I owned a 73 850, and a 75 850. Many little tricks in keeping them alive, particularly if you run them 24-7 like I did. I'm 73 and really only started driving a car on occasion in the last 3 years . These days I'm on a Sportster.
40 years ago in SF I had an English pal whose daily was a '72 Commando, mine a '79 Bonnie, for which he forever chided me for riding a "girl's bike". Both were fun, raw, fast, loud & deadly, (& also broke often) by all modern standards. Those were sure the good old days....
Thanks for mentioning the breather situation. I intend to make that improvement this winter on my 73 750 Combat Roadster, along with timing cover mods, to address wet sumping. It does seem that Commando's are well supported, with many upgrades and improvements available. Andover Norton says they make every part for every year Commando. I have a high opinion of them, and shipping only takes a week from the UK. NYC Norton also has a swingarm stiffening kit, and with welded gussets from Andover, was last winter's project, along with rebuilding the rear wheel and brake. The rear wheel and brake are complicated, and not for beginners! I guess I like working on and improving the bike as much as riding it. It's worth it!
I found all sorts of issues with my rat roller 1970 S. trans case main bearing bores to big. got a used good one on Ebay. Side stand put a sharp dent in the frame tube. my friend weld repaired it. Center stand mount bent and notched. fixed that too. Just working off the squawks until build time
The earlier bikes are a bit different. My first bike was an early 1970 Roadster, which was pretty much the same bike as an "S" with a low exhaust. I think it was the 1971 Model year that Norton switched to the later series frame with side mounted oil tank and the center stand attached to the engine/gearbox cradle. These bikes came from the factory with fiberglass tanks, so that one is running a later steel tank. It is a much better option, as modern fuel with ethanol tends to dissolve them. I switched over to a steel tank on mine about 10 years ago for that reason.
Commandos never get boring
I owned a 73 850, and a 75 850. Many little tricks in keeping them alive, particularly if you run them 24-7 like I did. I'm 73 and really only started driving a car on occasion in the last 3 years . These days I'm on a Sportster.
Good info, thanks for sharing.
Always liked the “halo” around the headlight on the S models.
I'm sure the extra space will make life much easier.
40 years ago in SF I had an English pal whose daily was a '72 Commando, mine a '79 Bonnie, for which he forever chided me for riding a "girl's bike". Both were fun, raw, fast, loud & deadly, (& also broke often) by all modern standards. Those were sure the good old days....
Thanks for mentioning the breather situation. I intend to make that improvement this winter on my 73 750 Combat Roadster, along with timing cover mods, to address wet sumping. It does seem that Commando's are well supported, with many upgrades and improvements available. Andover Norton says they make every part for every year Commando. I have a high opinion of them, and shipping only takes a week from the UK. NYC Norton also has a swingarm stiffening kit, and with welded gussets from Andover, was last winter's project, along with rebuilding the rear wheel and brake. The rear wheel and brake are complicated, and not for beginners! I guess I like working on and improving the bike as much as riding it. It's worth it!
I found all sorts of issues with my rat roller 1970 S. trans case main bearing bores to big. got a used good one on Ebay. Side stand put a sharp dent in the frame tube. my friend weld repaired it. Center stand mount bent and notched. fixed that too. Just working off the squawks until build time
I see that it has the side stand repair bar clamped on to the bottom of the frame.
The earlier bikes are a bit different. My first bike was an early 1970 Roadster, which was pretty much the same bike as an "S" with a low exhaust. I think it was the 1971 Model year that Norton switched to the later series frame with side mounted oil tank and the center stand attached to the engine/gearbox cradle. These bikes came from the factory with fiberglass tanks, so that one is running a later steel tank. It is a much better option, as modern fuel with ethanol tends to dissolve them. I switched over to a steel tank on mine about 10 years ago for that reason.