here are answers to the questions on registering the bike in England, and the crate. I signed forms as part of the "Personal Export Scheme"( saved VAT I was told) I paid to register the bike in England. As you see, I kept the numbers on the fiberglass behind/below the rear seat. Also kept the tag attached to the right front fork leg. The registration expired in July 1973. I may have been a bit tardy registering the bike and getting a plate in California :) I was never stopped by California police because of the British plates. I usually got a wave or thumbs up from the motor officers. If they were close I'd say Cheers Mate and keep riding. Initially I paid to have the bike crated and transported by sea. It was unclear to me how long that would take. I made a late decision to pay a couple hundred bucks more to have it shipped air freight. It was flown from London to Los Angeles and then trucked to our house in San Diego.
Phil, what a fantastic machine and story. Mike may have mentioned it but I've got my father's Dunstall 810 right across the river in the Gladstone/Milwaukie area with all original parts/paperwork etc. He ordered it in similar fashion and went over to England to pick it up from Dunstall's shop. He then toured England on it for a few weeks before shipping it back to the USA. My 810 barrel (bike has a 750 head right now) is in a box however, as according to my old man, the soft aluminum didn't seem to respond well to the extra compression and it would strip the threads and try to separate itself from the engine case. Curious to know if you ran into any issues with that over the years? It would be great to get together sometime and chat. Cheers! -Jake
@@jakebenz131 Thanks Jake! I'd heard part of your dad's story, but didn't know you were in Oregon! I'm out of town now. When I get back I'll have Mike get us connected. Let's have Mike and George K join us for a visit to see your 810. The world gets smaller :)
@@themainlane810 Sounds great to me. Keep me posted!
I bought a V8 race engine from Shaffirof in New York Air Freight from said to Darwin Australia Surprisingly inexpensive. Great bike mate! Thanks for sharing it to the community, cheers!
What great history 👌🏼
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks a lot, Mike
I lived a short bus ride away from Paul Dunstall's shop in Eltham, and used to spend many Saturdays as a teenager sitting on the Nortons being developed from the 750, to the 810, to the 830.When Paul switched to selling the Moto Guzzis, that stuck with me and I have a Le Mans to this day.
Wow, that's a great story. Thanks a lot for sharing. I really appreciate it. Best wishes, Mike
Truly one of the last great British sports bikes. Thanks for posting your story and congratulations for keeping it.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks a lot for your comment. Best wishes, Mike
This might be the most incredible motorcycle and story this channel has ever featured!
Great story indeed. Not only was it illuminating but I think the most touching bit to the testimony of Phil’s indifference to his fame and just where he sits in the pantheon of bike owners, racers, and riders is the personal email from Paul Dunstall half hanging out his back pocket.
Very articulate guest---definitely a high water mark classic and great bike stories.
I really like the addition of the drone video. I never heard of a Dunstall Norton Commando 810. It's great that Phil ordered this bike as a 19 year old young man and kept it all of these years.
Thanks a lot Ken. Glad you enjoyed the video and drone clips. Best wishes, Mike
Great story. Great history, Great Bike. I have had my Triumph since high school my brother had his Norton with a Dunstall kit we rode to school daily. Had road-trips with friends in high school. I kept the triumph’78 bought my brothers Norton shortly after school. They are always a family member first then bike second. Clips and stories like this stir the soul. Sent it to my my brother. He just bought a badass MB this year. Said it had to sound like the “ Norton “ the GT 6.3. That’s what the Norton would do to a Man.
Hi Greg, many thanks for sharing your family story. That was really fun to read. Glad you enjoy the videos. Best wishes for the holidays. Cheers, Mike
Phil’s story must be unique. To be the first and only owner of such an iconic bike is amazing. Great that he has all the paperwork still. Also, great editing Mike! 👍🏻
Beautiful these days they are like trying to find hens teeth , I remember as a child seeing a white dunstall locally and instantly fell In love with it .
Thanks for sharing Mike 👍
Thanks a lot Andrew! Glad you liked the video. Best wishes, Mike
Enjoyable video about a legendary motorcycle.
Thanks a lot, Jim! Glad you enjoyed this video. Phil did an outstanding job with his amazing bike. Cheers, Mike.
