Years ago, struck up a conversation with a guy sitting on a Norton Commando in our small town, a rare sight. We had heard the stories of how hard they were to get started, and my buddy bet the guy he could start his. Keep in mind we were young teens who had just rode up on bicycles, and my buddies riding experience up to this point was an old XR80. “If you can start it first kick, it’s yours”. He gently kicked it till he felt compression, twisted the throttle a little and jumped on it - and it fired first kick! The guy couldn’t believe it, said he had to do it twice. So restart the procedure and… fires up again! “how old are you?” 13 he replied. “to young to own a motorcycle”, threw on his helmet and left. Years later, my buddy was at a corporate event, and ended up trading motorcycle stories with a coworker. When this story came up, her husband got quiet and sunk deeper and deeper into his chair… it was the guy. Buddy still doesn’t have a Norton Commando.
"Our greatest living builder" - well-deserved shoutout to Millyard there. Absolute genius of an engineer. Anyone intrigued should check out his rebuild of the Norton V8, all catalogued here on UA-cam and coming to an end quite soon.
I was in the front row at the National Motorcycle Museum when he started the Nemesis. He's made many minor improvements to that V8 to get it running properly. Absolutely amazing what Allen can achieve in that residential garage.
A mate and I pulled up to a Norton waiting at the lights in Tottenham, London, in about 1979. It spontaneously caught fire. The Norton rider cooly got off, and put out the fire. (I can't remember how- I was new to motorcycling, and it was my first two wheeled blaze). He then started fiddling with it, kicked it over, it started and he swung his leg over. He then said, probably because we were looking quite shocked, "it's always doing that!" Cool times. Thanks for the content. Excellent.
I had a Tohatsu 50 when I was about 10 or 11 years old. It wasn't my first motorcycle. I put a big carb on it from my older brother's box of carbs. It leaked. We had a little circle track in the back yard where my neighbor and I would run round and round. The carb leaked. It would catch fire every so often. Put it out with sand, and its the next kid's turn.
A great piece! I can’t wait as the face-off of Royal Enfield-BSA-Norton begins. In a great twist of colonial fate, these three Indian companies hopefully will not only save these heritage brands from the dustbin but restore them to greatness, giving us another chapter in the history books 🙌🏼
@@fizzymann as I do my vintage Harley friend. I only asserted that caution as I saw what had become of another fine marque in contemporary Matchless and BSA. But I'm an old guy and no-one has to build the bikes I rode, not possible in todays world. Best from NZ
My Grandad (Peter Inchley) was the race development engineer for Norton Villiers and also the competition manager for NVT. In 1966 he came 3rd at the IOM TT on the villiers special (bultaco ts125 frame with a villiers starmaker engine). He was beaten by Stuart Graham (2nd) and Mike Hailwood (1st) on the work hondas (6cyl 250cc). In 1967 Norton villiers then made the ajs starmaker (again rode by Peter Inchley) and was in 5th until the fuel was sabotaged... The Norton commando came along and had a lot of promise. Handled really well, engine was great yet the Japanese were developing at such a rate the humble commando was falling behind. In an attempt to save NVT Peter said to the business "we need a multi cylinder water cooled 2 stroke". NVT replied "But Peter, have you tried a bigger carburettor?". Grandad said to the firm at that very moment "that's enough I'm done" and never returned. He went on to develop the Suzuki HI-TAC which finished 3rd at the IOM TT and clocked over 160mph through the speed trap. This was the fastest bike at the time I believe. If NVT listened our history of British motorcycle could still be alive and strong. The monocoque frame was made by a fantastic engineer called Bas knight(affectionately know locally as the warlock), he developed/made some incredible frames with a mind that was over 50 years ahead of it's time. One he told me about recently was a ride height device similar to that of the current MotoGP machines. This was in the 1970's... Later he developed further evolutions of the machine, Norman white also a master engineer developed and tested the commando and future evolutions of it. Norman still works on Norton commandos to this day and Bas still a master craft engineer. the Norton Villiers factory still stands to this day at thruxton race circuit.
Yeah, but. That is like the British aviation industry. Came up with some great designs post-WW2. Even built excellent prototypes. But no one, not even the British Govt would buy them. Something about knowing that the actual production versions would be sh!t.
Norman White is a great engineer, and was a good racedriver back in the seventies. After Norton was bankrupt, White started classic racing and set many track records. On a Norton Manx, of course.
GP racing in the 60s and 70s was different. You had Hailwood and Agostini on exotic machines, and everyone else on old bikes. You can look at results and see Agostini and Hilwood racing for first place. One bike fails, and Peter Williams finishes second on a G50 Matchless, a 500cc version of the late 40s AJS A7R 350ss racer. As late as 1973, when Peter Williams won Formula 750 on his 40s tech Norton Monocoque 750 twin, he also split the two 500 GP Suzuki 500cc 2 stroke twins finishing second in the premier class race on a late 40s tech Matchless
I bought a new 850 in 1975. Installed a Dunstall exhaust and absolutely loved that bike...shakes and all. Proudest moment was when a buddy on his new 750 Honda challenged me to a 5kmh rolling-start drag race. Launched and never saw him again. Good times.
@@bruceleong9534 I have a MK III I bought just after the collapse, and a modified MK II my brother bought from Horse Power International (HPI) a year or wo after I bought year MK III. Both were modified with compression, some porting, light exhausts, HPI cams, and dual Mikuni 34s. Fairly peppy for what they were. XS-11 was the first multi that would pull either of them in a roll on. KZ900 or 1000 and GS 1000 would be left behind with the roll on, but would eventually steam on by and accelerate away. Street racing against a first series Honda 750 was a joke and not worth bothering with. I'm actually getting both of those ready to go. The 2025 International Norton Owners Association rally is about 900 miles south of me next summer. Who knows?
The Commando is much quicker than the Honda CB750. It is more up there with the Kawasaki Z900/Z1000. And with better roadholding than any japanese bike from the seventies.
Yes it works very well and it is basically a water tap from homedepot, a N.O. microswitch and bit of alu flat to mount the switch. Ran me about $20 and an hour to make up. There are several similar setups on market for $80-$300.
@@TornadoCAN99 That set up would have saved my friends Velocette. I put a hole in the piston when he let me have a go on his bike but forgot to tell me about the tap he had installed to stop the oil from draining into the crankcases overnight.
@jamesweber4938 Velos had an oem ball check valve on feed line, but not always stopping wet sump and sometimes not opening at all. There are several manual shut off taps with magneto ground switches as fail safe.
For anyone that hasn't clicked on Millyard: When I clicked on the first 3-4 vids, I thought it was an internet fake. His techniques are beyond believablity. He has strange cuts to hedgehogs and his wife's muffins and a doll on the counter. It feels like some crazy David Lynch film. It is really a blend of folk-art and moto engineering. The dude is a blend of genius and nutz.
I came a hair's breadth from buying a 2024 Commando 961 this year. Read and watched hours of reviews and booked a test ride and was 95% certain I was going to sign on the dotted line. There were quite a few niggles with the test ride (appalling turning circle, vibrations, no fuel gauge or reserve tap, tiny tank) but just look at it! Beautiful. Just listen to the exhaust! ). These didn't put me off. But then it stalled and wouldn't restart for 10 minutes. Under 600 miles on the clock and I was crushed. No thanks.😢
There was one on our local "All British" ride a couple weeks ago. The owner said it's a real Norton - it wet sumps, shakes and has any number of gremlins. Pretty thing though! I'll stick to my '69 750 Fastback.
And now? Do you feel like you dodged an expensive bullet. One has been sitting at my local Brit-type dealers for 5 years! Granted, its not a hugr city but the crooked business really ruined the reputation.
Had the chance to try one recently, my usual ride is a 2016 Bonneville T120, thought I'd be in familiar territory, thought wrong. Jumpy clutch, mushy gearbox, a lot of vibration at higher revs, instruments like a pair of argos clocks. The Brembro brakes and Ohlin shocks are nice of course but those are the bits bought off the shelf.
I remember those advertisements you show at the end. The women were about ten years older than me, so now well into their seventies and some in their eighties. Thank you ladies, and I hope life treated you well.
For those who don't know the guy who rebuilt the v8 is Alan Milyard, he has a youtube channel where he makes all sorts of odd bikes pretty much from scratch in his garage.
I thought this was going to be about the kind of people who own classic Norton motorcycles - because these old bikes end up rotting away in their backyards as they get too old to ride them and are in denial about it. There is literally an old 850 Commando 4 doors down from me under a tarp rotting away in an old guy's backyard.
