Commando buyers guide

Status
Not open for further replies.
Interesting bit here:

"Interestingly, there’s a company called Norvil that still make parts for original Commandos, meaning you can buy literally any part of the bike you need, fresh out of the factory without having to take a risk on a questionable used or refurbished part – this has made Commando ownership an order of magnitude easier to manage for many."
 
Commando Buyers guide - with the way prices are going should just read "As long's its straight and all there fill your boots. They'll never be as cheap again" :D
 
Gino Rondelli said:
Commando Buyers guide - with the way prices are going should just read "As long's its straight and all there fill your boots. They'll never be as cheap again" :D
Click to expand...

Gino...they are cheap if you want to sell one. Only expensive if you want buy one. :)
 
illf8ed said:
Gino Rondelli said:
Commando Buyers guide - with the way prices are going should just read "As long's its straight and all there fill your boots. They'll never be as cheap again" :D
Click to expand...

Gino...they are cheap if you want to sell one. Only expensive if you want buy one. :)
Click to expand...

Buying one is easy. Owning it is what's expensive.
 
pete.v said:
illf8ed said:
Gino Rondelli said:
Commando Buyers guide - with the way prices are going should just read "As long's its straight and all there fill your boots. They'll never be as cheap again" :D
Click to expand...

Gino...they are cheap if you want to sell one. Only expensive if you want buy one. :)
Click to expand...

Buying one is easy. Owning it is what's expensive.
Click to expand...

That is a great way of putting it......didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
 
"Machine of the Year Award for 5 years from '68 to '72???? Wow, guess the Honda 750-4 introduced in '69 went under the radar. Norton may have been quicker 0-60, but the engineering and design of the reliable Honda motor was waaaay ahead, especially for the cost differential. Guess it wasn't until the emergence and total dominance of the 900Z Kawi in '73 that Motor Cycle News had to finally relent.
 
SquareHead said:
There is a '75 Interstate on eBay right now. I talked to the guy about it. It needs quite a bit of work. And the gas tank is not original. It's a fiberglass gas tank and fiberglass side covers. The high bid is currently at $7,000 and there are 3 days to go!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261378912209?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Click to expand...

Quite a bit of work is an understatement! One of the photo's from the rear suggests serious problems. Bike requires complete strip down in my opinion. Bids are already way too much.
 
"Machine of the Year Award for 5 years from '68 to '72???? Wow
Click to expand...

ah, but consider the source

not surprisingly, a British motorcycle magazine

in an era when Japanese products were still looked at with suspicion
 
My understanding is that it was a poll done by readers of the magazine, rather than by the magazine itself. Incidentally, the Commando polled 3rd on the 6th year. Quite an achievement for a long running model, especially as it ran alongside years of Trident production. :D
 
About the MCN Machine of the Year thing. Yes it was a readers poll. I seem to remember that the NOC had a large input, by encouraging members to vote!
The first 750/4 had only two areas of superiority over the Commando, brakes (especially when the C'do had a drum front brake) and reliability. The Commando would out accelerate, out handle, and had a higher top speed than the Honda. The Z1 certainly put everything into a different perspective!
cheers
wakeup
 
The Honda, like all earlier Hondas from that era, also produced some nasty tingling vibration, but we were young and ignored such things.
At seventy mph in top gear the Honda carried 16 plus pounds weight ( motorcycle only) per ft. Lb torque vs 9.8 pounds for the Norton. Even with two up, the Norton it still out torques the Honda with only a rider on board.
Smoother and more powerful, lighter, better handling and definitely prettier, no wonder the Commando was machine of the year, it deserved to be. And back then I rode Hondas and the occasional Yamaha!

The real reason Japanese bikes sold so well back then- they were dirt cheap!
In comparison to the US or the UK, the Japanese had a very low cost wage structure back then. I bought a number of Japanese bikes, not because they were somehow superior to the Norton I really wanted, but because I could afford them.


Glen
 
Art of War says know your competition. Once used up they were'n't as cool as the next model so not cost effective to store em long and yhey waste away rather worse than Nortons. I and others actually see Commando's on tour even w/o a rally of any sort going on but only CB750's I see occasionally are its engine in low brow frame dragging choppers. Actually a handsome bike to me, until up close its utilitarium Japanese econo car construction. I well remember the era of friends mixing it up with Bonneville's and BSA's but not a Norton. Honda makes a some ferice mechanical racket passing through torque peak.

Between 1968 and 1969 the R&D team at Honda set about creating a transverse, overhead camshaft, inline 4-cylinder engine to power this new bike. This engine was mated to an all-new 5-speed transmission; the engine was fitted with 4 carburetors (one for each cylinder) and was capable of 68 horsepower, 44 lb-ft of torque, a top speed of over 120 mph, and a 1/4 mile time of 13 seconds.

These specifications were revolutionary. When the bike was first put on sale in 1969 the word “superbike” was coined to describe it. At a cost of just $1,495 USD (~$9,500 in 2013), the Honda CB750 had a huge price advantage over its rivals and it came as standard with hydraulic disc brakes, a reliable engine, excellent handling and enough power to beat almost anything on 2 wheels (or 4). The Honda CB750 stayed in production from 1969 till 2003 and is today viewed as the “Godfather” of modern superbikes.
Click to expand...
http://www.ebaymotorsblog.com/ebay-buyi ... nda-cb750/
 
There was a band here ( the Screaming Meemee) that made #1 in the early 80's. Rumour had it that they spent a lot of money buying all the singles from around the record shops.
These days people only remember they had a #1.
Thats my take on MCN's polls.
 
I remember when you could buy EX WD WM20s for £50, as a 16 year old that was a great price for a 500, until you realized that it was a side valve Slug
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Bonzo
Commando (and F1) in this months CBG mag
Replies
9
Views
641
SteveBorland
S
Q
Commando brief TV appearance
2
Replies
26
Views
1,308
jan nelder
J
B
All Road Norton Commando
Replies
4
Views
605
brayhill54
B
M
C V carbs on a commando
Replies
9
Views
543
concours
concours
K
John player norton commando fairing kit
Replies
5
Views
409
Rich_j
R
Back
Top