You’ve outdone yourself with this episode Mike. Absolutely great, great filming, great story, great knowledge, great editing, great drone pic’s. Thanks both. Ray 🇬🇧
Wow ! I have never seen one in-the-flesh Mike . What an incredible-story to go with an incredible-bike . You are the-Man Paul ! I had Dunstall-parts all-through my 750-Atlas (including a Dunstal-Commando-Head ) She blew a few head-gaskets until I went to solid-copper . The bike topped-out a tad over 120mph which felt-like a rocket-ship to-me at 21yrs-old . I sold it to a retired British Norton-mechanic who migrated out here (NZ) . It had a slight big-end-knock and I bet he was surprised when he tore-it -down Dave nz
Thanks a lot for sharing Dave, that was great to read! I cannot imagine riding a Commando at those speeds. It must have been exciting!! Best wishes, Mike
Fantastic. Great story. History on wheels. Paul Dunstall, the Messiah of millions of leather-clad youngsters (and not-so-youngsters) all over the world. PS: Loved the drone work.
Oh yeah the 850 Commando with the 5-speed and then then Mr dunstall... that's about the coolest bike on Earth. A young teenager I used to go to the Triumph Norton dealer and admire the machines
🙏🙏
Great show ! Always wondered about the Dunstall Norton. Bought a Triumph in England in 69 and spent 6 weeks camping in the UK and Europe . Shipped it back to Ohio and sold it when I moved to California. Always regret selling that bike, which I loved, and have always regretted not buying a Norton instead. ANYway, love your channel. Something about the sound of a British twin !! Memory lane !🤙
I enjoy your bikes and interviews, but this one was a beauty 👌 I at 70 years of age certainly was in dejaveu and ahhh slipping back to the past I loved so much. Thanks guys
Thank you Robert for your gray comment. Glad that you enjoyed the video and it brought back some fun memories. Best wishes, Mike
Brilliant story!
Many thanks Jock! Best wishes, Mike
Great interview. Phil is a natural.
Fantastic. Didn't know much about Dunstall, thanks for enlightening me👍🏽
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed the video! Best wishes, Mike
What a great bike!!! Congratulations 👏
It’s a special feeling of pride to be an original owner of a decades old bike that’s now become “vintage”. I have an ‘85 Harley that I special ordered as well. When it arrived I went down to the shop to take pictures. It was still in it’s un-opened crate. I took pic’s of the crate, then a tech proceeded to open it up while I continued to click away. I also still have the well worn magazines that inspired me back then, the bike, and those photo’s. It’s a beautiful day for Nov 6 here. I think I’ll take her for her end of season ride.
Thanks for a beautifully done video, and an excellent subject bike.
The brother of a fiend of mine bought a new Ducati 450 Desmo in 1974. That's the last year of production, and he got the optional disc front brake. I once got a ride on it, circa 1988, it was still immaculate with 50k kilometers on the clock. That was one special bike. Quite a stretch to the clip-on bars. He put it on teh centre stand and told me to stand on the left of the bike and kick with my right leg. I sat on it, kicked with my left, and it started first try. He gaped, and said no-one had ever done that before. It was a great ride. I must ask if he still has it.
Norton Legend from Paul Dunstall and Great Britain the home of historic bad boys of cafe racing. Iconic bike.
I've been waiting for this one and it didn't dissapoint. Thanks Mike and proud owner. I had 3rd gear layshaft issue once which locked the gearbox, fortunately the final drive became disconnected as the chain let go and rapped me on the left shoulder which only stung a bit!
Many thanks. Wow, that sounded like a bit of a scary story. Glad you were OK. Best wishes, Mike
Great story! Thanks to Phil & Mike (and Dave) for shareing. Greetings from Croatia, Nikola
What an episode Mike, you have out done yourself! Thank you for a very intriguing story!
ive watched a lot of your show's but this 1 would nilly be that best of the best what an awesome stoy ive watched it a couple times over
Brilliant history story this Autumn damp morning in Liverpool UK. Reminds me of my childhood back in Anfield , a guy a couple doors down used to fire up his Norton early morning to go to work and my brother and I would jump out of bed to see him roar off past our house. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.😅
what an amazing story, now documented for posterity, thankyou
Many thanks, yes this is a keeper! Best wishes, Mike
Great video. What a beautiful bike. That fairing is perfection.
Thank you kindly! Best wishes, Mike
I had a Red 74 850. It came with numerous Dunstall parts. Always told people it wasn't authentic but that it was a lot of fun. Thanks for the video,
Many thanks Charles. I appreciate your note. Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers, Mike
Bam! Home-run on this video; you knocked it out of the park. I agree with what everyone has already said. Just a wonderful story and guest, and love the drone footage. Very, very enjoyable video.
