CNW #1 up for grab$

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-commando ... otorcycles

That CNW 001 bike doesn’t have as much done as mine. ANd its got the crappy Hagon shocks CNW used.
Nothing like ceramic coated pistons and Silicon lined barrrels, or
CNW Comstock headsteady and Comstock hydraulic clutch, LED brake/ tail light/ turnsignals, 8 oz. Lithium battery,
Brembo master Hyd cylinders, Japanese handlebar switches, Dual output coil.
He has Japanese bar switches, something I insisted on for mine in 2000 and which had NOT been used previously.
SOmeone upgraded that later.



Mine was also designated the TW828. I thought that it was a pretty stupid
designation to have stencilled on the side cover. They were drinking after work when they came up with that TW 828 nonsense.

Thinking about it..the ad says private seller. may possibly be owned by DOug
MacAdam the original owner of CNW. Mine was #9 and it was built in 2000.

Doug had previously had one built for his girlfriend and Matt had a Yellow one.
And it seems there were at least 2 or 3 more I had seen there in the shop, also a red and silver one
in Durango built ahead of mine and one very stock roadster looking CNW. Also one a gal had
ordered a special lowered one. That is very close to 6 or 7 others before mine. If he says he owned it
for over 20 years...Possibly a legacy financial backer at start up of CNW for start up capital?

That bike would have had to been built in 1994 at the very least or
earlier. Consider that CNW #9 was built almost 8 years later ...ready in the
summer of 2001. That’s only about one bike a year.

Ed Ostack
CNW#9

The current issue of Walneck's has 2 CNW Norton's posted for sale. I cannot remember the build numbers but the prices were in the same range as the bike listed on Ebay.

hobot said:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-commando-COLORADO-NORTON-WORKS-001-1973-COMMANDO-850-/251402681838?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3a88c47dee&item=251402681838&pt=US_motorcycles

That CNW 001 bike doesn’t have as much done as mine. ANd its got the crappy Hagon shocks CNW used.

Click to expand...

I saw that bike when it was first posted and thought the number #1 designation and time frame was strange. It looked like it was probably an early CNW bike but still that tag seemed odd...like they probably didn't even tag them back then and someone put it on there later. I'm sure Matt could shed some light on that. Looks like it didn't sell. I thought the price was higher when I looked at it also...maybe he lowered it.

Well, there is definitely a story to tell on the first 10 or so CNW bikes built.

The #001 bike was actually not the first one to be built.

The first 'customer' bike that was ordered and built was #007

Confused yet ??

It gets worse.

Pull up a chair....I will tell you the story (or at least a somewhat shorter version)

The bike that really prompted the idea of a business was the Yellow bike I had built for myself back in 1992-94. This was a highly modified machine that I created since I wanted to do something different with the beautiful Commando core. Doug and I were coming back from the Norton nat's in South Dakota and during a couple of breakdowns (well call them rest stops) we were talking about all the positive feedback that bike had gotten at the rally. We tossed around the idea that maybe we should take advantage of the attention and offer some services for those that wanted it.

Then life interjected and we put the ideas on ice. I completely re-built the yellow bike no less then 3 times in the next 2 years. Every time I did I added more mods and detail...I was just having fun with it. Wanted to learn everything about it that I could and figured that nothing would beat some hands on experience.

1997. I was living in Denver at the time and Doug had moved the Cortez a couple of years earlier. I was at a point where I had just quit my job and I was ready to get out of the big city. Doug and I had started talking more about doing something with these Commandos and were throwing the idea around to some friends, Some said great stuff...others said we were crazy..."no one would ever spend money on Commandos". I went down to Cortez to visit a couple of times and decided that this place wasn't so bad. I moved

In the fall of 1997 we officially started CNW. We were sitting around a lot talking about stuff. How these bikes were to be built, equipment, upgrades and so on. Doug was to handle the business end of things with accounting, parts orders, customers service etc. I was to build the bikes......great...lets gets started

...and we did. We had an old friend, Steve Harris, over at the drafty old shop and while sitting around talking he said "build me one"...."I will be your first customer". First customer !!! that sounded great. That essentially meant that we would have more. Very exiting. These early machines didn't have tons of upgrades but the approach was different than the traditional restoration that most were doing

Talking about these machines that were going to be produced, we decided to give them numbers. That's cool. But we had already built a couple of machines, so we should really give them numbers as well.

