A really Cool Commando! [visit 28 of 31]
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- Опубліковано 25 вер 2024
- A really Cool Commando!
EDIT: THE SMOKE HAS FINALLY GONE!
Sept 12, 2020: I'm grateful to Shawn for coming over on his really cool Commando! As you can see, the typical beautiful Oregon sky is still blotted out by the terrible wildfires across Oregon but the skies have since cleared and we can thankfully breathe fresh air again.
This is such a cool looking Commando with some great modern upgrades
Many thanks again to @Swooshdave for the great thumbnail for this and many more of my videos! Dave's channel: / @swooshdave
We are very fortunate to have escaped the terrible Oregon wildfires in our neighborhood. Some of our friends and club members have not been so lucky. Our thoughts go out to them at this time.
Here’s a link to information about Donald Pender's products. I believe that this is an old website, so it might be better to contact Donald directly on his email below:
www.tritonmotor...
Here's Donald's email:
madass140@gmail.com
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![1971 Norton Commando Long Range Special [visit 7 of 31]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UeovHlRRFrk/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm always impressed with the American love for british bikes with enthusiasm like yours those lovely old bikes should be pounding the roads and freeways for many many years to come thanks again Mike always enjoy your videos.
Thank you very much Colin for your nice comment. I really appreciate it. Best wishes, Mike
Beautiful bike 🏍..Great story...😎🇬🇧🇺🇸🏍...
Thank you William! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Mike
Beautifull cosmetically modified Commando. Nice small tail light and drilled disc. Another nice touch is the removal of the black paint from the instrument holders and polishing them.
Now that's a bike you'd just want to ride, great job by the owner.
Great looking bike. Nice mods but good to see it runs with two amals and the standard front brake caliper.
The Norton Commando was my dream bike in the early seventies, until The Moto Guzzi Le Mans came out,
I never got a Commando, but I did get and have a Le Mans. They were both real mans bikes at the time, and for those who never grew up, they still are.
A very nice sorted Commando, I remember why it was my first love.
I can relate to that. I always wanted a fastback Commando, but never got round to it. I used to hang around with a guy who started off with a Moto Guzzi California and then graduated to a Le Mans while I was riding a 1960 Triumph Thunderbird that took twice as long to stop, so I always made sure I was in front, then a BSA Road Rocket.
At 65 I haven't had a bike in 10 years and vowed never to have another after all the accidents, but I am now hankering after a Commando or maybe an Atlas
@@frankmurray9172 I returned to bikes a couple of days before my fifty ninth with a new 2015 Triumph Thunderbird LT after a break of almost thirty years, then earlier this year thought if I didn't get a move on, I'd never get the bike of my dreams, and lived happily ever after.
Frank Murray Oi! Growing up is riding smarter, not giving up - unless you had a family, then you’re forgiven. So get one! Even if it’s an old Sunday banger: at 65 a smooth 90 -110 Klms can be like a nice malt whisky ;).
@@KymHammond
Thanks for the encouragement Kym
I'll try not to do the bike and the whiskey at the same time. Just finishing an old car I'm working on.
Once done I will blat about in it a bit then sell it and have space for a nice bike.
The Commando and the Guzzi V7 (which evolved into the Le Mans) were always rivals. Both are long and lean. The Guzzi has never been produced in great numbers so I didn't see a live one until the late 70s, by then Norton had gone bust. The early Commando could suffer badly from high speed wobble hence the damper, which the Ace bars probably solve by putting more weight on the front.
Wow it’s most beautiful bike I’ve ever seen
That is just gorgeous! Anyone that likes older British bikes has can totally appreciate that.
Thank you Perry. Yes, Shawn has made many of the mods that most of us would like to do to our own bikes. It is such a great bike. Cheers, Mike
I raced flat track with a triumph 650 tiger back in the day. New york state and Ohio. 😎😎😎
Guys like us are from back in the day when you just needed a pack of matches to adjust your points and get back out and slam and jam!🤣🤣🤣🤣
It's great to see just how many Commando's are still on the road these days - the many modern upgrades which are now available really do enhance these fabulous bikes - they really are greater than the sum of their parts. Brilliant stuff, thanks Mike !
Thank you Dave! Best wishes, Mike
Pure beauty. Back in 1973, I was 13 and was sent to a boarding high school out in the southern Belgium countryside. The Norton Commando was the sexiest bike in those days. One of the seniors had one and we grouped around it, mesmerised and in total admiration when eventually the young owner would rev it and ride out. This gentleman prefers working on this Commando than ride it. It shows and sounds sweet too. Thanks !
