1972 Norton info please

Hello all,
A family member of mine has a 1972 (possibly a 1971...not sure) Commando 750 Fastback that I'm interested in purchasing. It has a 5.5 gallon tank, drum brakes and 11,000 miles. In the early 80's the engine was bored out and apparently the new piston rings were not installed correctly and it produced an oil leak. That's when it was put in a garage where it has been for about 25 years. It has since been untouched. There is some light corrosion, but it appears to be in generally good condition. I'd love to buy it, but have no idea how much to offer or what issues I may be running into in restoration. Can anyone out there help me with figuring out how much I should pay for it and how much I may have to spend to get it up and running? Not looking for a show bike right now.....would just love to ride it. Thanks.

Pictures and serial numbers would really help, not for the price, but for information. Pay as little as possible, you will probably have to put 2-5K in it depending on what you want to do unless you just want to ride and then you may get by for 1K or even less if it is serviceable. Nortons usually go for a nice restoration about 7-8K, lots less with bad parts, paint and lots of rust. I think some have picked up barn finds for hundreds. Depends on how much you want it and how much the seller is willing to take. You have a very open ended question.

That's my opinion, I'm sure there will be many more, like where are you located?

Dave
69S

He's in NJ it says.

I don't think the new pistons and rings themselves would actually cause an oil leak big enough to take the bike off the road. But maybe something was put back wrong, bolts not tightened, gaskets not used, etc. It is strange that it would need to be bored out at that low mileage (11K) too. Because of the unknown factor and that it has been sitting 25 years I would offer about $2500. And less than $1K to make it semi-roadable suitable for local use. (This is if you do everything yourself.) After that you probably will want to re-do just about all the rubber parts. And later maybe get the carbs resleeved and electronic ignition, but that can all be done as you go along. A lot of these upgrades are not really "needed" but some are very nice to have.

A lot of people on here will tell you to plunge right into a major rebuild and spend $5-7K right away. Nice way to go if you can afford it. How mechanically inclined are you and do you have garage space and tools? If you are not a mechanic now you will find yourself becoming one.

Welcome to the group and please keep us posted on any new developments. I'm in eastern PA right across the river if you need any help.

Compete runing ok looking Cdo's can cost a few $1000 to acquire. Some may be fine as is but most will need a few more $1000's to make long term road worthy and pleasing to look at close. Watch ebay for idea of scope of prices per bike condition. Taking on a Commando is about like getting married, some work out easy others take most or all of what you have out of ya over some years to get joy or decide to quit it. So how much faith and hope or just plain feeling lucky,
as in Clint Eastwood's famous question do ya have?

Commando's are center of attention every where they show up - except at vintage rallies where nice ones are a dime a dozen and only $15-25,000+ ones stand out. I got tricked by being told how simple a machine they are, ya
simply intricate or intricately simple? Divorcing has been on my mind constantly since then but confused-put off now by all the effort put in past the point of no return to just plain cut losses or keep suffering to the bitter or joyful end.

hobot

Thanks for the info everyone. I believe it was bored out in an attempt to increase performance and now that you mention it, my uncle did say something about possible improper re-assembly. I'm fairly mechanically inclined but definitely couldn't handle and engine rebuild etc. I'm probably a few months away from acquiring it at best. Its further complicated by the fact that the garage its sitting in is in Wisconsin, so I will have to either ship it or schedule a pickup around a family visit. Sounds like I need to learn a bit more about it too. I will try to get some pics and post those as well. Thanks again for the feedback.

Don't worry about a bottom up rebuild, I did it in a spare bedroom. It can be done. You just need to be convinced.

Dave
69S