One example doesn't mean all, most are in heated garages with the rest of their owners "restored collection" being an ornament, with an eye on there value rather than there utility, the "Henry Cole effect".
People can do what they like with their own property, I'm sure there are plenty of project bikes around for sale if you feel that strongly about saving them.
Kudos to whoever keeps those engine cases polished with that much love and is also willing to lend the bike to Fortnine to ride, on a wet day. It's too bad that the newest incarnation of Norton failed, they were gorgeous bikes.
I know it's tempting to slap "corporate" on every derogatory thing but, if you'd followed the story, their was a long line of individual greed going on here. Ergo, people like you & I are just as greedy.
@Dare2Doubt corporate greed is a corporation being used purely for monetary gain with no care for the product. Doesnt really matter if the corporation is owned by an individual or a board.
@@aNicerPlace This is a rephrasing of "everyone has their price", which while true in the aggregate, ignores everyone maintains a small temple against the ravages of the world. Too bad you sold yours.
That was well researched, the only mistake was Garners sentence for robbing pension funds, he was given a £20,000 fine and let go 🙄, 20k to him is like £5 to the average person, nothing!, anyway great video, did you enjoy riding the old bike??
Yeah the suspended sentence is better than he deserves I think. Loved riding the old Commando - quite torquey and heavy, it feels like riding a lot of momentum. ~RF9
@@FortNine Once again, due to an ever-lenient criminal justice system, crime pays. Which is why people like Garner will keep defrauding both employees and taxpayers.
@@Surestick88how is £10million rich . My average uncle back home in asia is worth more than this fella and we know he is well to do but nothing exceptional . £10 million is not rich in U.K. and in London where I stay
Back in the '70's, I pined for a 750 Commando. I still do. There's a shop just up the road that specializes in restoring them. On occasion I can hear that snortin' Norton rumble coming up behind me as I head out on my gravel bicycle. Later, on my way back home, I pass the silent Norton being pushed back to the shop. I bought a new BMW.
i have owned many motorcycles of various brands and vintages over 60+ years of riding but the best times i had were with the '69 dunstall-built norton featherbed framed rocket ship that was shipped to the states in a crate. absolutely amazing machine. nothing could keep up with it. it's lost to the ages now and so am i but the memories will never die.
Thanks for the history lesson. I graduated high school in 1974 and boy, did I lust over a Norton 850 Commando! Being poor though, I couldn't afford one. It wasn't until a couple years later that I had enough money to buy a bike but by then the KZ900 was out so I bought one of those. I've had many motorcycles over the years but kind of lost track of Norton and what was happening with them. For nostalgia's sake, I'd love to see the brand make a comeback much like Royal Enfield has.
From the late 60's as a teenager until the present I have always loved the look and sound of a Norton commando. I would love to have one sitting in my TV room next to a Bevel drive Ducati 750 SS!
Love the nod to Millyard, he lives up the road from my parents, nothing better than seeing him riding something very different every week and wondering what he's been tinkering on, now I can just check his channel and scratch the itch.
Superb production! Thank you for teaching us all about Norton’s history while making me want to own a motorcycle I didn’t know about until this video dropped.
Ryan I did watch your Ridge wallet ad and I still don’t know where your loose change goes in them. As far as your video went as always found it very interesting, informative and entertaining even after being bought up with Pommy bikes here in Australia in the 60s and 70s. Thanks so much for sharing.
I bought a new 750 Roadster back in ‘71 - they were still drum braked then. Definitely a purchase made with heart not head. The side stand fell off before I got home from collecting it. Two days later, I got caught in a downpour and came to a spluttering stop with an air cleaner full of water. In some ways this feature turned out to be a blessing in disguise as heavy rain would also fill the front brake with water and greatly impair its stopping ability. I could go on about several other design flaws, but a blast through the hills on a sunny afternoon would make me forget about them.
There’s an early David Cronenberg horror movie called “Rabid”. In the first scene, a guy and his “bird” are riding two-up on a Norton Commando Roadster through the countryside. Some great sound and footage of this beautiful bike, before they crash, and set the plot in motion.
Yes, saw that movie and the Commando has a great long scene riding through some twisties (in Quebec I assume as that where it was shot). The "bird" happens to be Marilyn Chambers.....making her break away from porn icon to mainstream cinema debut.
Rode my 850 commando for 14 years, loved to ride the twisties. Ride a harley now but still love the twisties, that beautiful machine brings a nice nostalgia.
Fascinating story and presented - as always - impeccably. I was always a Triumph guy, had a number of 60s and 70s Trumpets, but always had a lot of respect for Nortons, especially the Commando. Gorgeous bike.
I had one 50 years ago when I was 19 and it was light , nimble and fast. Just picked up a BSA Thunderbolt and a Triumph 500 Trophy which I love, now I really need to ride this again.
Loved your take on the turbulent history of Norton! I just bought myself a 1960 Norton model 50 as a 50th Birthday present to myself, sadly i couldn't afford a 1974 bike from the year I was born. Those Commandos still fetch good money and the British bike industry was on its knees in 74. I'm looking forward to some spanner time on mine over the winter, I'm sure it will need it!
As have I ! It is a pre featherbed 1958 registered late. The featherbed’s ( mod 50) were meant to be the safest bike you could get, all the handling and breaks of a Dommie but no power. Everyone I know with one loves them, enjoy
I had two Snortin’ Nortons in my misspent youth. When they were running right there was nothing like them. But the riding it to working on it ratio was about 6 hours to one. Now I ride one of my Ryan’s favorites a BMW K-75. I slap it spit and fire it up. The riding it to working on it ratio is vastly different. The Nortons sounded great though. One had the Dunstall pipes on it the other stock exhaust.
Ditto and ditto. Good taste, man! I remember seeing a very nice K75RT on ebay: One owner, Frank something, who was the test rider for Vincents of Stevenage. He knew what he wanted to ride into his old age......
Early 80s I bought a 63 Norton 500 SS ... for around 500 bucks. It was in decent condition and ran good and near zero oil leaks. Several long trips and it never failed me. Three years later had to move and sold it for 500 bucks.
With TVS Norton stands a chance to make near perfect bikes. In India they are known for just one thing that they will take a lot of time and after that that will produce best bike of that segment.
Many years ago when I was a sportsbike riding 20 something hooligan, a bunch of us went for a thrash in the Adelaide Hills. Ripping it up on the Forrest Range-Basket Range-Lobethal road we were feeling pretty hot shit. Then we were overtaken by an old guy on a Norton 850...
I still have and ride my 1974 850. It now has a new paint job and electric start. I lost count of how many bikes I have had, but I'll always have this Norton until death does us part.
There is a Creepy guy in the woods @ 1:49 I knew that Norton had a strong racing Pedegree. The Hemi Head looks a lot like the heads on Honda air cooled engines.
By the way, those are the best looking exhaust pipes (silencers) for a Norton. (imho) They just look perfect on it and they sound amazing. When Ryan started it up he had to blip the throttle to keep it from stalling. Those Amal Concentric carbs need to be cleaned up. The idle circuits are off a bit. Maybe restricted by ethanol crud. Incidentally, the other common twin (besides the other Brit vertical twins) that has a 360º firing order is the BMW boxer. Both pistons go in and out together but fire alternately. That Norton has 19" rims front and back. The Dunlop K81 was the usual choice on these bikes back in the day. Same size, front and rear. The shift pattern was "up for first" and then down for the other three gears. I still occasionally mis-shift subsequent bikes to this day when my "muscle memory" short circuits back to the 1970's. I loved my Nortons but they were finicky and leaky. This was before the common usage of RTV and similar sealants that we have access to today. Nostalgia is always sweet until you remember the heartache and troubles that go along with the good times.
Always remember while studying motorcycle maintenance and repair (back in 2014-15) my tutor got offered a position in Norton, as part of it me and a few others from the course got offered a chance to try out/interview for an apprenticeship (walking in with a level 1 qualification against level 3-4 qualified people we stood no chance) The site building was impressive! But had some quirks engine build room was basicly a classroom looking area with a "parts store" in the corner with a guy handing each bit to the engine builders as they showed him their work The painting area was a big gazebo in the car park that was a "temporary thing" Entertainingly years later after finishing my level 3 I got a job and the guy who won the apprenticeship was there as a tec, he told me about how staff were jumping ship as soon as the pension stealing was rumoured to be happening (my old tutor included) The reason they had to strip bikes down to finish other bikes is they were blacklisted by so many suppliers for unpaid bills and couldn't get enough of the parts they did have to keep up with demand Glad the people I knew landed back on their feet and avoided loosing too much from the disaster that tw*t caused
F9 should explain why he rides the Commando in the bends like a 125 cc dirt bike! I must have missed an important F9 instructional riding episode! A good thing that Mike " the bike" does not have to see this blasphemy!
