1973 Norton Commando 750 Gus Kuhn

Rohan · Sep 23, 2014

L.A.B. said:
Now you're asking for a brochure picture as proof!
Make up your mind. :?

Well yes, but if the brochures don't even show something - to mislead folks with - then where are we ??
There still seems to be a serious lack of real pics to judge these things.... ?

But we diverge, muchly, from proddy racers and gus kuhns.
BTW, this Gus Kuhn was on aussie fleabay just recently.

900SS style paintwork ??

Ron L · Sep 23, 2014

Rohan said:
L.A.B. said:

Croxford's bike (NOR 750L) is a black 750 Roadster with the usual '750' single-line 'D' pinstripe.

Click to expand...

Is that shown in a brochure anywhere for 1973 ?

Would you settle for an as purchased new in May of 1973 original MkV 750?

Deep black clockholders, square taillight, RH6 high comp head, standard cam, steel tank, basket weave seat (also on some '72's), silver barrels, original blue metalflake paint, no 'D' stripe (only on black). Serial number 22XXXX. Build date 11/72.

Thomasdunstall · Sep 26, 2014

Just to inform you all,
we often assume as true what is written in motorcycle books...

THE BIKE IS A GENUINE PR!
official despatch book said
"P.Racer, NVE Italy, 31.5.73"
which must make it a very late, if not the last one PR...
and this means that in 1973 Norton still made available the PR if requested!
as illustrated in the official '73 brochure...

lcrken · Sep 26, 2014

Well, Gus Kuhn did sell a model he called a "Gus Kuhn Production Racer", but it was not the same bike NVT sold as its Production Racer. I owned and raced an original NVT Production Racer, and also bought some parts from Gus Kuhn back in the day. He would build a bike in pretty much any configuration you were willing to pay for. The NVT PRs were built from a well defined factory parts list (readily available today), with all items having a factory part number, and there aren't any Gus Kuhn parts among them. When the PRs were put together at Andover, the workers were known to sometimes substitute standard Commando parts for the high performance engine parts (like cams and big valve heads), if that was all they had on the shelf, but I've seen a good number of original NVT PRs, and none ever had Gus Kuhn parts on them.

It is certainly possible that this bike started out as a real PR, but if so, somewhere along the way a lot of the parts, as Piero and others have already identified, have been replaced with Gus Kuhn parts. That just doesn't seem very likely to me, but it's at least possible. Much more likely that the Italian importer brought in a Gus Kuhn special and titled it as a "P. Racer" based on the description Gus Kuhn gave it.

I'm not trying to denigrate this particular bike. It's a very nice looking racer style bike, but it is clearly not what Norton sold as it's "Commando 750 FIM Production Class Racer", "Commando Production Racer", "750 Production Racer", "750 Racer", or other advertising description.

Ken

Thomasdunstall · Sep 26, 2014

lcrken said:
It is certainly possible that this bike started out as a real PR, but if so, somewhere along the way a lot of the parts, as Piero and others have already identified, have been replaced with Gus Kuhn parts. That just doesn't seem very likely to me, but it's at least possible. Much more likely that the Italian importer brought in a Gus Kuhn special and titled it as a "P. Racer" based on the description Gus Kuhn gave it.

I'm not trying to denigrate this particular bike. It's a very nice looking racer style bike, but it is clearly not what Norton sold as it's "Commando 750 FIM Production Class Racer", "Commando Production Racer", "750 Production Racer", "750 Racer", or other advertising description.
Ken

Ken
as stated in the despatch book for sure the bike left Norton as a genuine PR
But as you said now the bike is cleary not as it was the 31st of may 1973...
it was more than 40 years ago...may be the owner didn't recall some new part added lately
may be the importer made some changes...Who knows?
It was a racer...may be some damage to the original parts...

Matt Spencer · Sep 27, 2014

there was a road test of Williams poisonal 850 in Motorcyclist or M/C Sport , at the time , also
blub in M C M when they wewre presented , to date them . The road test is reprinted in the
Brooklands / road test reprints book .

Huhn was the London Agent for NORTON , and you could order pretty much what you wanted

http://www.guskuhn.net/GKMLtd/Racing/1996TrackTest.htm

pierodn · Sep 29, 2014

lcrken said:
It is certainly possible that this bike started out as a real PR, but if so, somewhere along the way a lot of the parts, as Piero and others have already identified, have been replaced with Gus Kuhn parts. That just doesn't seem very likely to me, but it's at least possible. Much more likely that the Italian importer brought in a Gus Kuhn special and titled it as a "P. Racer" based on the description Gus Kuhn gave it.

Ken

+1
Piero

acotrel · Sep 30, 2014

Matt Spencer said:
there was a road test of Williams poisonal 850 in Motorcyclist or M/C Sport , at the time , also
blub in M C M when they wewre presented , to date them . The road test is reprinted in the
Brooklands / road test reprints book .

Huhn was the London Agent for NORTON , and you could order pretty much what you wanted

http://www.guskuhn.net/GKMLtd/Racing/1996TrackTest.htm

The second bike from the bottom in the lower photo Is almost exactly my bike. If it has got 18inch wheels, it has got far too much offset on the fork yokes.