This is where it gets interesting, or maybe confusing, yet it made sense at the time. Lot more detail obviously but here's the bottom line:

- #001. This was a bike that was built a year or so after we started the business. Guy told us if we would build him # 001...he was in. No problem..we can do that !
- #002. The bike that Doug built for himself. A continuous build like those personal bikes turned out to be
- #003. Bike was never built. Just a rolling chassis we took to Corbin so he could use it for seat development
- #004. A bike that Doug built for his girlfriend
- #005. I bike that was slowly built and finally finished a few years later for Doug's step son Martin
- #006. The yellow bike that really started it all. Had this bike for many years and eventually sold it to a customer
- #007. This is the official #1 bike built for Steve Harris in Durango. He still owns it. Its the only customer bike built the first year
- #008. First female customer. Bev Pylman. Detroit. She still owns the bike
- #009. Ed Ostack that was sounding so nice and positive in the post above. He still owns the bike

and on it goes (now in order). Yes....I still remember all of the machines even though some of the details like delivery dates I would have to look up in the bike file. Every machine that has been built has a file even though the early ones are not quite as comprehensive as the late models

To wrap up the history

I kept building machines....we kept getting more orders. The increase in pace did not go well with Doug and in 2004 we came to a fork in the road. He wanted to slow down...I wanted to speed up

I bought him out, Built a new shop, Built a website and took CNW to the next level

So 16 years later, I just delivered #102 to a customer in Denver, Geoff Harris.

That's a lot of Commandos. There are a couple of mystery numbers in there but they also have a story and I will save them for the next time. Fact is that these machines have really evolved and the early ones are very different than what is currently being built. It was stepping stones and I always wanted to keep pushing the limits and better myself.

Its been a long road with plenty of ups and downs but it has been really exiting and I will keep going 16 more years the way it feels right now. Have a bunch more bikes to build

Thanks for listening

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

http://www.coloradonortonworks.com

Pretty cool, Matt.

So, just to make sure I have it straight, only Steve Harris's bike actually comes with a license to kill?



Thanks for all your help over the years, Matt. Mine is not a CNW-build, but definitely a "CNW-enabled" build.

BrianK said:

Pretty cool, Matt.

So, just to make sure I have it straight, only Steve Harris's bike actually comes with a license to kill?



Thanks for all your help over the years, Matt. Mine is not a CNW-build, but definitely a "CNW-enabled" build.

Click to expand...

Yes..you are right about 007. Bike also has a tendency to attract pretty women with strange names

Thanks for the support Brian,

Matt

Actually Brian, any 00 prefix is a licence to kill according to the iain Fleming James Bond books.

Back to the subject, there is even a CNW Commando here in Hong Kong, owned by a friend of mine who has only recently ridden it after over a year of ownership. There was an issue with the sprag clutch but Despite the lengthy time lapse CNW has honoured the warranty - great integrity and customer service.

Matt,

Thanks for sharing the story of your company. It's interesting how people thought you couldn't sell the product back when you started...that is how it always is on the "cusp" of a good idea. Being there as things change is the opportunity that many fail to see or can bear through the difficulty of getting off the ground. I have started a number of small businesses over my lifetime and your story matches pretty much the pattern.

Your lucky to have a business that you enjoy and I am envious for sure. Plus you have great products and customere service. No better model than that.

Dennis

First business a deep apology and explanation regarding a personal email which I quickly wrote and was posted by another on the forum. I was talking to HObot about the EBay posting of CNW 001 and was of course comparing ( bragging actually) on my CNW 009, the Black Phantom...and the things I have subsequently done to make it an incredible 74 Norton Commando 850.

I apologize from the heart to Matt Rambow for any way my words might suggest his Handicraft is any way ....less than ..SUPERB. He is a genius at what he does. CNW COmmandos are magnificent machines to be very proud of. ANd they have been like he said ....continuously and vastly improving.

Norton Commando owners often excuse quirks in the original design like the Lockheed designed Pressure plate clutch which can be a stiff handful in constant stop and go traffic. The Hydraulic clutch made by Jim Comstock is a fine example of the Norton evolution which Matt 's CNW offers. It is a thrill to use.

I made a comment about Hagon shocks which I stand by...because I bought them and rode on them and have that right to do. SHocks have come a long way from the 70-'s and 80's when they were barely more than the hydraulic tensioners which close your storm door. They damp wimply on harsh roads like we have in Pennsylvania.

I apologize for any word or sloppy hasty combination of phrases in any form however it might seem that I hold CNW in anything less than a spectacular light. Matt and his associates have always been gracious and helpful and after many years always recognizes me when I call them. I wish them extreme good success in the present and future with their passion and their expert talent.

To Matty Rambow CNW and all the Norton folks ...a wish for a bright Christmas Holiday and a Very Happy Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2014

Ed Ostack
CNW #009 dressed to kill..The Black Phantom
2003 VFR 800 VTEC Interceptor

I know that I saw the black and silver bike a long time ago in Dolores, CO.
I kept an eye out for the rider but never saw him.

I do remember seeing CNW's yellow custom Norton way back then. They also had a white one that looked very close to it!
Of course it was impossible to not be impressed. That was back when it was CNW who?

I hadn't been living in Durango very long, but long enough to know that there was no british bike scene in the area.
Steve Harris was the first and only guy that I met that rode (or even owned) a Norton.
Come to find out, he has some pretty cool ones. Good for him, he's a nice guy.

