Hi,

I am new to this forum. I don't currently own a Norton yet. I thought this would be a great way to avoid some of the pitfalls and get some great information on these bikes to help me along the way.

Please if you have any advice on how to get started on finding a comando, or what to avoid please let me know, Thanks.

Welcome,
You'll find everyone here extremely knowledgable and able to answer every question youll ever have. Its a great place for less knowledgable people like me to find answers
You cant go wrong with any type of Norton, however my favourites are the early commando fastbacks and the interstates.

Fastback
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25463257@N03/4272022061/

Interstate
http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/NCInterstate.htm

Surprisingly, they are not too hard to find. Bikes pop up on ebay all the time, craigslist as well. Restored bikes are obviously a bit pricey, but old rusted machines can be found for a good deal, and the restoration work you do your self is much more rewarding and satisfying than buying a restored bike.

Good luck with your search,
Matt

Where are you located? If we know a little more about where you are if we find a good deal we can pass it on to you.

Welcome, Adam.

No place better to start than in the "For Sale" section right here in the forum!

I did not even know what a norton was until my mom came home with one she inherited from an uncle that recently passed away! Research the bikes to find one that you like and fits your mechanical skills. If your not mechanical you will be after you own a norton!! Welcome and happy hunting.

There were like 50,000 made over a decade and they come in two basic flavors of similar intensity,
one is the slow hard roll your own, the other is trade your hard slow employment into a ready to roll Commando.

Two ways to go on the roll your own, buy someone elses crappy rust bucket to tear down and toss out a good lot of it for new, or just buy the good stuff ready to go or mostly so and build up from scratch w/o the hassle and waste of the 1st way.

Two ways to go on the ready ride kind, one offs by private builders of all levels of accomplishment or professional shop offerings in US or UK.

Two paths to take in each of the above too, one essentially factory by the good book, the other about anything nonNorton goes.

Two styles apply to each of the above, sexy racy sleek uncomfortable minimalist to laid back heavy luggage cruiser.

The cream of the crop handling and performance to me and many is the '72 Combat 750 Bomb, that had so many problems its essentially what opened the fatal wounds that bled Norton to death. More Combats sold than any other yr and 1st with disc brake and 6 gallon tank but w/o clunky after thought signals to get knocked off or just quit so easy and often. But all are like keeping a sail boat or wood piano in good tune, always something to tweak just a bit more then something else just in case, for never ending process once infected yet no one looking for the cure, just another fix. They all sound so much bigger than they are and pull way more than expected for its old fashioned engine cc's.

At slow rolling speeds they feel like a cable and wood biplane on a grass field, then a bit faster it lifts off for flying carpet sensation.

Last two paras , Well Said .

2A' s the stroppy refined ? version . a bit tougher .

Breather from cam version predesedding is more sixties .
For a non flogger , perhaps a more relaxing machine .

2A updates and 30 yrs of , um . . . er . . . mean thats the one to go for for going ' Far Faster ' .

Engines the heart , a good low time base , then millions on expensive aftermarket parafanalia if youve sold youre Ferrari .

Heck I sold a practice and home to get to Ozarks and then the Devil made me spend the last of it on a Combat. To think I could of had a Ferrari. Remember the >Go Further Faster< poster was a '72 Cream of The Crop, InterState tank, front disc brake and engine heart that beat all else in ET's. Lugs just perfect up wet grass steeps taking hi throttle staying at idle w/o stalling or spinning out, sharp corners on THE Gravel are a breeze as so easy to chirp rear out just off idle to skew rear around w/o loosing the front at walking to trotting speed, then no end in sight for the power rise, what's not to Love about a Combat above all others?

"Bi-Plane to a Flying carpet" as allways very good Hobot. You will love any bike you get as soon as you get it to a point that it's reliable. Ask yourself and us what kind of ridding you will be doing & that will help you decide what style of bike will be best for you. The 750's are a bit quicker and handle a bit quicker too due to a slightly differant steering head angle but the 850's due to the changed steering angle are suposed to be more stable at higher freeway speeds. Also note that as all 750's the 850's from 1973 & some 74's (correct me if wrong) shift on the right & have the rear brake on the left but all after that are reversed to shift on the Left/ brake Right. As with any car/bike take your time and if it were me Id'e buy the best running bike money allows & go from there. A $800 basket case may teach you a lot IF you ever finish it but you may have 3 times the cost of a decent runner before it's on the road unless your like one of the very few skilled, knowageable & really well equiped lucky bastards like we have here as members. That said, I hadn't had a Norton for many years & decided I wanted another. I had allways had 750's & wanted a 850 that I could set up as I wanted so a restored show bike wasn't for me but I knew I didn't want a basket case. I could have taken my own advice & looked around a bit which would have saved me some $$$ but I didn't & bought the first one that fit my needs. In the end I got lucky and am very happy. I'm sure you will be too. Welcome & happy hunting.