Thank you so much Edwin. Yes, this was an extra special one 😀 Glad you enjoyed it so much. Best wishes, Mike
Great, tremendous, etc etc, I’m so glad thT bike has survived the test of time.
Thanks very much Darryll. Glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, it is a time capsule, isn't it! Best wishes, Mike
'Epic' the real deal for sure. Thanks to Phil first of all for hanging on to his bike for all these years & secondly for taking time to visit & share his story .. 👍👍
atvb t .. 😉 .. 🏍
Great video and history of the Dunstall. Thank you for posting. Wish I could get my hands on one of the "kits". I noticed the drone work immediately, then spotted Dave's Mustang in the background...... Thanks again.
I had a yellow Dunstable Norton 750 back in the late 70’s looked similar to your bike. Really loved that bike. Great memories riding it. Beautiful bike.
I purchased a Dunstall 2/1/2 exhaust for my 750 Commando back in 1974 and it made the bike noticeably faster and smoother, after a few other minor mods like velocity stacks on the carbs and electronic ignition the old Commando could keep up with or usually beat all my mates with their BMW's and Japanese 750's and as long as I kept the Isolastic mountings adjusted properly the handling was excellent. The only thing I can't praise is the front disc brake which was pretty poor but I got used to that and just squeezed the lever harder. Reliability was good with only one roadside failure as a result of the gearbox layshaft inner ball bearing collapsing resulting in the bike having to be recovered but that happened only once, fuel consumption was excellent with an average of 65 mpg and if I really tried hard I could get nearly 80 mpg!. I wish I'd kept the old girl as the Norton was a good friend to me, in the 5 years I owned it and the 50K miles I put on the speedo using the bike as my daily ride I never crashed it once and I always rode the fucking wheels off it 💗
Wonderful Norton, wonderful story! Thanks for the video it was very enjoyable watching.
Another wonderful video from the cul-de-sac to end 2022. Look forward to many more in 2023.
🙂🌻🌞
Wonderful personal history! Thx! I totally enjoyed it !!
Thank you very much Phillip. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Best wishes, Mike
This is the best ever Mike. Fantastic episode, and wonderful guest.
Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. It was my pleasure. Best wishes, Mike
Lovely. Dunstall in those days were the go to types for customisation
Good work Mike. Happy to say Phil Lane got my vote that day at the Quail. You did a valuable service to our Brit bike community by archiving this astonishing original & rare survivor.
Thanks very much Jerry. I hope all is well. Quail was fantastic. We had a great time. Best wishes, Mike
Jerry! great meeting you at the Quail. Thanks for your work as a judge. Appreciated the vote! Mike did an amazing job on this video. Hope to see you down the road, All the best, Phil
Really enjoying these cul de sac videos, great story about the Dunstall - hi from Brighton, England 👋
Hi and thank you very much for your kind note. I appreciate it. I've seen a few great videos featuring Brighton, including the London to Brighton ride of course but also some other cool events along the sea front. Best wishes, Mike
You still love it.
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Hey, Mike, again a pure joy on a Sunday morning!!… and a drone flight… beautiful thanks so much and greetings from northern Germany Manfred
Mike..buenisimos videos como siempre. Saludos Rafa de mardel plata Argentina
You've really made "the cul-de-sac" very special this past year. This is another really special bike from our past. Thanks!
Thank you John, I appreciate it. I'm hoping to have some more visitors next year as there are still tons of bikes out there in the local area. Best wishes, Mike
Geez thats impressive.
From an original owner 79 T140.
Thank you Michael for your note. Much appreciated. Best wishes, Mike
Awesome story guys 👏
What an excellent story and motorcycle. Must be extremely rare these days. Also to get such a special at 19…wow!
With the previous video of the chap with the Honda Scrambler you are setting a very high standard in the cul de sac.
Mr Swooshes drone work is also 1st class.
Spot on as always👍🏻
That is an amazing bike, and he’s the original owner!!! Unbelievable…..
Thank you Bob, yes to think that this is in our own backyard! There are some amazing bikes out there in our local area. Cheers, Mike
Another magical episode from the cul-de-sac. Thanks for doing and posting - made my Sunday.
Many thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video so much. Best wishes, Mike
A stunning bike. Thank you for sharing your story, loved the history and the connection to Paul Dunstall. I restored a 1959 Model 99 Dominator in 1975 and went with the same color scheme, Dunstall Yellow.