Hello Access Norton members. I own CNW #002. I bought it from Doug McCadam in May of this year. Although i live in Cortez, Co., I had never heard of CNW until April of 2012, and it is only about 10 miles away. Doug rebuilt (yes rebuilt) #002 and it is now DN08. I have never been to CNW yet although i met Matt at INOA rally at Buffalo Wy.

I want to once more explain after re reading the post I wrote to hobot, that It could very simply seem to sound like an unfondly discourteous slam on CNW. SOmetimes you write hastily and don't even spellcheck or read back how your phrasing might sound... to another . As I was writing my apology earlier, I noticed that..... another error crept in.... unnoticed when I wrote the name, Matt. The next key over changed what I intended to.... "Matty"...which could also seem .....if your mind were so inclined...a diminutive condescending appelation.... NOT what I had in mind... at all. Just patently a typo-geographical error.

I started out extra clumsily comparing my much improved Black Phanton CNW 009 to the machine on EBay as being far past the state of CNW 001 in technical developments.

Well, it really came off sounding like I had something bad to say about CNW 001...

....or even something disparaging about Colorado Norton Works when I mentioned my opinion of the Hagons. I hope that the air has cleared on that matter.
Hagons sells a lot of shocks to Norton riders. They fit against the chainguard where the rear wheel is cramped on the chain side without a lot of swearing.

Nick COumos has them installed on his recently built up COmmando and he is absolutely content with them. ANd so are others. It came off sounding like I inferred CNW was producing crap. Not the point at all.
Its like saying you don't like the new Yamaha FZ9 860 triple because the stock tire that comes with it is very unsuitable to such a machine. Just making that up as an example. To my credit I spoke to DOug when my bike was being built and said I didn't like the Hagons, he waved that off and said the Hagons are a fine shock. I've ridden many miles on them on all kinds of roads. You will like these. ANd I didn't.
You couldn't give me a free pair of Hagons. But that's not anywhere near a disparagement of Matt or CNW COmmandos. If this made the story of the first 10 CNW licensed to kill bikes come out...it was at least a fabulous story.

WHat I am curious about is the copper colored Norton Commando that Doug Macadam had built for himself and then sold shortly after the Shreve Ohio national Rally. I have not seen another picture of it anywhere since and wondered who it belonged to now?

WHen Matt talks about his Yellow Bike...anybody who never saw it couldn't know how impressive that custom was or still is. He sold it to a rocker in Calif I think, and I was sad to see Matt let go of it. It was an instant Custom bike show first place award. It was that machine that gave me the incentive to own one of Matt and DOug's creations. Besides, I always liked Matt and DOug. I met Steve Harris also on my trip out there. and the unforgettable Frank Snively. ALl great folks. Frank SNively made the trip to Torrey Utah unforgettable and lively. If youre out there Frank...Best wishes my friend. And DOug...Merry Christmas wherever you are.

Regarding upgrades to the Black Phantom ..I am seriously wanting to install the super bright (25 watt) CREE Led HEADLAMP into my stock headlight shell. ABout $70 here:

http://electricalconnection.com/other-l ... -hl-h4.htm

pic below:
http://electricalconnection.com/images/hl-led-h4.jpg

SMokem if you got em!

Tomato Man, Ed Ostack

Tomato man said:

First business a deep apology and explanation regarding a personal email which I quickly wrote and was posted by another on the forum. I was talking to HObot about the EBay posting of CNW 001 and was of course comparing ( bragging actually) on my CNW 009, the Black Phantom...and the things I have subsequently done to make it an incredible 74 Norton Commando 850.

Click to expand...

No wonder the first post seemed odd,I thought hobot had one of these CNW bikes.
Are you saying a PRIVATE message you sent was copy / pasted into a public forum without your permission ?

For a second I thought you built one for this Steve Harris, Lol.

Ed, I am sure you are back on the CNW Christmas card list by now!

I guess we need to be careful in PMs as well, although I am not always. Always thought the P in PM stood for PRIVATE!

Glen

Tomator Man bothers me a lot since we left INOC a decade ago bickering at each other worse than goes on here. Didn't seem disparaging to me just another phase in ongoing saga of another living legend Commando. Ed is the main mover in helping young fella keep a Norton twin going in Cuba. But that's just a cover deep down - rotten to the core spoiling his CNW.

Classy Steve :roll:

Ed,

No need to apologize.....its really no big deal. As long as you are having fun with your bike...that's all that matters

Snort,

No...didn't build one for that Steve Harris. The guy that bought the #006 bike years later was Rikki Rockett from Poison. Really good guy that likes these vintage bikes.

CNW will be doing some different things in 2014 and when I get a bit further along with it, I will let the forum know. Good stuff and I am looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a good Holiday Season and get to take a little time off to enjoy.

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

Hi Matt,

Thanks for all the great parts and support during my MK3 rebuild. I am really happy with is and it would not be as good without. Got nearly 100 miles on it now and just torqued the head down. Thanks again and Merry Christmas to CNW

Cheers--Jerry