Well finally, after nearly six months, I’ve got to ride this magnificent machine and that is exactly what it is too; as Clarkson would say, “
what a Machiiiiiineee!”.
As of course everyone here knows, this is no mere motorcycle, it’s an event. From the moment you fire him up and then pull away one is totally connected with the most mechanical of experiences; I can image it’s what Spitfire pilots feel, information overload and that’s just the first 500 yrds. F@ck, that was fun!
Gear changes are so positive but without clunk and tbh I soon got into the swing of the right boot change especially up and by the end was happily rev matching on the downshifts. Less successful was I with the rear break; I’m so used to using said in traffic and pulling up to junctions that more than once my muscle memory took over and I changed up, this not helped by the fairly nonexistent gear breaking compared to my W800 but by the end of my 40+ inaugural ride I’d pretty much got the hang of that too.
Only four gears but who cares, you only really need two, third in 30s & 20s and forth the rest; twist and go, and oh boy does he go! Dispatches traffic so well but the real treat is the soundtrack. Holy cow, talk about addictive; an event all of its own, truly epic
I must admit I was expecting a bit more from the brakes. The rear is ok I guess but the peddle has pretty long travel making feathering tricky; I’ll have a look to see if I can set it up better for me. I was also expecting more bite and feel in the Brembo front but hey, it’s about going on a Norton, who wants to bloody stop anyway?
Suspension is fantastic. The progressive fork springs and Hagon shocks with progressive coils inspire great confidence mid bend and although a much firmer set than my W not once was it intrusive, on the contrary, packed full of communication the like of which I’m used to in the Elise; the W isolates you a lot making for a very quite and smooth (smothered?) ride.
Handling, as much as a 40 mile ride can tell me (and a virgin front tyre) was way in excess of expectations no doubt helped by the bike’s physique, small, powerful and light. No nasty surprises at all, quite the opposite, assured and predictable I immediately felt at home.
As I’ve said, this is my very first Norton (any Norton) ride so I’ve no idea how my bike compares to a stock Commando but Matt, if you’re reading this post, you are an absolute genius sir, what an outstanding job. I grinned throughout and more than once shouted with joy and I’ve only done 40 miles. Here’s to the next 10 thousand.