One of your best.😎
May thanks Jerry and Nancy! Best wishes, Mike
Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.
Thank you very much Mick, Glad you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend. Cheers, Mike
I'm from Adelaide south Australia. When I was a kid a bloke around the corner named Peter chambers ordered and imported 1 of these exactly the same colour and all. He paid $3500 AUD from memory. There was a 1/2 page local news paper article about it at the time. His brother had a Triumph Hurricane. It sounded great these 2 bikes coming down the road.
Great story!✌️
fantastic Tale from the Cul de Sac........50 years of ownership with a history so worth telling; thanks for sharing. His girlfriend who became his wife must have great understanding and memories of her own. well done Mike and Dave, right up there with the best, thank you.
Thank you very much Malcolm. I'm glad you enjoy this special video. Best wishes, Mike
A really interesting video, all the more interesting for me as I lived 2 miles from Paul Dunstall's shop and would often walk there to look in at the bikes and bolt on goodies. You must have good neighbours there Mike, with your regular visitors. Chris B.
Wonderful.
Many thanks!
Excellent episode, and fascinating story. Well done Mike.
Love the story behind the Norton, really enjoyed the video!
Fantastic episode Mike - Great to see such a truly wonderful Norton, correctly a "Dunstall" in your cul-de-sac. They are truly a wonderful machine and when tuned they perform butter smooth - considered the Aston Martin of motorbikes back in the 1970's. I sold my own (orginal 1972) Dunstall 810 earlier this year and having watched this episode I'm regretting that decision, should have kept it but they need to be ridden and the cafe racer position, especially around town at low speeds was too much for my ageing neck and back LOL! Keep up the excellent channel Mike, wonderful vids and the drone use was a nice touch to see the bike and location from an above ground perspective - very Top Gear !
Many thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed this episode. Yes, this was a special one 😉 we spared no expense with the production for this one 😉. Pilot @swooshdave brought his drone along and those shots really helped with the video. Best wishes, Mike
That was a great story, it must be unique and so well told by your mate, it took me right back to my youth when we were fitting those Dunstall silencers on to our commandos and Bonnies. I believe Gordon Blair was a boffin at the University of Belfast. If it was my bike I think I would have to give that engine a refresh, a good job for the winter.
Yes, "Queen's University, Belfast". In the late 60s and 70s, you could get a mechanical engineering degree in motorcycle design. If memory serves (and it often doesn't), Professor Blair and his students designed, built, and developed a 500 cc two stroke they called a "QUB". It was a monster and proved to be a highly-developed simple engine (other people were using rotary intake valves and reed valves, etc.) but at that time, a two-stroke was seen to having being overtaken by 3- and 4-cylinder 500s. But there were good results, even a second finish only behind G. Agostini at the '69 Ulster GP. I think it was quite a marvel and provided a lot of data for tuners, but it was never developed for production and sale.
Besides doing engineering projects such as the Dunstall exhaust, Dr. Blair did tuning work on Yamaha twins with good success and many other highly admired projects.
One of your best episodes Mike, thank you! It makes me appreciate my Commando even more.
Great story=great video. Thank you both for sharing such a fantastic story.
I had one , but with a bare metal tank . Well second hand when I bought it for £500 in Stroud , Glos , uk .
Memories come flooding back , thank you .
So light handling and quick !
I had a bare metal tank 810 which was bought from Essex by someone in Glos if I remember correctly. Glad to see the back of it. The biggest heap of junk I had the misfortune to own. Z900 was the way forward. 😂
Thanks for sharing David. Best wishes, Mike
@Steve Miners, Thanks for toning down your language from your earlier comment. Cheers, Mike
Beautifully done, what a bike!
Wonderful. What great memories your videos bring back. Thanks
Thank you very much Martin. Glad you enjoyed the video and they bring some good memories. Best wishes, Mike
That was great!! I grow Up riding my Triumph in the 60's.
Thanks a lot John. Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Mike
What a great story and cracking bike.
Many thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes, Mike
Awesome 🙌 that wasn't long enough 😀 thanks for sharing 👍 🏴
Best content I have seen on Norton. I love my 1971 roadster.
Who’s a cleaver boy with the subtle drone footage !