@@FiddlerKeith Driving a Commando like that is like cutting spaghetti with a knife..might be convenient but will earn you a life ban from the Ace Cafe ..the former might get you killed by the Italian Chef!😂😂
Of the thirty plus bikes I've owned, I think my fondest memories come from my 850 Commando. The local dealer was clearing out his inventory in 1975 with the pulling out of Norton in north America. I paid USD $1595 for a new metallic red unit. What a beauty of a bike.
Growing up riding in the 60's, 70's, and until today but never really looking into the Brit bikes too much in the "old days" because they seemed to come and go all the while they leaked all over the pavement, this is an amazingly informative piece. And of course, entertaining all the while! Great work.
Before watching this video, I knew almost nothing about Norton, except that it is an old - even classic - brand that lacks any defining identity. But I knew there must be a reason it has stuck around. Now I know there really isn't a compelling identity to the brand, except maybe passion for two wheeled, stylish transport. Keep up the good work!
My first "proper" bike was a 1971 Commando "combat" roadster that I bought in 1980 for $750. Beautiful bike. Probably did more miles in the back of a truck than under its own power. I sold it in 1984 for $750.
The 961 Commando has been my dream bike since the prototype adorned the desktop wallpaper of my Windows XP ghetto rig during the last Bush administration. One day, I hope to finally get one.
I had a ‘72 Commando 750 resto-modded with ‘68 Fastback bodywork, built by Redline Dave in Vancouver. I had to sell it for reasons about 12 years ago. It recently resurfaced on CL for more than double what I sold it for and was finally bought by a collector Las Vegas. It was beautiful and sounded excellent. It was a little unstable at speed, had poor brakes and didn’t like to turn all that much. But I still miss it.
The ads at the end, while perfectly nostalgic to my rapidly deteriorating body, remind me how much the world has changed. Maybe the world isn't ready for another go around of Nortons. Maybe they should stay a rumor of better times.
In 1974, I bought a new Commando 850 mk2a Interstate shortly after passing my test. It was a beautiful machine (black and gold), powerful and smooth, a pleasure to ride. Unfortunately, the 19 year old me was too busy riding it everywhere to take proper care of it (and it needed constant attention to stop stuff working loose and breaking), so after a couple of years, following head gasket failure and stripped exhaust port thread and numerous other problems, all after warranty expired of course, I sold it and bought a car. It was a few years before I could afford to buy another bike as well as a car, and by that time the price of a Commando was out of reach and I wanted something cheaper and simpler to maintain, so I bought a T140V, which I still have now, 31 years later.
I remember a buddy of mine had a '73 Norton Commando 850 Roadster. Everyone loved that bike. Both of us also had '73 Plymouth Dusters with a 4-speed. Both maroon.
I saw a Norton rotary racing at Caldwell Park, England. It was embarrassing fast. In the 1990s a couple of people used their road going versions to ride to rallies. The bikes tended to be problematic.
I owned a 750 for 3 years and used it daily as my only transport. GOOD POINTS - character, sound, torque, engine braking, handling, never rusted. BAD POINTS - vibration, oil leaks, reliability, archaic design, 2 trips a month to dealer for parts that had vibrated off the bike, could be pig to start. Sold it for a Suzuki GT750 that I had for 5 years as daily transport which did not have the Commando good points. However, more importantly, the GT750 did not possess the Commando bad points. GT750 was very reliable, did not leak oil or vibrate. Changing the air filter element sums up the difference between the 2 bikes - 1940s design vs vastly improved1970s design. I would never buy a Commando again. I now have a Kawasaki z900 1976.
Kenny Dreer Nortons are amazing. Unfortunately, it’s like calling a great guitarist “a musician’s musician”, which is shorthand for “continuously short of money and not getting the recognition they deserve.” And billionaires with Aston Martins stolen from employees’ pension funds swoop down like buzzards.
@@SingleTrackMined That's very kind of you. But perhaps you could take your attention to Wikipedia to read about David Attenborough and his 80 years of work instead 👍
One of more interesting Indian brand is TVS they have some passionate people among them about motorcycles and engineering has great attention to detail they could honour the norton brand to a great extent
Years ago a friend of mine rode his 75 Commando to the Mid Ohio motorcycle meet from Connecticut . He like to take back roads and showed up with muddy bike,no one believed him that he rode it all that way.
if you like working on your bike daily/hourly buy a old 75 Commando you will be fixing something daily. Mid 1980's my friend bought one basically in a box at a garage sale for 150.00 bucks, a complete bike in boxes. I had rebuilt 100's of bikes before that so he asked if I would help put it back together as I was working for a vintage motorcycle shop at the time. My first response was "No everryone of then POS has problems no matter how well you rebuild them". Well a few beers later and it was in my shop at home with no time frame to complete 6 months of winter and it was 1 bike again. New pistons, rings bore , valve seat recut, valves lapped, Boyer electronic ignition, fresh paint polish of all the aluminum, all new wireing headlight to taillight. 9 new voltage regulators and it still would blow a fuse daily never the same one 2x,, 5 new Boyer ignition's. The only time it would run right was in the shop if he rode it father than 100 kms something would break without fail. Headlight bucket cracked, turn signal break in half, RED Loctite( super strength) bolts fall out, mounts cracked. This bike didn't even have 4000 kms on it before it went into boxes. Afterabout 1000 kms the cases started leaking, NOT at the seals just straight through the metal, gone porris, I even had the shout off valve for the oil line and the dam thing would still leak. Victor ( his name ) had spent close to 4000 rebuilding this hunk of junk, a new bike ? say a Suzuki GS 750 was the same money new and he never got to drive it really anywhere in 5 years. In the end I think he sold it for 2kCDN That was the Last Norton I worked on and will leave Nortons to Mr. Millard they are just junk IMO, even after having the cases spray welded they still seeped oil. There is no such thing as a cheap Norton. If someone offers you one for free walk away. You will be saving money.Even if it's running.
Commandos were somewhat outdated technology even when new and did require more maintenance than japanese bikes but don’t blame it on the bike if you can’t get it running right. They are quite reliable if built properly by a good mechanic. And anyways I would rather fix my Norton daily than ride a boring, reliable japanese bike 😂
@@piironengarage8030 I never said it didn't run right. Just everything else broke Like the tack the face plate inside came loose and turned up side down.The build quality was piss pore. Now if that's your idea of fun go for it Every Norton guy has the same opinion. I would take a T150 or a BSA Thunderbolt over a Norton any day. Though I love my Suzuki Bandit 1200, 23 years and it put a stupid smile on my face every day 270 000 Kms and running strong. With nothing more than basic maintenance ( oil change every 3 months and check valve lash once a year.) It's to simple, I spend to much time working on other people junk so when I get on my bike the last thing I want to be doing is working on it.
I remember a documentary series from the 80's that featured Norton. They were making more money selling the Wankel engines to the US for target drones. As I recall, a manager said he was waiting for the company to fail so he could buy up the engine machinery and start his own company. I think the series was called " The Troubleshooter".
The Royal Enfield Interceptor 750 had dynamically balanced cranks, obviating the need for the Norton Commando's isolating rubbers. RE were a relatively small company, and always looking for investment. Dennis Poore, who had taken over NVT, was committed to the Commando project and refused to back the Interceptor 800, which was a superior engine and seen as a threat. The rest is history.
As an Indian, I hope TVS treats this brand with care it deserves. mind you, TVS is very good at delivering technology and products. I wouldn't label them toxic owner yet.
Nice to see this video, and then also hear reference to "Kenny", who was also a mechanic on my roadracing team based in Portland OR in the mid eighties. Good times! I lost track of Kenny, and sad to hear his venture did not work out.
'twas relatively easy to make up....just a Dahl brand hardware store shut off tap with stainless ball valve, a robust N.O. microswitch and bit of Alu stock to hold it in place. Ran me about $15 and an hour or two to rig up. There are several options of these available from classic bike vendors, for $80-$300...all basically the same but clunker looking than mine.
