At the Risk of Opening a Can of Worms

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Norcoastal said:
I’m in the early stages of my build.

I haven’t decided what style I’m going to do.

Roadster or Interstate.

Here’s where the controversy begins.

I like the look of a Gus Kuhn racer. I know the purists will cringe and cringe more when they hear that not only is mine a ‘73, after they stopped making PR’s, but it’s also an 850.

Regardless, I’m getting close to needing to make a decision as to what style I’m going to build and I have a lead on a GK tank.

You have to admit, it’s cool!

Thoughts?

At the Risk of Opening a Can of Worms
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Picked this up late, it’s your machine, no one can tell you what to do. I always fancied doing mine as a Dave Potter production racer with BP colours. Never did, too old to ride a racer on the road now! Looks beautiful in the blue. Have you seen the blue pr owned by Norman White?
 
Norcoastal said:
I know, I’m interested in opinions. Since I’m new to Norton’s, I’d hate to build a bike that is frowned upon by the Norton community
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The commando has been around for so long now every imaginable combination of parts has been put together at some stage. If a member of the Norton community is offended, ignore them, it’s yours!
 
Ron L said:
That's interesting! I have the very rare '73 750 Fastback in BRG under construction in my shop! (And there never was such a bike as this produced by Norton either!)
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Of course there were, delivered to Croxford and Williams and road registered in the UK as NOR750L and NOR850L, I am surprised you didn't know this!
 
Norcoastal said:
Haha, I have to tell you guys, I’ve been hanging on every word.

Since I last posted, I bought a Gus Kuhn tank that is very old, not sure if it’s original, but it could be. Very heavy duty. I also bought a set of rear sets.

I like the PR’s and if you are lucky enough to have an original (below), I would never mess with it.

But since this is a scratch build, I can do whatever I want. I’ve been researching and reading a lot and I think I’m going with a Gus tank, PR seat, front fender and fairing.

Very similar to the below, but my tank is a little shorter

At the Risk of Opening a Can of Worms


At the Risk of Opening a Can of Worms
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Thing is, I think somone did mess with this!

Interesting part is the 'Norvil' fork brace, don't recall ever seeing one before!

I am sure there is someone out there who could list other non factory spec parts, but as we seem to generally agree, well who cares?
 
Ron L said:
That's interesting! I have the very rare '73 750 Fastback in BRG under construction in my shop! (And there never was such a bike as this produced by Norton either!)
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And I have the rare 1977 Commando mk. 3 S type at my place.
 
SteveA said:
Of course there were, delivered to Croxford and Williams and road registered in the UK as NOR750L and NOR850L, I am surprised you didn't know this!
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Do you know what happened to the two production race Commandos that had the whole engine/gearbox set over to the left, which could lap Brand's Indy circuit 2 seconds a lap quicker than anybody else?
 
Bernhard said:
Do you know what happened to the two production race Commandos that had the whole engine/gearbox set over to the left, which could lap Brand's Indy circuit 2 seconds a lap quicker than anybody else?
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I haven't read through this whole thread so may be a bit off with this, but Mr White told me that they used to set the engine over to the right and up, this was because Croxford would fall off on his own oil when he ground through the chain case.
 
storm42 said:
I haven't read through this whole thread so may be a bit off with this, but Mr White told me that they used to set the engine over to the right and up, this was because Croxford would fall off on his own oil when he ground through the chain case.
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Ha,ha,ha! That maybe why he was called crasher Coxford!
But no, these two bikes were raced at Brands and nowhere else.
 
That is how the conversation started, I called him crasher Croxford and got the story, it is easy to forget just how good and how hard those guys used to ride.
 
SteveA said:
Interesting part is the 'Norvil' fork brace, don't recall ever seeing one before!
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I think Hyde also made a similar cast alloy fork brace; WHEN you can find them, they fetch upwards of $400

I have a double-loop chrome fork brace in the "For Sale" section right now. Not as nice, but half the price!
 
Norcoastal said:
I’m sure those are NOT for sale.

They could gather dust all day on my Commando, although, I’d tend to clean them maybe twice a day!
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Everything is for sale. It's just a matter of what it takes to buy it. It isn't always money that motivates people!
 
You are on your way now ! Enjoy the process and the journey it will no doubt become , good luck !
 
Beach said:
Look good.. Is it fiberglass?
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Unfortunately it is fiberglass, but it’s very thick fiberglass. I’m going to seal it with caswell sealer and hope for the best. If I can find a gas station without ethanol I’ll just use that. This “probably” won’t be a long ride bike...unless...it rides so nice I won’t want to get off of it.
 
I think that tank looks very nice on your bike. I admire your commitment to a particular style.
Find a good source for ethanol free gas, I wouldn't risk it even with sealer, especially after all this nice work! Just my opinion.

Looking forward to seeing what else you manage to dig up. Good work.
 
NPeteN said:
I think that tank looks very nice on your bike. I admire your commitment to a particular style.
Find a good source for ethanol free gas, I wouldn't risk it even with sealer, especially after all this nice work! Just my opinion.

Looking forward to seeing what else you manage to dig up. Good work.
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Thanks!

I’m working on a seat pan and fairing now. I’ll keep everyone posted as I progress
 
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