BEST COMMANDO ? .

Seems a reasonably ' on the level ' road test . Perhaps not an ' everymans ' motorcycle .

Puts the fawning modern m/c reviews to shame. Enjoyed reading it. Perhaps the isolastics on the test bike were too tight.

The single disc on the front is obviously a mediocre attempt at becoming Japanese. If you get a bike as heavy as that really going, that brake would be insufficient, and the prior drum front brake was just a joke. But a bike with a standard Norton gearbox is probably never really fast anyway. An 850 Commando motor can be fast enough to get anyone into trouble, but it needs a bit of help. My Seeley 850 runs on methanol, but with a bit more effort it would be just as quick on petrol. I race it against methanol-fuelled 1000cc CB750 Hondas, and it is right up there with them. Which is very strange, because when I built the bike I believed it would never be fast enough. My friend worked for S.R.Evans in Melbourne, who sold H2 and H1 Kawasakis as well as Commandos. They used to do pre-delivery on the bikes and road test them on a very fast winding road. The Commandos were as fast as the Kawasakis.

Matt Spencer said:

Seems a reasonably ' on the level ' road test . Perhaps not an ' everymans ' motorcycle .

Click to expand...

Is it a 'sports bike' ,a 'tourer' or a 'commuter' ? - No bike can be all things to all men.
For what it is, the Commando is pretty good. I would much rather ride that than a CB750, an H2 or an H1, any day.