Thanks Ryan for a very entertaining video, very refreshing. Special mention should also be given to a builder/restorer of Commandos your side of the pond, that is the one and only Matt Rambow of Colorado Norton Works who builds the most gorgeous commandos ever with all the upgrades of Dreer and some. After 40+ years away for 2 wheeled bliss my lusting for the biggest Brit bike of my youth was finally satisfied when I purchased cNw # 101 from Bill Greene (found elsewhere on UA-cam) and imported back to its place of birth and now sits proudly in my garage having already covered 2000+ miles since August, absolutely love it. Oh, and that ‘rubber’ you poked in the video is not the Isolastic it just the rubber gator to keep the sh1t out of the adjuster.
We don't drink warm beer. A good pub serves beer from cellars that were dug out of the ground centuries before fridges were invented and that is the natural way to serve perfect beer. You can keep your refrigerated Bud Lite, I happily drink beer from a brewery that was already 124 years old before the Declaration of Independence was written. Best wishes from a Triumph rider. I also have a Ducati but that doesn't mean I drink Prosecco. Edit. 134 years old.
@@American-Motors-Corporation No I'm not. I too have spent many hours sorting out the shortcomings of Mr Lucas, but proper beer is a thing beyond compare. Also I have suffered electrical failures on supposedly faultless Japanese motorcycles but I have never tried Japanese beer as a comparison. Is it any good?
My high school parking lot was full of Honda CB175, a CB 750, a whole herd of little two-strokes, and one Norton Commando. Half a century later I still think they are one of the most beautiful bikes ever, and I still love that exhaust note. I answered an ad for a "project" Norton a few decades ago; the guy was asking $500 - five hundred too many, as far as I was concerned. He said he would continue to let it rot away before letting it go for one penny less. I still see them at not-unreasonable prices from time to time, and still want one (four-up right-foot shift, how cool is that?) but I have accepted that the idea of owning one is probably better than the actual owning of one. Ryan, how about an actual in-depth review of your test bike?
They can be a handful to put right, but if you are inclined to fix stuff, they can be quite reliable once sorted. I own the bike in this video and have put 20k miles on it in 7 yrs ownership. Getting parts is no problem, quite a few suppliers and lots of knowledge out there on forums.
@@TornadoCAN99 I suppose I'm lucky that I've never had a garage, or else I might have a Commando in there suffering because of my lack of mechanical skills.
Well, just look at what happened to Royal Enfield as it became a purely Indian brand. Maybe Norton becoming Indian as well is the blessing the brand needs to actually become somewhat relevant again.
TVS makes the 310 models for BMW and they're alright, I guess. 15 years ago, 160cc motorcycle engines were the top of the mountain for TVS, now they're making 310s, so I guess the day when they can make a good 700 isn't far off.
I remember bits & pieces of this story. The only memories I have of Nortons from the 70's was that they were finicky machines with well-known electrical and handling issues. At this time I know two guys who still own 70's era Nortons. In seeing/listening to their experiences with these machines, they are still the bikes they love to hate (or is that hate to love?). Thanks for the retrospective.
My mum used to ride and still owns a 1959 Norton Dominator. She also used to ride when pregnant so I guess I've ridden it too. But that's FOUR British motorcycles companies that have been sold to India now. I hate that my government keeps selling my nations iconic brands and companies to foreign investors. The scum are hollowing out my nation.
The reason they were sold was because they shut down. Inflation, strikes, a refusal to improve quality and an arrogant attitude that nobody would buy "Jap crap". Then came along Thatcher...
In 1917 my grandfather started an aluminium foundry in Walsall near Birmingham to make parts for Nortons (and BSAs and other stuff). Still going (JH Lavender ltd.) So it’s not all bad news.
Years ago, struck up a conversation with a guy sitting on a Norton Commando in our small town, a rare sight. We had heard the stories of how hard they were to get started, and my buddy bet the guy he could start his. Keep in mind we were young teens who had just rode up on bicycles, and my buddies riding experience up to this point was an old XR80.
“If you can start it first kick, it’s yours”. He gently kicked it till he felt compression, twisted the throttle a little and jumped on it - and it fired first kick! The guy couldn’t believe it, said he had to do it twice. So restart the procedure and… fires up again! “how old are you?” 13 he replied. “to young to own a motorcycle”, threw on his helmet and left.
Years later, my buddy was at a corporate event, and ended up trading motorcycle stories with a coworker. When this story came up, her husband got quiet and sunk deeper and deeper into his chair… it was the guy.
Buddy still doesn’t have a Norton Commando.
Lovely story thnks
“If you can start it first kick, it’s yours”. Well that's a dumb thing to say isn't it? lol
Kudo to the man that true to his word
Ok, now do a yz 425.😅
@@QuangHaiinh But he wasn't true to his word?😅
"Our greatest living builder" - well-deserved shoutout to Millyard there. Absolute genius of an engineer. Anyone intrigued should check out his rebuild of the Norton V8, all catalogued here on UA-cam and coming to an end quite soon.
not even a metaphor, he really is.. :)
Worth watching the rebuild just to see how bad some of the work on the original build had been. and the baking and the hedgehogs obviously.
"coming to an end"?
I was in the front row at the National Motorcycle Museum when he started the Nemesis. He's made many minor improvements to that V8 to get it running properly. Absolutely amazing what Allen can achieve in that residential garage.
@@tommeyer6033 Aye - project's nearly done - he's finished the engine rebuild and started it up in the latest episode a month or so ago.
A mate and I pulled up to a Norton waiting at the lights in Tottenham, London, in about 1979. It spontaneously caught fire. The Norton rider cooly got off, and put out the fire. (I can't remember how- I was new to motorcycling, and it was my first two wheeled blaze). He then started fiddling with it, kicked it over, it started and he swung his leg over. He then said, probably because we were looking quite shocked, "it's always doing that!"
Cool times.
Thanks for the content. Excellent.
I had a Tohatsu 50 when I was about 10 or 11 years old. It wasn't my first motorcycle. I put a big carb on it from my older brother's box of carbs. It leaked. We had a little circle track in the back yard where my neighbor and I would run round and round. The carb leaked. It would catch fire every so often. Put it out with sand, and its the next kid's turn.
Good to see a shout out to the brilliant Allen Millyard
Came to comment the same.
A great piece! I can’t wait as the face-off of Royal Enfield-BSA-Norton begins. In a great twist of colonial fate, these three Indian companies hopefully will not only save these heritage brands from the dustbin but restore them to greatness, giving us another chapter in the history books 🙌🏼
It will be a nightmare of similar parts and different badges.
@@David-og7dinot likely, they all have different parent companies
I hope Norton bikes will be more premium than REs.
@@David-og7di RE have been building bikes in India since 1955! I love my Enfield, clearly built to a budget but so am I!
@@fizzymann as I do my vintage Harley friend.
I only asserted that caution as I saw what had become of another fine marque in contemporary Matchless and BSA.
But I'm an old guy and no-one has to build the bikes I rode, not possible in todays world. Best from NZ
My Grandad (Peter Inchley) was the race development engineer for Norton Villiers and also the competition manager for NVT. In 1966 he came 3rd at the IOM TT on the villiers special (bultaco ts125 frame with a villiers starmaker engine). He was beaten by Stuart Graham (2nd) and Mike Hailwood (1st) on the work hondas (6cyl 250cc). In 1967 Norton villiers then made the ajs starmaker (again rode by Peter Inchley) and was in 5th until the fuel was sabotaged... The Norton commando came along and had a lot of promise. Handled really well, engine was great yet the Japanese were developing at such a rate the humble commando was falling behind. In an attempt to save NVT Peter said to the business "we need a multi cylinder water cooled 2 stroke". NVT replied "But Peter, have you tried a bigger carburettor?". Grandad said to the firm at that very moment "that's enough I'm done" and never returned. He went on to develop the Suzuki HI-TAC which finished 3rd at the IOM TT and clocked over 160mph through the speed trap. This was the fastest bike at the time I believe. If NVT listened our history of British motorcycle could still be alive and strong. The monocoque frame was made by a fantastic engineer called Bas knight(affectionately know locally as the warlock), he developed/made some incredible frames with a mind that was over 50 years ahead of it's time. One he told me about recently was a ride height device similar to that of the current MotoGP machines. This was in the 1970's... Later he developed further evolutions of the machine, Norman white also a master engineer developed and tested the commando and future evolutions of it. Norman still works on Norton commandos to this day and Bas still a master craft engineer. the Norton Villiers factory still stands to this day at thruxton race circuit.