What a great bike, owner & back story for a truly professional grade production. Well done Mike & thanks as always for sharing. Making it to the cul-de-sac is ever edging towards making it to the cover of the 'Rolling Stone' magazine status!✌️
use to see at least one every time i rode Sky Line to Alice's restaurant above the bay area back in the day
Great story and beautiful bike; brings back memories of my first summer out on my own in 1974 after leaving high school - I ended up hanging around Edmonton, Alberta for a few weeks and I can remember seeing a couple of Dunstall-ized Nortons being ridden around the city streets - what a glorious sight and sound. In retrospect, Edmonton was and is a silly place to own a cafe racer as it is flat prairie with the city built on a grid pattern so all roads tend to be straight - but in those days those bikes were just the epitome of cool to me.
Thank you very much for sharing the great story. I enjoyed reading it. Glad you enjoyed the video. Best wishes, Mike
Wow ! What an amazing story !
Absolutely joyous!
Many thanks John. Glad you enjoyed the video so much. It was so much fun doing the video and really pleased with the final results. Best wishes, Mike
Beautiful piece of history,I remember them well but hadn’t realised then just how special they were oddly enough I had just bought my Bonnie almost at the same time👌❤️
What a pleasure to watch!!! 🇬🇧
An absolute gem of an episode Mike. Thank you very much.
Thank you Ian! Glad you enjoyed this episode 😉. I had a great time with Phil and Dave that day. Best wishes, Mike
I lived not far from Carlsbad Raceway during that same timeframe and while participating in a “Run what you brung” event with a friend in his ‘69 Mustang fastback there was a Dunstall Norton present.
That distinctive exhaust note caught our attention but if that was you allow me one correction: The other blokes were knocking back Coors; we distinguished ourselves with Heinekens.🥴😄
A shame we didn't meet James. Coors fit well with the '65-67 Mustang crowd. Anyone with a '69 fastback then should have Heinekens in the cooler. After parking the bike for the night, and under legal age, I would have accepted a spare Falstaff if offered :)
beautiful bike, beautiful story, beautiful video!
Terrific video Mike. Interesting bike and history. Enjoyed the video RIDE SAFE .
Thanks, you henry. Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers, Mike
This is absolutely truly awesome thanks for sharing guys :) what an epic bike.
Thank you Tom! Hope all is well. Best wishes, Mike
Wow!!! Just Wow!!!! What a bike and what a story! Thanks Mike for sharing this! When the time comes for this gentleman to pass the torch of this bike maybe he should contact the Barber Motorcycle museum in Alabama. If anything I’d bet the Barber folk would let him take the bike a few laps on their track. This bike is an icon of motorcycle history! ❤😊
Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley NC.
Had a very fast very built 600cc Norton Dominator with a vertical head from the Norton racing program. Bought in & built in the UK then brought to the US. Shut down everything on the road back in the day, at a large southern university. My tuner/mechanic figured out the rocker arms were backwards. Gained 25% more intake and exhaust flow. Dual Amal concéntrics and wide open intake and exhaust. Even the Bonnie’s could barely do the ton. I could run to about 115 easily more than 50 years ago. Eventually dropped a 49 HD Springer front end and a candy apple metal flake apricot tank. In the first chopper era it was a real eye catcher and conversation piece.
My retirement project is a Matt Capri 02 Triumph Daytona tuned up 15+%. Single previous owner, 12k miles. 11 flat stock.
But went from restomod 63 Atlas to the whole Commando era, don’t like 80s-2000 UKMs. Chased Speed triples til I found out 19?more HP than a Speed Triple, plus another 15% across the curve.
Wish I still had the Dominator but excited to see how far into the tens I can get with the Daytona.
But yours is beyond anything Norton I have ever seen. I am stoked by seeing both your bike and mine. Going to ride again for as long as I can hold it down.
Thanks again for this video.
-Matt’s dad
I bought my red 1971 Commando Roadster from Ed La Belle at his Felton St shop in Philly. It had the Dunstall pipes, cibie curved headlamp, fiberglass gas tank, drum brakes and combat head and took it with me when I moved to Anchorage. It sounded great and was plenty fast enough for me.
Just fabulous !
Many thanks Dave. Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers, Mike
Fantastic story Mike! I’d never heard of Dunstall before.
what a great story
Great video, thanks. The sound is so different than any other bike. I was always interested with the Brit bikes in the 70s but no funds at the time. I was only able to manage a used 2cyl 2 stroke Suzuki street bike back then.
When motorcycles were a "cottage industry" it drew in some highly creative people like Dunstall