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Nortons rule! Very impressive....you are twice the man I am...and two up makes that 4X...Love those roads. Some day...[/quote So... does that make Fay 4X the woman as me :o ;D Oh hell , good job Lannis ;-T ;-T Dusty
Here is a very interesting storey of an 83 year old fellow in Vancouver Canada and the mileage he racks up and the trip he is planning with his 850 Norton Commandohttp://www.autoevolution.com/news/83-year-old-plans-to-take-his-norton-on-10000-km-cross-continent-trip-95614.htmlLike any old design, once sorted, with a few modern upgrades most vintage bikes can be trustworthy and certainly capable of long mileage rides. There are quite a few nice 750 and 850 Commando's in our local chapter of Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group. I have been offered a first year 750, early serial number bike, tempted, may go for it before the summer is up/CheersJim
I have been offered a first year 750, early serial number bike, tempted, may go for it before the summer is up/CheersJim
I have one of those early models which isn't quite as refined as what Lannis owns.
Among other things, "refined" actually means "faster". The 850s had slowed down a bit from the early 750s, especially the "Combat" spec ones. But that works for me .....The "Ride it, maintain it, fix-it-when-it-breaks" philosophy could be used for any bike, if you like it well enough. That's fairly easy for a Norton, which is very "modular" and old-fashioned - you can replace parts one at a time, you don't have to replace "systems" or $1800 electronic components.Or you have situations like JB's Breva, where the transmission has goofed and so he's going to part it out. If the Norton's transmission grenaded, you just pull it out and rebuild it with easily available parts, or swap a new one in. You don't have to pull the whole ass end of the motorcycle apart to do it, either, so it makes it more appealing to do ...Lannis
If BSAs, Triumphs, Nortons were so reliable , why did they all go out of business back then?
That's easy. It was board room stuff that sent them down the river. Nothing wrong with the bikes themselves.
Lannis, I hope your "Doubting Muzztapha" was directed at ME!!!! :oI would LURVE a red 650SS. ;-TAs a note, the fastbacks out here came with an upswept peashooter muffler which whistled as you came off the throttle, hence giving them the knickname "whistler".
A fellow list member who shall remain anonymous had expressed some well-considered doubts about the ability of a Norton MkIII 850 Commando Interstate to handle a 1000-mile two-up three-day weekend on the long highways, the mountains, and the beautiful roads of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, trouble-free.Well, I’m here to tell you that this one here will do it, with one big person and one medium-small person aboard, as long as they have faith and the right attitudes ….Glad you said " just about converted " Unfortunately I never had this experience on my Norton ! Can you spell JEALOUS :droolWe were inspired by our fellow traveler “Semper Gumby”, who has ridden this A65 BSA coast-to-coast several times, done several SS-1000s, and who rides as hard and fast as anyone on a modern bike – and his wet-frame BSA (which normally carries an 8-gallon fuel cell to allow a 600-mile range) has never let him down in 50,000 miles of this kind of behavior –So after a ride from Virginia to Blowing Rock, NC on Friday, off we went through the mountains of NC and TN …“Trail Days” in Damascus, VA held us up a bit – 20,000 people in a town meant for 1200 or so …But we were back on the road quick …And of 30 old bikes on the ride, the first one that had to ride the sag wagon was a modern Triumph of all things …Wouldn’t have been an Appalachian mountain ride if we hadn’t ridden under a downpour on the way in …But the Commando never missed a beat, never needed adjustment, just tickle the Amals, stroke the button and ride. Just like an 850T of the same year, minus the tickling. Have some mechanical sympathy, hold your mouth right, and these old nails will carry you a long way, fast and comfortable. I’m just about converted!Lannis
As a note, the fastbacks out here came with an upswept peashooter muffler which whistled as you came off the throttle, hence giving them the knickname "whistler".