Lovely bike, interesting to see how the bike grows to suit the rider over time, probably the best way to go. I have owned my Z1B for four years and only now am i getting to the stage that she is getting close to what i want her to be, the knowledge gained is as nice to have also, Thanks
Thank you Jon! Great comment and good luck with your ZB1! Best wishes, Mike
"I do love riding it." He could be British with understatement like that. Well done! ;)
Hehe, I thought that was a great line Brendan 😉 best wishes, Mike
Love that electric start easier on the leg for us old guys.
Hehe, I'm thinking more and more about them 🤔 😜 Cheers, Mike
He certainly has made it his own, but tastefully so. What's with the always-on hazard lamps? Is that an intentional feature for improved visibility, or has he just forgotten to turn them off?
Not always-on, just for visibility that morning Bill. Cheers, Mike
@@TheMightyGarage Oh that's right. I forgot for a moment that you folks out west were living in a baby back ribs smoker, yanking out and beating your air cleaners clean every 30 minutes.
Like you said, really tasteful. And what a sound!
First at all, congrats hopefully for the smokes gone!
And what I can say about the collection on beauties you bring to us...? It is completly marvelouse.
Specially that lovely Commando. Thanks! ...and Throttle harder GaaasssS!✌😎
Thank you so much!! Best wishes, Mike
That clean start and the beautiful sound as it pulls away... well done!
The smoke haze reminds me of Australia last summer ... and probably again this one coming.
Yummy ! Really loving Sunday mornings ! Thanks Mike!
Cheers,
Hehe, thought you might like this one Eric 😜 Cheers, Mike
@@TheMightyGarage it is indeed a tasty ride ! Still no Norton in my shed but the other twin is running well finally!
Nice bike.I owned a 1974 High rider. What a blast that bike was. Watching this makes me miss me miss the good old days.
Made in England refined in America. Best of both worlds ❤
just when you think you can say that was my favourite a new one comes along , just had the mag on my A10 rebuilt with an easycap condenser fitted looking forward to wednesday it might stop raining long enough to get out in the UK
Hehe, thanks Richard.. and wait, there's more! Oh, I would love to see an A10 in the cul-de-sac. Gotta love the pre-unit BSA's! 😉 Cheers, Mike
What a beautiful bike - and what a nice guy the owner is! Great interview. Thanks.
Thank you Simon. I appreciate it and it was so enjoyable to hear Shawn talk about his great bike. Cheers, Mike
Another great video from the Mighty Garage.
He certainly did make it his own. Lots of great upgrades that don't take away from the Norton look. The bike starts and sounds amazing.
Thank you and Cheers.
Thank you Donald! Best wishes, Mike
Beautiful, I’d love that bike, well done thanks for showing us,.
Thanks for watching Jon! Glad you liked the video and the bike. Cheers, Mike
That's the best colour of the 850 and it's beautiful.
I lusted after that and the T160 when they came out but my meagre apprentice wages wouldn't allow.
Some day maybe I'll have one.
Btw I used to work for Prestolite who made the starters on these.
Great video fantastic looking and sounding bike stay safe 🇬🇧👍🏻
commandos just look so right !
Wow! What a beautiful Commando!
Beautiful. I owned a 1974 Commando for many years. Kick start of course. but if things were right it always fired right up. I set it up as a cafe bike. Now I own a BMW Boxer Cup racer ( a "real' on from the series that didn't get mangled.) I do enjoy a bike that goes for tens of thousands of miles with little problems -- not to mention brakes -lol. But can't help but watch videos like this. If I ever had another Norton I'd love one like this. Great dedication sir!
What wonderful Cammando. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers, Mike
neatly well maintained and the owner’s tassteful mods, beautiful bike.
Beautiful bike
Another piece of art. The bike has a very nice deep get out of my way I'm coming through rumble. For me the electric start would be a huge factor to be able to ride or not. Very well done machine, not to much changed, just enough.
I agree Wooley. The e-Start is becoming more and more appealing 😉 Cheers, Mike
Wonderfull Commando, great job!!
The sound the roar the grunt.
Dang that Commando is freakin beautiful! When it pulled up I wanted to stand up and salute. Outstanding build sir!
Thanks for posting this.
That's one beautiful bike, a proper Ogri machine 👍🏻
What a beautiful, well sorted machine that exudes pride of ownership. Congratulations.
Many thanks Dave! It was great to see you yesterday. Cheers, Mike
That is one beautiful, sorted bike - love it!
