Combat differences

worntorn said:
The strange thing is that the standard issue 750 Commando was quicker than the Honda 750 four.
It was likely the Kawasaki H2 Triple that Norton was chasing. That came out in 71. Then in 72 Kawasaki brought out the Z1. 82 reliable horses there vs 65 very unreliable horses with the Combat. No chance of winning that fight.



Glen
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You need to consider the times in which the Honda 4 and the Combat were current. In those days motor scooters, duffle coats and desert boots were the go. A Combat was a real motorcycle. That is not what was wanted. Most people could not ride a Norton 650ss or Triumph Bonneville 650 in the way in which God intended.
Norton's primary interest was racing, road bikes were secondary. Most race bikes do not make good road bikes, but something which resembles a race bike can feed a fantasy.
I have both raced and ridden road bikes. It is pretty much impossible to get fair dinkum on a road bike. You simply cannot use a road bike on public roads, in the same way as a race bike on a race circuit.
I think a Suzuki GSXR750 might be as close as anyone can get to having a thrill and staying sane. But even that might be too quick. One thing I would never do is road-race a modern motorcycle. The old ones are fast enough.
 
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The Norton Twin was designed from the start as a road bike, the Manx was a dedicated race bike but what parts from the Manx made it to the twins other than the notable exception of the featherbed frame. And when presented with the Featherbed frame what manufacturer would not introduce it to the road bikes, the clue is in the nickname Featherbed.
 
MichaelB said:
"The Norton was sup-posed to have had a hot “Combat” cam in it, but our readings showed the magic stick to be a slightly worn SS cam instead"
Pulled this off the net. For those that don't know, the SS is the stock cam, the 2S is the Combat. Yes, confusing.
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Are you sure about that? I have a Combat and the cam was stamped SS. I thought people refereed to the two S's as 2S. Are you saying there's a 2S stamped cam.
 
Glad you're bringing this up.
The article references their measurments on the cam as being a SS, not a 2S.
I was just trying to clarify.
Here is Dyno Daves expose on Cams.

Also want to say I am NO expert on this...
With the Cam Id's and the various Mk's, Norton is quite successful in convoluting all this.
 
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Bringing this up to this older post, but was the Combat sold as a seperate model, or was it offered as an available engine to the Roadster or some other model?
 
quawk said:
Bringing this up to this older post, but was the Combat sold as a seperate model, or was it offered as an available engine to the Roadster or some other model?
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AFAIK, the Combat engine was available from the factory in Roadster or Interstate only. There was no separate model.
 
marshg246 said:
AFAIK, the Combat engine was available from the factory in Roadster or Interstate only. There was no separate model.
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Any idea what the additional charge was for the optional Combat engine was from the factory?
 
Wasn't an option, it was the Standard engine for the Roadster and Interstate.
Hi Rider got the Non Combat.
 
acotrel said:
I might be a doubting thomas, but I would almost guarantee that when most guys skim a head to get more compression, they ride the bike without changing the jetting or ignition timing. It the motor is jetted slightly rich or the ignition is slightly retarded, increasing the compression will give an increase in power. Perhaps the same increase might have been achieved by optimising the jetting and ignition timing, without skimming the head ?
When you skim the head, do you worry about the squish band losing clearance ?
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Increasing compression within limits will always give more power when tuned properly.

There's a reason why moden automotive engines have static compression ratio in the high 11:1 range. They not only produce more power, but vastly increased fuel economy.
 
Every Interstate (within the Combat production series).
The Combat series wasn't introduced until 200976 so not all '1972' were Combats.
 
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