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- Oct 19, 2005
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cool photo's of versions seldom seen anymore.
http://southsiders-mc.blogspot.com/2009 ... story.html
http://southsiders-mc.blogspot.com/2009 ... story.html
frankdamp said:I tried to post a comment on the Southsiders blog, but don't have the necessary accounts to be "verified". I'll post it here instead.
Overall a very interesting article. Two minor errors are in it. First off, the "Dominators" came in 500 and 600cc models. When the 650 was developed, the name of the bike was changed to "650SS", still using the Featherbed Frame. My ride-to-work bike was a rather tired company 650 SS. I think it was a 1963 model, and in 1967, it had over 100,000 miles on it. Still ran very well.
The second error pertains tio the street where the Wolverhampton factory was located. It was on Marston Road and was the site of Villers Engines, who made all the small two0strokes that powered so many of the small British bikes in the 50s and early 60s.
After the vibratory sensations you got on the 650SS and Atlas, the isos were so smooth that you were a bit mesmerised by the experience. I don't think we pushed the performance envelope as hard as riders familiar with more modern bikes do - the brakes were so bad, it was too dangerous!
Also, the test team at Wolverhampton consisted of me and one of the shop mechanics, with the odd ride by the boss, Peter Inchley. We tended to do the high speed tests at an industry test track and did the endurance tests at more modest speeds on public roads.
frankdamp said:Overall a very interesting article. Two minor errors are in it. First off, the "Dominators" came in 500 and 600cc models. When the 650 was developed, the name of the bike was changed to "650SS", still using the Featherbed Frame.
The original model, called the 'Fastback' was joined by the production racer 'S Type' which had a high level left-side exhaust and a 2.5 gallon petrol tank.
In January 1973 the ‘Mk.5 Fastback’ was launched
That's not an 850 MkIII.Norton Commando Interstate Mk3
The range of models was reduced to just two machines, the ‘Mk.3 Interstate’ and the ‘Roadster’, both with a left side gear change,