The best motorcycle built by Norton was the 650ss
Yeah, but. That is like the British aviation industry. Came up with some great designs post-WW2. Even built excellent prototypes. But no one, not even the British Govt would buy them. Something about knowing that the actual production versions would be sh!t.
@@gomezgomezian3236 sadly that does not suprise me
Norman White is a great engineer, and was a good racedriver back in the seventies. After Norton was bankrupt, White started classic racing and set many track records. On a Norton Manx, of course.
GP racing in the 60s and 70s was different. You had Hailwood and Agostini on exotic machines, and everyone else on old bikes. You can look at results and see Agostini and Hilwood racing for first place. One bike fails, and Peter Williams finishes second on a G50 Matchless, a 500cc version of the late 40s AJS A7R 350ss racer. As late as 1973, when Peter Williams won Formula 750 on his 40s tech Norton Monocoque 750 twin, he also split the two 500 GP Suzuki 500cc 2 stroke twins finishing second in the premier class race on a late 40s tech Matchless
I bought a new 850 in 1975. Installed a Dunstall exhaust and absolutely loved that bike...shakes and all. Proudest moment was when a buddy on his new 750 Honda challenged me to a 5kmh rolling-start drag race. Launched and never saw him again. Good times.
I bought a Candy Apple Red 850 Interstate in 1975. Also had a two into one Dunstall exhaust. Still one of the best riding bikes I’ve ever owned.
@@bruceleong9534 I have a MK III I bought just after the collapse, and a modified MK II my brother bought from Horse Power International (HPI) a year or wo after I bought year MK III. Both were modified with compression, some porting, light exhausts, HPI cams, and dual Mikuni 34s. Fairly peppy for what they were. XS-11 was the first multi that would pull either of them in a roll on. KZ900 or 1000 and GS 1000 would be left behind with the roll on, but would eventually steam on by and accelerate away. Street racing against a first series Honda 750 was a joke and not worth bothering with. I'm actually getting both of those ready to go. The 2025 International Norton Owners Association rally is about 900 miles south of me next summer. Who knows?
The Commando is much quicker than the Honda CB750. It is more up there with the Kawasaki Z900/Z1000. And with better roadholding than any japanese bike from the seventies.
What’s the point of 5km/h? Don’t you mean 50?
haha. I didn't set the rules.@@mooiboyace
I love the oil shutoff valve with integrated killswitch at 10:27. Well done by the owner!
Yes it works very well and it is basically a water tap from homedepot, a N.O. microswitch and bit of alu flat to mount the switch. Ran me about $20 and an hour to make up. There are several similar setups on market for $80-$300.
@@TornadoCAN99Looks perfect, fully matches the bike
Yeah, that's brilliant. Appropriate appearance, too.
@@TornadoCAN99 That set up would have saved my friends Velocette. I put a hole in the piston when he let me have a go on his bike but forgot to tell me about the tap he had installed to stop the oil from draining into the crankcases overnight.
@jamesweber4938 Velos had an oem ball check valve on feed line, but not always stopping wet sump and sometimes not opening at all. There are several manual shut off taps with magneto ground switches as fail safe.
first of 10 abusive partners sounds like my first girlfriend
Which number were you?
Boats also fall into this category
Cheer up sport - at least you've had 10 girlfriends. ~RF9
@@FortNinewell he says he has…
😂
For anyone that hasn't clicked on Millyard: When I clicked on the first 3-4 vids, I thought it was an internet fake. His techniques are beyond believablity. He has strange cuts to hedgehogs and his wife's muffins and a doll on the counter. It feels like some crazy David Lynch film. It is really a blend of folk-art and moto engineering. The dude is a blend of genius and nutz.
Yes i think his eccentricity is on the autism spectrum. But this is likely what makes his work so profoundly awesome.
Most geniuses are on the spectrum to a greater degree than the rest of us. (Everyone is on the spectrum, just in varying degrees).
Also notice the clock tick in his workshop
Didn't really think anything of that, just thought British people were like that.
Allen Millyard needs his own dedicated video on this channel.
Right
He has one already and you can see the rebuild of the V8 Norton on it too.
@@MrD-moto read the statement again.
A review of his rebuilt Norton and a dive into all his personal touches would be excellent.
Absolutely 💯
I came a hair's breadth from buying a 2024 Commando 961 this year. Read and watched hours of reviews and booked a test ride and was 95% certain I was going to sign on the dotted line. There were quite a few niggles with the test ride (appalling turning circle, vibrations, no fuel gauge or reserve tap, tiny tank) but just look at it! Beautiful. Just listen to the exhaust! ). These didn't put me off. But then it stalled and wouldn't restart for 10 minutes. Under 600 miles on the clock and I was crushed. No thanks.😢
There was one on our local "All British" ride a couple weeks ago. The owner said it's a real Norton - it wet sumps, shakes and has any number of gremlins. Pretty thing though! I'll stick to my '69 750 Fastback.
And now? Do you feel like you dodged an expensive bullet. One has been sitting at my local Brit-type dealers for 5 years! Granted, its not a hugr city but the crooked business really ruined the reputation.
I bought a brand new Rickman Bonneville in 1974. Beautiful to look at but nothing but trouble. It was replaced after one year with a Z900.
Had the chance to try one recently, my usual ride is a 2016 Bonneville T120, thought I'd be in familiar territory, thought wrong. Jumpy clutch, mushy gearbox, a lot of vibration at higher revs, instruments like a pair of argos clocks. The Brembro brakes and Ohlin shocks are nice of course but those are the bits bought off the shelf.
Dodged a bullet. 🍋
I remember those advertisements you show at the end.
The women were about ten years older than me, so now well into their seventies and some in their eighties.
Thank you ladies, and I hope life treated you well.
Those last few seconds will get labeled “Most rewatched”.
For those who don't know the guy who rebuilt the v8 is Alan Milyard, he has a youtube channel where he makes all sorts of odd bikes pretty much from scratch in his garage.
Not odd. Perfect. They always look like they came out of the factory 👍
They are always odd, extremely odd.
Hes the "why not?" Of builders@@martynho1
oh crap he's the guy that made the bike with a chopped up pratt and whitney radial aircraft engine... didn't put that together until just now
he's a cake thief though....
I thought this was going to be about the kind of people who own classic Norton motorcycles - because these old bikes end up rotting away in their backyards as they get too old to ride them and are in denial about it. There is literally an old 850 Commando 4 doors down from me under a tarp rotting away in an old guy's backyard.
My bf recently got his manx fully repaired but he can’t ride it for more than 40 minutes because the handle position are destroying his wrists💔
Me too. Thought the same
One example doesn't mean all, most are in heated garages with the rest of their owners "restored collection" being an ornament, with an eye on there value rather than there utility, the "Henry Cole effect".
People can do what they like with their own property, I'm sure there are plenty of project bikes around for sale if you feel that strongly about saving them.
Why not go and make him an offer?
Kudos to whoever keeps those engine cases polished with that much love and is also willing to lend the bike to Fortnine to ride, on a wet day.
It's too bad that the newest incarnation of Norton failed, they were gorgeous bikes.
Thanks for the compliment but alas, the engine covers on my bike are real easy to keep shiny...as they are chromed by some previous owner... ;-)
I have a Norton Atlas, and the timing case is a never ending story of Autosol and elbow grease 😂
@wingood94 Is that a "meditation takes many forms" situation or a "Oh god, I have to polish the bloody bike again" situation? ;-)
@@Surestick88 depends on my mood 🤣
Its always a shame to see corporate greed destroy something special built by someone that really cared about the project.
Jaguar has entered chat.
I know it's tempting to slap "corporate" on every derogatory thing but, if you'd followed the story, their was a long line of individual greed going on here. Ergo, people like you & I are just as greedy.
@Dare2Doubt corporate greed is a corporation being used purely for monetary gain with no care for the product. Doesnt really matter if the corporation is owned by an individual or a board.
@@aNicerPlace This is a rephrasing of "everyone has their price", which while true in the aggregate, ignores everyone maintains a small temple against the ravages of the world.
Too bad you sold yours.
@@aNicerPlace Individuals forming corporations so as to avoid personal accountability.
That was well researched, the only mistake was Garners sentence for robbing pension funds, he was given a £20,000 fine and let go 🙄, 20k to him is like £5 to the average person, nothing!, anyway great video, did you enjoy riding the old bike??