Thank you Jim! Cheers, Mike
Beautiful bike with great upgrades. Thanks Mike
Thank you Paul. It is an awesome bike. Glad you liked the video. Cheers, Mike
"It's a runner...." 😂
Cracking Norton could do with. Getting thicker oil ie 20/50 sae or tappets need adjusted to stop top end rattle
hehe, it sounds like a sewing machine compared to the rattles on my Commando!😉 Cheers, Mike
V cool. Mixture of classic with subtle modern touches. Like the use of captions to emphasize statements made. Hope you guys are keeping safe across the pond 😎
Thank you! Much appreciated. Best wishes to you too. Cheers, Mike
A particular issue I always had with most British and Japanese bikes up to the 70's was foot peg position - they were set to accommodate the gearshift and simply too far forward - the Italians always set them _correctly,_ using a linkage, more or less under your hips (height is matter of whether the bike is for touring or scratching). It means you can put your weight on them without having to lean forward or pull on the bars, which as well feeling more natural (IMO) can actually be a life-saver if you get a speed wobble (AKA "tank-slapper") on. This one has what we used to call 'rear sets', closer to a racing set up or serious 'canyon carver' (as you call them there), but I'd still rather that than the standard 'sitting in a chair' position. Whatever, another lovely bike, one of the nicest so far.
I agree, I have to put rear sets on my Commandos.
Years ago when I had a T140V Bonnie my brother had a Ducati GTS 900, I had a go on his bike and mine was horrible getting back on it, the riding position, vibration, power, lack of brakes!! 🇬🇧🏍
Stewy62 That sounds about right. I never figured out why the British bikes made you sit funny other than they expected you to have a passenger.
Great bike, love Shawn's attention to detail
Very, very nice bike.
That's not a bike gentlemen ! That's a freaking art 👀❤️
Very nice! I still have knee problems from the old BSA Goldstar - I feel his pain!
Love the Giuliari style seat! Also nice to see a fellow "Ranga" biker.
My mates Brother used to be one of the UK Norton works test riders and one day in around 1974 he came home on a Commando 850 ! and said to me do you want go for a spin on the back, man that was some the scariest minutes in my life but a blast.
And that is one beautiful bike fella
What a nice bike !! And that sound !!!!
Beautiful bike!
In 1972 I purchased a 750cc Commando new, for $1960.oo.It had a 65hp Combat engine and optional front disc brake. Advertised performance was zero to 60 mph in four seconds which was pretty busy for the time. Top end was 130+ mph. Dry wieght was 430lbs. I aiso owned a Norton 1967 Atlas 750cc with a featherbed frame which was the absolute best handling bike I ever rode bar none.
Magic, fantastic.
Thanks Neil! Cheers, Mike
Nice tasteful mods, look great 👍, more inspiring for the CNW starter. Now I have other projects to consider, Lansdowne forks? Halgon shocks and those footrests and controls....what are those?
I think they came from NYC Norton or CNW.
Very nicely custom, and nice to see it running with amals, they may be a pain, but they do run so well when they are right. It looks like a very fine bike to ride, simple, basic, with all the necessities, thanks for sharing with us.
Beautiful! If I ever got another Norton, that's how I'd do it.
Cracking video and an Incredible Commando. Every thing has been replaced, renewed or refurbished, even down to the shiny sidestand spring!
So nice! Die hat etwas. Ein richtiges Motorrad?
Awesome looking machine - looks fantastic. Enjoy the ride!
Very nice!
What a sweet looking bike, I love it. Thanks Mike, and Shawn.
Beautiful bike! The tank-to-seat transition is perfect. Would like to see the deletion of the massive rear fender and brakelight...really nice job!
Gorgeous bike. Lovely set up.
Great to see that you're enjoying the good friendships and sharing your experience with us,, thought the electric start is great and neat looking,, love for the bikes shows through,, ☘️☘️☘️☘️from Northern Ireland great viewing
Thank you Cecil. Glad you enjoyed this video. Shawn's bike is amazing. He seems to have done it just right. Best wishes, Mike
Another really nice Commando, had a mark 111 850, electric starter or electric assistant, only worked for about 10 starts, also clutch slipped after about 50 miles, so was forever stripping it down and cleaning it, apart from that was a great bike. Looking forward to next week's visit, what will it be? All the best Lenny, Leicestershire, UK.
Hehe, you will just have to wait and see Lenny, but you may need to wear sunglasses 😎😉 Best wishes, Mike
Outstanding example 😍
thanks again Mike, now watched this vid for the 3rd time; one email later re. Lansdowne dampers and theyre on there way to Canada :) Now to get funding permission for that CNW starter!
yet again WOW is that the best Norton that`s been in the cul-de-sac hard to say 🤔 anyway thanks Mike 👍😜
Thanks Mick! Cheers, Mike
Another great bike and show.....just splendid!
When I got off the Nimitz after a 7 month cruise in Feb of '77, I came back to OKC with the intention to buy a '75 Bonneville to drive back to South Carolina to finish my last 2 years in the Corps.
Rex and Leroy, at Triumph of OKC had bought 200 1975 Commando's, Bonnevilles, and T160 Tridents. ANY could be had for $1895 (lol)
I REALLY wanted the Norton...but the bottom ends had a reputation for grenading......so I bought the Trident, and ended up putting 40,000+ relatively troube free miles on it (stupid rear drive speedo cable was broke most of the time.)
