1968 Commando

grandpaul said:

Was it Reg Curley that produced those 'glass tanks?

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No it was Avon- they produced all the plastics for Nortons at that time .. the petrol tanks the sidepanels and so on. Incidently the fairing you can see on mine was the last fairing Avon had in stock. i rode down to the factory in Wiltshire to pick it up in 1976 . The following week they closed!

jimbo said:

pretty much!View attachment 3874

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Was the bike in a flood?

bucksfizz said:

Was the bike in a flood?

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no, I do not think so, just years and years of barn dirt

black cat said:

Cool, post a photo of your bike.

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Sorry, I don't belong to any photo postings sites

This might work?


http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/raulthedog/media/IMG_1623_zpsqfyeifve.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

"Was it Reg Curley that produced those 'glass tanks?"

oldmikew said:

No it was Avon- they produced all the plastics for Nortons at that time .. the petrol tanks the sidepanels and so on. Incidently the fairing you can see on mine was the last fairing Avon had in stock. i rode down to the factory in Wiltshire to pick it up in 1976 . The following week they closed!

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The FB tank I have, with round badge recess, has CM444 in the tank bottom piece.
I'd guess Curley Molding...yes
I have lots of norton fiberglass pieces like roadster and interstate and IIRC most, if not all, of the Dunstall pieces included are a CM part markings

Well I possibly stand corrected but I would not assume CM means Reg Curley . Its too late to grope about in the celler to find my 1971Fastback tank . Ethonalled off so to speak. The Norton plastics were of very high quality - the Dunstall stuff wasnt . Perhaps the factory changed its supplier if your contention is correct. I do remember Reg Curley as a dealer selling some rather sharp looking custom stuff, but it is one thing to have a batch of tanks run off and anoither to set upa factory to supply Norton and Dunstalls . One of the reasons why Fibreglass tanks were banned was because of the very poor quality of a lot of these small batch runs . Horror stories in press of split tanks and incinerated motorcyclists and cardrivers. But Norton quality was superb. Have just checked there is still a curley moldings in operation in the UK , but I am certain that Avon actually made the plastics. In fact was so told at one of the early 70s shows . The colour pigmets of the updated Thruxton fairing were an exact match for the same tanks.. not just the so called British racing green that isnt but also the red . Red is a nightmare colour to get a pigment match

oldmikew
I only know what I have learned over the last 35 or more years making fibergalss molds and components. I have not seen any substantial quality difference between norton and CM products . How ever each individual component has it's unique design differences that affect strength differences.
The biggest break in my fiberglass workings was to find a cure from E-10 that has cursed the USA for well over a decade.
The general fiberglass gasoline tank structural short comings still plague us to day, the same as back then...it's one of the reasons it was banned in many jurisdictions.
Polyester dye is not made by fiberglass product manufacturers, how can he be held to a spectrum accuracy green or red decades later. (like an exact color match really matters)
Well, not really worth much more discussiuon....

Here are the original markings and the correct shade of ( I call it Candy Apple Green) green on a original painted fuel tank.

Well mine is marked CM451 at the rear right hand side .. just below the rubber band mounting point. Jimbo what automobile colour is that? Ford Forest Green was the closest I could find in the UK.. Dyno Dave well it could be that Avon outsourced the molds but apart from what i was told at one of the Racing and Sporting Motorcycle shows and was reported in the press , when I went down to the factory , Avon themselves told me they used to make the plastics for the Commando. Is there a solution to E 10 ? Too late in anycase
to save my once pristine original tank . As regards the quality of Dunstall plastics, well I cannot agree, you could sometimes see ripples on the surface I assume because they had been laid too thin. Hang on , memory flashback CM might stand for Churchgate Mouldings who used to make fairings and advertised under their own name in the press.Or more likely Commando -Mitchenal . The Mitchenal bros owned Avon

oldmikew said:

Well mine is marked CM451 at the rear right hand side .. just below the rubber band mounting point. Jimbo what automobile colour is that? Ford Forest Green was the closest I could find in the UK.. Dyno Dave well it could be that Avon outsourced the molds but apart from what i was told at one of the Racing and Sporting Motorcycle shows and was reported in the press , when I went down to the factory , Avon themselves told me they used to make the plastics for the Commando. Is there a solution to E 10 ? Too late in anycase
to save my once pristine original tank . As regards the quality of Dunstall plastics, well I cannot agree, you could sometimes see ripples on the surface I assume because they had been laid too thin. Hang on , memory flashback CM might stand for Churchgate Mouldings who used to make fairings and advertised under their own name in the press.Or more likely Commando -Mitchenal . The Mitchenal bros owned Avon

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Never matched the original green to a particular paint code , when I had my New Burton tank painted we used Candy Apple green over fine silver metallic to match old photos of the bike when I bought it

I have checked this NOS tank and the one on my bike, and there are no marks anywhere on the tank.

black cat said:

I have checked this NOS tank and the one on my bike, and there are no marks anywhere on the tank.

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the markings are easily removed/sanded off when repainted.

jimbo said:

the markings are easily removed/sanded off when repainted.

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Neither tank has been repainted.