Yeah the suspended sentence is better than he deserves I think. Loved riding the old Commando - quite torquey and heavy, it feels like riding a lot of momentum. ~RF9
@@FortNine Once again, due to an ever-lenient criminal justice system, crime pays. Which is why people like Garner will keep defrauding both employees and taxpayers.
@@m.f.m.67 One can't help but feel that if he wasn't rich the sentence would have been a lot heavier.
@@m.f.m.67 But when the workers at the Triumph factory organize and lock the doors to defend their livelihoods it's "terrorism". 4:50 Cool cool...
@@Surestick88how is £10million rich . My average uncle back home in asia is worth more than this fella and we know he is well to do but nothing exceptional . £10 million is not rich in U.K. and in London where I stay
The only British Emission control was polite "fart suppression"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Almost missed that one.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Please talk about KTM's (owner's) impending bankruptcy next!
bajaj's backing them
and they have big pockets no doubt
i think KTM will turn completely into a subsidiary
would love to know what is going on between bajaj and ktm
@@Chimera_0990tfr no chance Cf motor may take over KTM
Back in the '70's, I pined for a 750 Commando. I still do. There's a shop just up the road that specializes in restoring them. On occasion I can hear that snortin' Norton rumble coming up behind me as I head out on my gravel bicycle. Later, on my way back home, I pass the silent Norton being pushed back to the shop. I bought a new BMW.
i have owned many motorcycles of various brands and vintages over 60+ years of riding but the best times i had were with the '69 dunstall-built norton featherbed framed rocket ship that was shipped to the states in a crate. absolutely amazing machine. nothing could keep up with it. it's lost to the ages now and so am i but the memories will never die.
Nice dig on our PM at 8:46, well done.
Thanks for the history lesson. I graduated high school in 1974 and boy, did I lust over a Norton 850 Commando! Being poor though, I couldn't afford one. It wasn't until a couple years later that I had enough money to buy a bike but by then the KZ900 was out so I bought one of those.
I've had many motorcycles over the years but kind of lost track of Norton and what was happening with them. For nostalgia's sake, I'd love to see the brand make a comeback much like Royal Enfield has.
Think that's what he was getting at with that final comment.
From the late 60's as a teenager until the present I have always loved the look and sound of a Norton commando. I would love to have one sitting in my TV room next to a Bevel drive Ducati 750 SS!
Love the nod to Millyard, he lives up the road from my parents, nothing better than seeing him riding something very different every week and wondering what he's been tinkering on, now I can just check his channel and scratch the itch.
Superb production! Thank you for teaching us all about Norton’s history while making me want to own a motorcycle I didn’t know about until this video dropped.
Ryan I did watch your Ridge wallet ad and I still don’t know where your loose change goes in them. As far as your video went as always found it very interesting, informative and entertaining even after being bought up with Pommy bikes here in Australia in the 60s and 70s. Thanks so much for sharing.
Yes! Alan milliard and fortnine in one beautiful Union!! 🥰
I bought a new 750 Roadster back in ‘71 - they were still drum braked then. Definitely a purchase made with heart not head. The side stand fell off before I got home from collecting it. Two days later, I got caught in a downpour and came to a spluttering stop with an air cleaner full of water. In some ways this feature turned out to be a blessing in disguise as heavy rain would also fill the front brake with water and greatly impair its stopping ability. I could go on about several other design flaws, but a blast through the hills on a sunny afternoon would make me forget about them.
thanks for the complete rundown of Norton history, a fascinating tale
There’s an early David Cronenberg horror movie called “Rabid”. In the first scene, a guy and his “bird” are riding two-up on a Norton Commando Roadster through the countryside. Some great sound and footage of this beautiful bike, before they crash, and set the plot in motion.
While we're throwing out Norton Commando movies, have you ever heard of "I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle"? Apologies in advance. ~RF9
How about a run through of terrible (or not) motorcycle movies ? @@FortNine
@@FortNineNo “Vampire” motorcycles, but I’ve created a few Frankensteins 😆
Yes, saw that movie and the Commando has a great long scene riding through some twisties (in Quebec I assume as that where it was shot). The "bird" happens to be Marilyn Chambers.....making her break away from porn icon to mainstream cinema debut.
@@FortNine is that where there's a scene of a turd flying up from the toilet bowl into the guy's mouth?
Love this video...makes me sad and yet grateful that Norton is still around. I still want a Commando 961.
I don't ride motorbikes, but Ryan, I love the way you present and always look forward to your wisdom and presentations.
Truly a Thanksgiving feast. Fortnine on a Wednesday mornin. Love it.
Thanksgiving is in October, buddy.
Rode my 850 commando for 14 years, loved to ride the twisties. Ride a harley now but still love the twisties, that beautiful machine brings a nice nostalgia.
Fascinating story and presented - as always - impeccably. I was always a Triumph guy, had a number of 60s and 70s Trumpets, but always had a lot of respect for Nortons, especially the Commando. Gorgeous bike.
I had one 50 years ago when I was 19 and it was light , nimble and fast. Just picked up a BSA Thunderbolt and a Triumph 500 Trophy which I love, now I really need to ride this again.
I can only hope that it makes a come back, my late Dad owned one in the late 50's. I grew up in the sidecar.
A Commando with a sidecar?
Loved your take on the turbulent history of Norton! I just bought myself a 1960 Norton model 50 as a 50th Birthday present to myself, sadly i couldn't afford a 1974 bike from the year I was born. Those Commandos still fetch good money and the British bike industry was on its knees in 74. I'm looking forward to some spanner time on mine over the winter, I'm sure it will need it!
As have I ! It is a pre featherbed 1958 registered late. The featherbed’s ( mod 50) were meant to be the safest bike you could get, all the handling and breaks of a Dommie but no power. Everyone I know with one loves them, enjoy
I had two Snortin’ Nortons in my misspent youth. When they were running right there was nothing like them. But the riding it to working on it ratio was about 6 hours to one. Now I ride one of my Ryan’s favorites a BMW K-75. I slap it spit and fire it up. The riding it to working on it ratio is vastly different. The Nortons sounded great though. One had the Dunstall pipes on it the other stock exhaust.
Ditto and ditto. Good taste, man! I remember seeing a very nice K75RT on ebay: One owner, Frank something, who was the test rider for Vincents of Stevenage. He knew what he wanted to ride into his old age......
Early 80s I bought a 63 Norton 500 SS ... for around 500 bucks. It was in decent condition and ran good and near zero oil leaks. Several long trips and it never failed me. Three years later had to move and sold it for 500 bucks.
love this historic documentaries style video. I could watch Ryan do one for every motorcycle ever made.
With TVS Norton stands a chance to make near perfect bikes. In India they are known for just one thing that they will take a lot of time and after that that will produce best bike of that segment.
I should really dust mine off someday and go for a ride before I'm too old for clipons and rearsets.
It’s truly great to have the channel back.
Many years ago when I was a sportsbike riding 20 something hooligan, a bunch of us went for a thrash in the Adelaide Hills. Ripping it up on the Forrest Range-Basket Range-Lobethal road we were feeling pretty hot shit. Then we were overtaken by an old guy on a Norton 850...
I still have and ride my 1974 850. It now has a new paint job and electric start. I lost count of how many bikes I have had, but I'll always have this Norton until death does us part.
One day out riding the bike in this viddy, I had and old guy in a passing car roll down his window and yell " That ones a KEEPER!". 😅
There is a Creepy guy in the woods @ 1:49 I knew that Norton had a strong racing Pedegree. The Hemi Head looks a lot like the heads on Honda air cooled engines.
That was #45, still on the run.
Yup, I spotted 45 as well. Love the storyline and can’t wait to see where goes. 😂
Honda had to copy someone...
By the way, those are the best looking exhaust pipes (silencers) for a Norton. (imho) They just look perfect on it and they sound amazing.
When Ryan started it up he had to blip the throttle to keep it from stalling. Those Amal Concentric carbs need to be cleaned up. The idle circuits are off a bit. Maybe restricted by ethanol crud.
Incidentally, the other common twin (besides the other Brit vertical twins) that has a 360º firing order is the BMW boxer. Both pistons go in and out together but fire alternately.
That Norton has 19" rims front and back. The Dunlop K81 was the usual choice on these bikes back in the day. Same size, front and rear.
The shift pattern was "up for first" and then down for the other three gears. I still occasionally mis-shift subsequent bikes to this day when my "muscle memory" short circuits back to the 1970's. I loved my Nortons but they were finicky and leaky. This was before the common usage of RTV and similar sealants that we have access to today.