STILL want the Norton!!!
That is a fantastic bike well done sir.
Beautiful!
Beautiful bike, one of my new favourites. I had to replay the startup and leaving sequence over and over, what a sound! Are those indicators flashing or is that the camera frame rate? Also, well done with the creative quotes on screen.
Yep, to me there is simply no better sounding bike engine than a Commando with their 'pea shooter' exhausts.
Thanks a lot Rob. Yes, the indicators (turn signals) were both flashing like hazard warning lights. The smoke was dense that morning and Shawn turned them on. Cheers, Mike
Accept for the altered riding position that is a beautiful example. The Commando 750/850 have virtually same performance, they are the most useful of all the vintage British bikes, they will keep up with modern traffic, all valve adjustments are easy, the single Mikuni is the way to go, tyre choices are slim but handling and reliability are the best. The isolastics can be upgraded to silicone rubber that lasts pretty much forever.
Great looking Commando, Black & Chrome my favorite colours.
What a beauty.
A righteous and proper motorcycle, the beauty and form of which is unsurpassed and rarely equaled in the entire history of motorized vehicles. (in my highly biased opinion)
I wish I could ride a bike like that but don't think my back would appreciate..cool factor is a 10 totally..very informative on it's restore..well done sir..
Wunder-, wunderschön! Mir fehlen die Worte. . .
Pretty cool bike....years ago I had a 67 750 Commando, I did love riding that thing....but I was reflecting on his comments re tweaking and personalizing the Nortons...and I think it is pretty much the same for owners of older Harleys too....none of mine have ever remained stock.
Cool bike, been watching a lot of Norton videos lately, love the noise they make
A really superb build, it is how a Norton should look, unfortunately most that go to your side of the pond end up looking like undernourished HDs with ape hanger bars and cast iron mudgaurds, this one is a tribute to good taste ! Stay safe! Chris B.
Not sure what you mean by this? You rarely see bobbed Commandos.
The front tyre is on the wrong way round! Back tyre is correct, Affects handling. Will wander around. But dangerous in the wet. Instead of squeezing the water away from the centreline and away to the edge of the contact patch, it will tend to squeeze into the centreline and onto the contact patch. Tyres should always lead with the point of the V in the tread. Amazing it's been missed. Tell him before he loses the front end on a wet road.
Many thanks Bob! I let Shawn know and he responded:
"I’m running Avon Roadrider’s and (I bet you already know this) the front tire is mounted opposite the rear per MFR specification. In fact there are direction arrows on the tires indicating direction for both front and rear mountings. I checked both of mine, they are correct. Appreciate the comment though, always good to be certain!"
Cheers, Mike
I like the placement of the Norton logo on the tank. It's eithr lower than normal or the pine stripe is higher than normal. In any case it looks really nice.
A Comando, and It does look good,
Mike, this is too much. Yet another gorgeous bike making me realize that I need to spend some more quality time with the Norton. Just ordered some Lansdowne dampers...
😉 they look really good. I hope they work out ok. Cheers, Mike
What a beautiful machine! I want a Norton Commando 850. You can't beat black with that gold Norton on the tank.
Lansdowne fork dampers arrived, so sweet, shall install soon.
Did you and Geoff help with the electric starter conversion 😀
Nice bike, nice relaxing way to leave the Cul-de-Sac 😎
Good one Mike, all the best for the week ahead, happy editing 👍
Hope they stop the fire soon 🙏
Hi David, Shawn did everything on his bike. The smoke has now left Oregon thankfully and it feels like we have begun Autumn/Fall, but there have been some great days since. Best wishes, Mike
A bike a little too young for my general preference, but this most certainly was a gorgeous bike! in pristine condition and pimped just to the right level.
Great vid Mike. Very nice Commando. Hope the smoke clears soon.
Thanks a lot Henry. Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, thankfully the smoke has now gone. Best wishes, Mike
I am in love with this bike, perfect in all details!
Did someone notice the lizzard at 8:23 ?? LOL!
nice bike
Nice mods,nice bike.
That's my version of the perfect setup on that bike.well done.
Hard to beat a Commando like that , just beautiful . Dave NZ
Thanks a lot Dave. Yes, that is a fantastic Commando! Saw it again last weekend and it still looks amazing. Best wishes, Mike
CNW master switch, clutch lever perch, Brembo master and starter/kill switch gear all on there way............Seans bike is addictive :)
Nice video, nice bike. I realize it's been a year, but you could let Shawn know that LED-compatible flasher units are available, which would slow the hyper-flashing down to normal speeds. They make both 2- and 3-pin models, with a few different plug styles.
Thanks for the info! Will do. Best wishes. Mike
Très jolie moto! Norton Commando,la plus belle des motos!
This guy did an oustanding job
hat off
That’s a beauty!
Thanks Bob. Hope all is well. Cheers, Mike