'70 Roadster sidepanel help required

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Does anyone have a decent picture of an original '70 Roadster sidepanel with reasonably intact graphics?
No-one seems to do the correct graphic, and the best option at the moment is to cut up an 'S' Type graphic, rearrange the '750' positioning and add the 'ROADSTER' logo below.
I'd rather have the whole thing as a single graphic with the correct spacing so I'll design some masks to paint it on
 
From a 1970 sales brochure.
'70 Roadster sidepanel help required
 
Thanks for the replies.

The one in David's catalogue photo is the style I'm after. However...
The catalogue bike is interesting because it's an image of the 'S' Type with an unrealistic Roadster exhaust & graphics superimposed - note the pillion footrest.
I've compared it to the 'S' Type catalogue bike and it's the same photo. The 'Roadster' graphics I've seen have the colours reversed.

I did my bike per Ron's examples and it's been pointed out that it's incorrect for my bike - I now think those logos only went with the plain colour bikes, and they're smaller than mine



Tracking down what is 'correct' has been a challenge: The best photo I could find was this low-res image (love the colour :cool:):



Recently someone posted a different photo from the Steve McQueen Le Mans photoshoot with different players (I've no idea who they are, but it's for a wristwatch commercial apparently), and it shows the 'correct' graphic.
This is what my bike should look like:



Another point to note for the anoraks among us is that the '70 Roadster seat is unique - it's got thicker padding than the R and 'S' Type, and I need one for mine. The one currently on the bike is just minging!
 
The catalogue bike is interesting because it's an image of the 'S' Type with an unrealistic Roadster exhaust & graphics superimposed - note the pillion footrest.
I've compared it to the 'S' Type catalogue bike and it's the same photo. The 'Roadster' graphics I've seen have the colours reversed.

The side panel gold with black border decal in the brochure picture of the Emerald Green Roadster is possibly pre- or very early production.
Described here as:

1969-70: "COMMANDO 750 ROADSTER" 06-1699"...​


...however, 06-1699 is the "ROADSTER" only decal...

...added to the 06-1017 'COMMANDO 750' gold decal used on the '69 Fastback and R type...

...also a black with gold border 06-1017(Rev)...
https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/shop-details/15504

...although extremely faded, this early 136337 Roadster has what appears to be the 06-1017 decal (with '750' above Commando) and 06-1699 'Roadster' in the third picture.
 
Thanks Les :)

I think those Italian relics can stay on the shelf they came from :eek:

The A-N Decals above are what I used on mine.
Agree to a point regarding the 06-1017 graphic. The fact is they're rather oversized compared to contemporaneous photos; probably sized for the Fastback.
Pete's photo confirms this when compared to my bike - it also confirms that both styles are correct, which was what I'd always suspected.
I was happy enough with them right up to the point I found the Le Mans Photoshoot pic!
If I want to reflect the Le Mans bike, the closest I can get is the 'S' Type graphic and perform some careful surgery


I have a couple more Roadsters - in Fireflake Roman Purple - in the works and would like to create a '100% correct' graphic.
I've previously done an 'S' Type using stencils, so I just need to add the 'ROADSTER' component.



Work in progress... David's catalogue photo is a good reference for getting the spacing right, but there's nothing like an original sidepanel to copy.



Also looking into getting some correct thickness seats made, and with correct quilting. The 'S' ones available at present are quite, er... 'far out, man'.

Just noticed the Photoshoot picture is a different bike to the one McQueen was fiddling with. I thought the footwear looked a bit modern for 1970!
I'm guessing someone was recreating the iconic image...

 
Last edited:
...however, 06-1699 is the "ROADSTER" only decal...

...added to the 06-1017 'COMMANDO 750' gold decal used on the '69 Fastback and R type...

...also a black with gold border 06-1017(Rev)...
https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/shop-details/15504

...although extremely faded, this early 136337 Roadster has what appears to be the 06-1017 decal (with '750' above Commando) and 06-1699 'Roadster' in the third picture.

A bit more digging, and the correct 'Commando 750' graphic with the 750 above would be: 06-2019 - listed by A-N for the '71 'Interim' model, but not the '70 model.

I can now do these with stencils & paint



So it looks like two styles would both be correct for a '70 Roadster; My Golden Bronze one is 139xxx, my purple one 140xxx, the other purple one is a '71 spec, so just the 06-2019 alone would be correct (1970 'interim' model).
Given that my bikes are later than the Mecum example I think it's fairly safe to assume they should look like that - and Pete's example.
It would be reasonable to assume the 'all capitals' style came first, alongside 'S' Type production, with the '750 above' type coming in later, but who knows?

Another anorak observation - the McQueen bike has noticeably more 'tucked in' exhaust pipes than the other (restored?) bike, and what's available today. I wonder if they allow the silencer to foul the kickstarter?

Thanks for all your input - it's appreciated :)
 
As per my reply on the other decals tread, try Classic Transfers.

They seem to have several "Commando 750 S" variants.

I have bought several decals from Classic Transfers and they are all a nice shade of gold/silver/black
without having a nasty shiny clear plastic surface.

They may well be suppliers to other outlets for decals ?
 
As per my reply on the other decals tread, try Classic Transfers.

They seem to have several "Commando 750 S" variants.

I have bought several decals from Classic Transfers and they are all a nice shade of gold/silver/black
without having a nasty shiny clear plastic surface.

They may well be suppliers to other outlets for decals ?
I prefer masks & paint for a variety of reasons, and went this way originally due to lack of availability of the exact graphic I as after:
I bought some off EvilBay but they were junk. OK for a bumper sticker, but not much else...
After that experience I bought a plotter and haven't looked back. The 2-tone 850 graphics being a case in point.



Totally agree about the clear plastic surface of the currently available vinyl tank graphics. I've used them (including on the '70 Roadster above), but blending them in is a challenge.
 
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