Nostalgia is always sweet until you remember the heartache and troubles that go along with the good times.
"a little more... freedom" - ha ha! I'm deffo stealing that one.
Always remember while studying motorcycle maintenance and repair (back in 2014-15) my tutor got offered a position in Norton, as part of it me and a few others from the course got offered a chance to try out/interview for an apprenticeship (walking in with a level 1 qualification against level 3-4 qualified people we stood no chance)
The site building was impressive! But had some quirks
engine build room was basicly a classroom looking area with a "parts store" in the corner with a guy handing each bit to the engine builders as they showed him their work
The painting area was a big gazebo in the car park that was a "temporary thing"
Entertainingly years later after finishing my level 3 I got a job and the guy who won the apprenticeship was there as a tec, he told me about how staff were jumping ship as soon as the pension stealing was rumoured to be happening (my old tutor included)
The reason they had to strip bikes down to finish other bikes is they were blacklisted by so many suppliers for unpaid bills and couldn't get enough of the parts they did have to keep up with demand
Glad the people I knew landed back on their feet and avoided loosing too much from the disaster that tw*t caused
F9 should explain why he rides the Commando in the bends like a 125 cc dirt bike! I must have missed an important F9 instructional riding episode! A good thing that Mike " the bike" does not have to see this blasphemy!
I was thinking the same thing. Just what does he think he is riding anyway, an GSXR?
@@m.f.m.67 Satire on a bike demo ride is what he was up to.
You did in fact miss an important f9 instructional riding episode. Search for the video called "motorcycle riders - you're leaning the wrong way"
@@FiddlerKeith Driving a Commando like that is like cutting spaghetti with a knife..might be convenient but will earn you a life ban from the Ace Cafe ..the former might get you killed by the Italian Chef!😂😂
Of the thirty plus bikes I've owned, I think my fondest memories come from my 850 Commando. The local dealer was clearing out his inventory in 1975 with the pulling out of Norton in north America. I paid USD $1595 for a new metallic red unit. What a beauty of a bike.
I spy with my little eye, something beginning with Millyard.
Now, there's a chap that needs his own documentary.
Growing up riding in the 60's, 70's, and until today but never really looking into the Brit bikes too much in the "old days" because they seemed to come and go all the while they leaked all over the pavement, this is an amazingly informative piece. And of course, entertaining all the while! Great work.
Love the old familiar tongue in cheek metaphors. Hope you guys never get overhauled by an abusive partner.
Before watching this video, I knew almost nothing about Norton, except that it is an old - even classic - brand that lacks any defining identity. But I knew there must be a reason it has stuck around. Now I know there really isn't a compelling identity to the brand, except maybe passion for two wheeled, stylish transport.
Keep up the good work!
Love all aspects of motorcycling.... Thanks for a great history lesson
My first "proper" bike was a 1971 Commando "combat" roadster that I bought in 1980 for $750. Beautiful bike. Probably did more miles in the back of a truck than under its own power. I sold it in 1984 for $750.
Sold for a buck per c.c. 😂
Last time I was this early, that jukebox at the Ace was still playing
The 961 Commando has been my dream bike since the prototype adorned the desktop wallpaper of my Windows XP ghetto rig during the last Bush administration. One day, I hope to finally get one.
I love these historical videos. Thanks!
I don't ride... but I love this content. Always entertaining and always wonderful production values. Great video
NORTON COMANDO + CANADA = ONE WEEK. Awesome video. 😁😁😁
'cwept that one in the movie was running a single Mikuni carb....which neuters the bike IMHO.
I had a ‘72 Commando 750 resto-modded with ‘68 Fastback bodywork, built by Redline Dave in Vancouver. I had to sell it for reasons about 12 years ago. It recently resurfaced on CL for more than double what I sold it for and was finally bought by a collector Las Vegas. It was beautiful and sounded excellent. It was a little unstable at speed, had poor brakes and didn’t like to turn all that much. But I still miss it.
The ads at the end, while perfectly nostalgic to my rapidly deteriorating body, remind me how much the world has changed.
Maybe the world isn't ready for another go around of Nortons. Maybe they should stay a rumor of better times.
In 1974, I bought a new Commando 850 mk2a Interstate shortly after passing my test. It was a beautiful machine (black and gold), powerful and smooth, a pleasure to ride. Unfortunately, the 19 year old me was too busy riding it everywhere to take proper care of it (and it needed constant attention to stop stuff working loose and breaking), so after a couple of years, following head gasket failure and stripped exhaust port thread and numerous other problems, all after warranty expired of course, I sold it and bought a car.
It was a few years before I could afford to buy another bike as well as a car, and by that time the price of a Commando was out of reach and I wanted something cheaper and simpler to maintain, so I bought a T140V, which I still have now, 31 years later.
From India, i can tell you one thing for sure - TVS is a good company. Seriously good. Lets hope they can revive Norton.
Thanks Ryan! You saved me some time reading history and even made it better-adding pictures. What a bliss....
Brilliant content. Well researched
I remember a buddy of mine had a '73 Norton Commando 850 Roadster. Everyone loved that bike. Both of us also had '73 Plymouth Dusters with a 4-speed. Both maroon.
I saw a Norton rotary racing at Caldwell Park, England. It was embarrassing fast. In the 1990s a couple of people used their road going versions to ride to rallies. The bikes tended to be problematic.
Oh they were fast alright! I think they won a TT on the F1. But yeah, Wankels live short and infuriating lives. ~RF9
They were 1500cc racing against 500cc.
I owned a 750 for 3 years and used it daily as my only transport. GOOD POINTS - character, sound, torque, engine braking, handling, never rusted. BAD POINTS - vibration, oil leaks, reliability, archaic design, 2 trips a month to dealer for parts that had vibrated off the bike, could be pig to start. Sold it for a Suzuki GT750 that I had for 5 years as daily transport which did not have the Commando good points. However, more importantly, the GT750 did not possess the Commando bad points. GT750 was very reliable, did not leak oil or vibrate. Changing the air filter element sums up the difference between the 2 bikes - 1940s design vs vastly improved1970s design. I would never buy a Commando again. I now have a Kawasaki z900 1976.
True but the Commando was such a nicer, more fulfilling, rewarding bike to ride than any 70's Japanese 4 cylinder bike.
Dreer got the shaft. So sad. His bikes ruled.
Kenny Dreer Nortons are amazing. Unfortunately, it’s like calling a great guitarist “a musician’s musician”, which is shorthand for “continuously short of money and not getting the recognition they deserve.” And billionaires with Aston Martins stolen from employees’ pension funds swoop down like buzzards.
thanks for the complete rundown of Norton history a fascinating tale
David Attenborough could take lessons from F9. I was completely absorbed in the story. Every time. Ryan, you have the spark of genius.
Sir David Attenborough needs to take lessons from no one 🙄
@@deanmsimpson I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter
@@SingleTrackMined That's very kind of you. But perhaps you could take your attention to Wikipedia to read about David Attenborough and his 80 years of work instead 👍
One of more interesting Indian brand is TVS they have some passionate people among them about motorcycles and engineering has great attention to detail they could honour the norton brand to a great extent
9:01 hail Allen.
I loved my 1974 850 commando. Yes tune on Saturday to ride on Sunday but what a bike.
3:15 Ryan is jealous that American bacon is better…. 🥓
Years ago a friend of mine rode his 75 Commando to the Mid Ohio motorcycle meet from Connecticut . He like to take back roads and showed up with muddy bike,no one believed him that he rode it all that way.
if you like working on your bike daily/hourly buy a old 75 Commando you will be fixing something daily. Mid 1980's my friend bought one basically in a box at a garage sale for 150.00 bucks, a complete bike in boxes. I had rebuilt 100's of bikes before that so he asked if I would help put it back together as I was working for a vintage motorcycle shop at the time. My first response was "No everryone of then POS has problems no matter how well you rebuild them". Well a few beers later and it was in my shop at home with no time frame to complete
6 months of winter and it was 1 bike again. New pistons, rings bore , valve seat recut, valves lapped, Boyer electronic ignition, fresh paint polish of all the aluminum, all new wireing headlight to taillight. 9 new voltage regulators and it still would blow a fuse daily never the same one 2x,, 5 new Boyer ignition's. The only time it would run right was in the shop if he rode it father than 100 kms something would break without fail. Headlight bucket cracked, turn signal break in half, RED Loctite( super strength) bolts fall out, mounts cracked. This bike didn't even have 4000 kms on it before it went into boxes.
