CNW

This is not rocket science. Purchase a shop manual, parts book and the tools specific to your Norton. Find a local machine shop that you can bring stuff to (should you need them) and go at it yourself. If you're going to ride an Norton, you're going to have to know how to fix it.Putting a bike together yourself teaches you this. This forum is a tremendous source of information and all of the folks are very helpful. Best of Luck

phillyskip said:

This is not rocket science. Purchase a shop manual, parts book and the tools specific to your Norton. Find a local machine shop that you can bring stuff to (should you need them) and go at it yourself. If you're going to ride an Norton, you're going to have to know how to fix it.Putting a bike together yourself teaches you this. This forum is a tremendous source of information and all of the folks are very helpful. Best of Luck

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I was just wondering if the newer, younger Norton owners were of a different stripe. I don't know of any young Norton owners, but those beautiful CNW Nortons that Matt builds are going somewhere. Maybe the younger Norton owners are just not interested in building, repairing and maintaining their Nortons. Back in the fifties and sixties there was hardly a motorcycle owner that was without mechanical skills. Even the sports car set, in the fifties and sixties had some skills and sometimes even dirty fingernails. Contrast that with today's typical Porsche 911 owner. Today, some bike owners knowledge about their bike ends with where to put gas in. Need new tires, bike goes to the shop. Battery dead, trailer bike to shop and so on. As Bob Dylan sang, "The times they are a-changin' ".

Most of Commando-om lies outside this forum and other online clusters, including suppliers of essentially all renewed Commandos with everything to almost nothing remaining factory issue. in some cases its hard to say if its a done it yourself or a store bought Commando. knowing what I do now I'd been better off spending on a CNW with money and lots more time left over to actually be a Commando pilot any time i felt like it. The smartest money buys the core from Kenney Cummings then to CNW to finish then out in public melting minds.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/12/03/19 ... eter-egan/

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the nice feedback for the work that's done here at cNw. Its ultimately that support that drives my business and makes it all worth while.

The approach I take when rebuilding one of these machines is not something that everyone can agree with but it's a unique way to take some of the idiosyncrasies out of the machine and make the bike a lot friendlier to work with and enjoy.

These Commandos are arguably the most usable Vintage British machines out there and when you do some of these modifications and upgrades, they get even better.

I have never been one to take short cuts and the most important thing for me when developing, designing or implementing other peoples modifications to my builds, is that those parts are the best they can be. That also sometimes means that they get expensive. However, I would rather have it that way, knowing that it is right as opposed to cutting corners just to make more sales

Of course, there are many ways to build or bring one of these machines back on the road and as been said, there has never been a better time to own one considering all the support and options that we have to get these bikes to the point we want to.

I think its important to point out that not everyone is a 'wrench' or even if they are, they may not want to spend their time off working on a project in the garage. Of course to some on this forum, that is the best part, to get your hands dirty and get as involved with the bike as you can. Having said that, others simply want to do minimal maintenance and get the bike out in the twisties and enjoy it. Has nothing to do with anyone's abilities as much as it has to do with priorities.

I also have a lot of customers that are building their own machines and for them, some of the parts that I have available may fit exactly what they are looking for.

Hard to argue what's right or wrong. We all love these machines for one reason or another and even though some get a bit argumentative with their beliefs (I know I do as well since I obviously believe in what I do at the shop), most everyone is just wanting to get their bike to the point where they think its just perfect....for them.

I am putting the final touches on my new shop (more on this later) that I started building 6 months ago. That together with some personnel changes has made this a very interesting winter but I feel good about where it all is going and looking forward to getting back up to speed and putting some more Commandos back on the road

Thanks

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

http://www.coloradonortonworks.com

Perhaps it depends on where you live too. It has been zero at night nearly every day for a month at least. With
this sort of situation, having at the bike is the best you can do. Riding is not on.
Living in the south west one could ride daily. Cannot imagine when you do your overhaul!