Afterabout 1000 kms the cases started leaking, NOT at the seals just straight through the metal, gone porris, I even had the shout off valve for the oil line and the dam thing would still leak.
Victor ( his name ) had spent close to 4000 rebuilding this hunk of junk, a new bike ? say a Suzuki GS 750 was the same money new and he never got to drive it really anywhere in 5 years. In the end I think he sold it for 2kCDN
That was the Last Norton I worked on and will leave Nortons to Mr. Millard they are just junk IMO, even after having the cases spray welded they still seeped oil.
There is no such thing as a cheap Norton. If someone offers you one for free walk away. You will be saving money.Even if it's running.
Commandos were somewhat outdated technology even when new and did require more maintenance than japanese bikes but don’t blame it on the bike if you can’t get it running right. They are quite reliable if built properly by a good mechanic. And anyways I would rather fix my Norton daily than ride a boring, reliable japanese bike 😂
@@piironengarage8030 I never said it didn't run right. Just everything else broke Like the tack the face plate inside came loose and turned up side down.The build quality was piss pore. Now if that's your idea of fun go for it Every Norton guy has the same opinion. I would take a T150 or a BSA Thunderbolt over a Norton any day.
Though I love my Suzuki Bandit 1200, 23 years and it put a stupid smile on my face every day 270 000 Kms and running strong. With nothing more than basic maintenance ( oil change every 3 months and check valve lash once a year.) It's to simple, I spend to much time working on other people junk so when I get on my bike the last thing I want to be doing is working on it.
I remember a documentary series from the 80's that featured Norton. They were making more money selling the Wankel engines to the US for target drones. As I recall, a manager said he was waiting for the company to fail so he could buy up the engine machinery and start his own company. I think the series was called " The Troubleshooter".
The future of KTM?
Short 😂😂
@@muddywater6856 Someone will buy it and turn it into a zombie of it's former self... It's on course to be the next Benelli.
Full Chinese ownership cannot be far off.
CF Moto or Bajaj . Bajaj already owns like 48% of KTM.
@@diptosarker810I'd rather Bajaj own it, at least in India they have a strong motorcycling culture.
The Royal Enfield Interceptor 750 had dynamically balanced cranks, obviating the need for the Norton Commando's isolating rubbers. RE were a relatively small company, and always looking for investment. Dennis Poore, who had taken over NVT, was committed to the Commando project and refused to back the Interceptor 800, which was a superior engine and seen as a threat. The rest is history.
I had a 68 series 1 and a 69 series II Interceptor, both were smooth as silk and had gobs of torque, the series II had Norton forks.
As an Indian,
I hope TVS treats this brand with care it deserves.
mind you, TVS is very good at delivering technology and products.
I wouldn't label them toxic owner yet.
Nice to see this video, and then also hear reference to "Kenny", who was also a mechanic on my roadracing team based in Portland OR in the mid eighties. Good times! I lost track of Kenny, and sad to hear his venture did not work out.
That oil switch is genius, I’ve always tried to think of a fail safe way to make sure you turn on the oil tap before riding,
'twas relatively easy to make up....just a Dahl brand hardware store shut off tap with stainless ball valve, a robust N.O. microswitch and bit of Alu stock to hold it in place. Ran me about $15 and an hour or two to rig up. There are several options of these available from classic bike vendors, for $80-$300...all basically the same but clunker looking than mine.
Thanks Ryan for a very entertaining video, very refreshing. Special mention should also be given to a builder/restorer of Commandos your side of the pond, that is the one and only Matt Rambow of Colorado Norton Works who builds the most gorgeous commandos ever with all the upgrades of Dreer and some.
After 40+ years away for 2 wheeled bliss my lusting for the biggest Brit bike of my youth was finally satisfied when I purchased cNw # 101 from Bill Greene (found elsewhere on UA-cam) and imported back to its place of birth and now sits proudly in my garage having already covered 2000+ miles since August, absolutely love it.
Oh, and that ‘rubber’ you poked in the video is not the Isolastic it just the rubber gator to keep the sh1t out of the adjuster.
Lucas, it's the reason why Brits drink warm beer.
Hah - love that one. ~RF9
We don't drink warm beer. A good pub serves beer from cellars that were dug out of the ground centuries before fridges were invented and that is the natural way to serve perfect beer.
You can keep your refrigerated Bud Lite, I happily drink beer from a brewery that was already 124 years old before the Declaration of Independence was written.
Best wishes from a Triumph rider. I also have a Ducati but that doesn't mean I drink Prosecco.
Edit. 134 years old.
Ahhh someone's butthurt.
@@philhawley1219 Imagine thinking a brewery from the 17th century is considered to be old
@@American-Motors-Corporation No I'm not. I too have spent many hours sorting out the shortcomings of Mr Lucas, but proper beer is a thing beyond compare.
Also I have suffered electrical failures on supposedly faultless Japanese motorcycles but I have never tried Japanese beer as a comparison. Is it any good?
My high school parking lot was full of Honda CB175, a CB 750, a whole herd of little two-strokes, and one Norton Commando. Half a century later I still think they are one of the most beautiful bikes ever, and I still love that exhaust note.
I answered an ad for a "project" Norton a few decades ago; the guy was asking $500 - five hundred too many, as far as I was concerned. He said he would continue to let it rot away before letting it go for one penny less. I still see them at not-unreasonable prices from time to time, and still want one (four-up right-foot shift, how cool is that?) but I have accepted that the idea of owning one is probably better than the actual owning of one.
Ryan, how about an actual in-depth review of your test bike?
They can be a handful to put right, but if you are inclined to fix stuff, they can be quite reliable once sorted. I own the bike in this video and have put 20k miles on it in 7 yrs ownership. Getting parts is no problem, quite a few suppliers and lots of knowledge out there on forums.
@@TornadoCAN99 I suppose I'm lucky that I've never had a garage, or else I might have a Commando in there suffering because of my lack of mechanical skills.
Well, just look at what happened to Royal Enfield as it became a purely Indian brand. Maybe Norton becoming Indian as well is the blessing the brand needs to actually become somewhat relevant again.
Yeah I agree! TVS has the chops to make something of it. ~RF9
TVS makes the 310 models for BMW and they're alright, I guess. 15 years ago, 160cc motorcycle engines were the top of the mountain for TVS, now they're making 310s, so I guess the day when they can make a good 700 isn't far off.
@@FortNine I think TVS bought the Norton brand to counteract the dominance of RE in the classic motorcycle space.
I remember bits & pieces of this story. The only memories I have of Nortons from the 70's was that they were finicky machines with well-known electrical and handling issues. At this time I know two guys who still own 70's era Nortons. In seeing/listening to their experiences with these machines, they are still the bikes they love to hate (or is that hate to love?). Thanks for the retrospective.
RE made in India, Norton is in India, BSA is now in India. famous british brands now owned by Indian company. Take that Colonisers!!
😂 we don't buy them, we don't care
KTM too, take that Adolph!
Fun fact: many of the road sequences of Ryan riding through the woods are filmed on Indian River Road
Only one I care about is Triumph, which is still 100% British owned. 👌
@@PaladinCasdin
But now outsourcing some production to India.
Incredibly beautiful body of work in this video. Extremely informative and entertaining. Thank you.
Workers protesting for their rights is hardly terrorism, Pinko.
Oh I agree. But if your company goes bankrupt and gets bailed out by a merger, the new owners should have the right to make some changes. ~RF9
I enjoyed watching the Norton fly through the woods, I have a highly customized 73 850 that I love. Great video!
My mum used to ride and still owns a 1959 Norton Dominator. She also used to ride when pregnant so I guess I've ridden it too.
But that's FOUR British motorcycles companies that have been sold to India now. I hate that my government keeps selling my nations iconic brands and companies to foreign investors. The scum are hollowing out my nation.
Four? I know of Royal Enfield, BSA and Norton, which is the other one?
The reason they were sold was because they shut down.
Inflation, strikes, a refusal to improve quality and an arrogant attitude that nobody would buy "Jap crap".
Then came along Thatcher...
@@PaladinCasdin Vincent which was acquired by Bajaj
Turnabout is fair play?
@@vanshmahajan8960 Ahh, forgot about Vincent. Thanks.
In 1917 my grandfather started an aluminium foundry in Walsall near Birmingham to make parts for Nortons (and BSAs and other stuff). Still going (JH Lavender ltd.) So it’s not all bad news.