Here's my 2 cents worth. I'm about 95% of the way done on a 71 750 restoration. I LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF BUTT FUCK NOWHERE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.....consider that point for a moment re sourcing of parts.....I bought +/-3000 in parts from a member of this forum and largely regret doing so. Shit quality and in a number of important cases simply wrong parts. I also have bought some things from Matt, in every case they were perfect, not just good, PERFECT. Now if all I had to do was box the wrong part up and 2 day it back to the schlub who sold me the wrong stuff no worries I would but I LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF BF NOWHERE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA...... It is worth it to me to know with certainty that what I order is what will come out of the box and will fit the bike perfectly. That's CNW. I hate buying things twice. I made my first purchase before I knew better and was a soft target. Now I will buy from CNW and Norvil in the UK. But here is the really important thing. Matt has been incredibly helpful to my process with information and suggestions for which he made FA in $ but huge $$$ in goodwill. I don't care what old British bike or car you have or what old sports car, you have to be an idiot to think you will tangle with one of these on the cheap. Good or cheap but never good and cheap......

I don't care what old British bike or car you have or what old sports car, you have to be an idiot to think you will tangle with one of these on the cheap

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Very true. Probably the most common factor in Norton projects given up on is money. Over the years I've noticed a few new members who seem to think a Norton is an inexpensive motorcycle. Quite the contrary. Those who think otherwise soon disappear from the forum. I suspect they parted ways with what they thought would soon be a gleaming, fast, reliable Norton for little more than the purchase price. If that's what you desire, contact Colorado Norton Works.

namibchris said:

Here's my 2 cents worth. I'm about 95% of the way done on a 71 750 restoration. I LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF BUTT FUCK NOWHERE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.....consider that point for a moment re sourcing of parts.....I bought +/-3000 in parts from a member of this forum and largely regret doing so. Shit quality and in a number of important cases simply wrong parts. I also have bought some things from Matt, in every case they were perfect, not just good, PERFECT. Now if all I had to do was box the wrong part up and 2 day it back to the schlub who sold me the wrong stuff no worries I would but I LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF BF NOWHERE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA...... It is worth it to me to know with certainty that what I order is what will come out of the box and will fit the bike perfectly. That's CNW. I hate buying things twice. I made my first purchase before I knew better and was a soft target. Now I will buy from CNW and Norvil in the UK. But here is the really important thing. Matt has been incredibly helpful to my process with information and suggestions for which he made FA in $ but huge $$$ in goodwill. I don't care what old British bike or car you have or what old sports car, you have to be an idiot to think you will tangle with one of these on the cheap. Good or cheap but never good and cheap......

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My 2 cents worth.
We are lucky that there are quite a few reputable Norton parts suppliers, you can find just about anything. At the Barber Vintage Festival you will see many, almost perfectly restored, Japanese motorcycles. There is a show here in MA called Rice-o-Rama, http://www.rice-o-rama.com/, same deal. Some of the parts are very expensive, some, unobtanium. Why? many models of these bikes had a very short run, and virtually no one is making new ones, NOS ? very hard to find. Check out what someone has spent on a ground up, 100 point restoration on an early 70's Honda 500 or 750. Big $$$$. So far, I have been able to find anything I need for my '68 and "75. Some of the parts are expensive, ( NOS tach drive for the '68), but you can find them, and good quality, recently manufactured ones too.
You want a cheap ride? go buy a used Sportster.
If I had the extra money, a CNW Commando would be added to my garage ASAP.

I've read most, but not all, of the comments relating to cNw builds on this post and 'comments to complaints' about pricing and the cost of a build. I am the proud owner of Build #76 and feel somewhat informed to provide comment. First and foremost, cNw's bikes are meant to be ridden and it would be unfortunate if someone had one of these bikes built just so they could put it in their garage or living room and admire the workmanship. As far as price is concerned, both for a cNw bike and for the parts that one can buy from Matt, please consider that Matt no doubt has to charge these prices to keep his business solvent. I would think it unlikely if Matt will ever recover an equivalent amount of money to the time and energy that he has invested in improving these bikes. The last thing that I would want would be for Matt to go out of business because he was losing money. My hat's off to the few true craftsman that have made our Norton's more than anyone ever dreamed they could be.