Commando prices surprising....

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johnm said:
If I were buying, and I'm not, I'd like to know a bit more about what's inside the engine. Nothing mentioned in the advertisement. I thought I heard a bit of piston slap in the walk around video. And the camshafts on those bikes can be an issue.

But it sure looks nice and the quality of the upgrades suggests the owner knows enough to sort the engine/ gearbox too.
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The thing about that is trusting the honesty of the seller, its a gamble with anything second hand but most of us who have owned Nortons for a long time do know the signs to look for but to the novice can be another thing, paying top $$$ means nothing as there are so many dishonest people out there as well get the so called professional Norton builder who has done the work and how many have been burned by that one to find major butcher job done to the rebuild where more money has to be thrown into it to make things right, why its always good to arrange a good test ride, if they don't want you to test ride it and for that price I know people are relaxant to let people test ride but you can always take them for a ride on the back or follow them on another bike after getting all their details first, as well doing a check on the bike to make sure they do own it and no money owing on it.
 
ashman said:
Lots of high priced Nortons around but are they getting the money they are asking for them, but prices for any bikes are all going up same as everything, as fuel prices go up people are looking at things that are cheap to run but paying a lot for a classic bike who knows, maybe a collector with to much money, or someone who has always wanted one but didn't want to do the work on it, when I use to look at the prices of Norton's some kept being readvertised over and over again without any bids, plenty of lookers and prob a lot of offers but still readvertised, sometime taken off but readvertise a few weeks or months later.
We all love to get high prices for our bikes when its time to sell, but sometimes it just don't happen and have to rethink the high price, then you get the unrealistic offers from fools or dreamers and tyre kickers.

Ashley
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I would rather have the bike than a stack of paper notes...money is easily replaced...bikes not so much...
 
KiwiShane said:
I thought i heard piston slap as well..lol
They will throw that in for free :)
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Back at the shop where I worked at we had a nice MKIII on the sales floor. It was a hard sell because if it sat too long the automatic primary chain adjuster would collapse. At the initial start it would clatter until the adjuster pumped up and the interested party would pass on it.
 
worntorn said:
And a 63 Bonneville does not handle on par with a 650ss with it's Featherbed frame.
The Norton 650 ss was entered in the Thruxton 500 Production Race three times and won three times. It won by a large margin against Triumph Bonnevilles and all the other big Brit bikes.
Thruxton organizers politely asked Syd Lawton to refrain from entering it for the fourth year in order to " Give the other manufacturers a chance at winning"

Glen
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I think a Norton 650SS had a better motor than a Triumph 650 Bonneville. In Australia, the. 1963 Bonneville was better that any Triton 650 with the featherbed frame. But I watched Jack Forrest at Bathurst trounce a whole A grade Allpowers field with a Norton 650SS. Very few people had Norton twins in Australia in the 1960s. The featherbed frame has it's limitations. A Manx with 19 inch wheels is a sheer joy to ride, but anything else with a featherbed frame is often not much. The theory is a fast motor in the best frame, makes a good bike. But it does not often work like that. Tom Phillis rode the Domiracer to a 100 MPH lap of the IOM. But that does not mean anyone could do it.
 
When I built my Seeley 850, I thought the motor was a piece of garbage. However when I finally got around to racing the bike, I found out different. I do not know how Norton could have got that motor so right. The same applies to the Featherbed Manx. The main reason the Manx always handles better than any Triton is probably it's weight distribution. How did the McCandless brothers know where to position the motor ? You don't build something as good as that by chance. I once had the opportunity to buy a very original 1961 500cc Manx. It was when you needed a fast two-stroke to win races, so I did not buy it. These days, if you had one, you would not use it.
 
I raced my short stroke 500cc Triton for about 12 years in the 60s and 70s against modern bikes in Allpowers' races, and was always able to keep up. My bike probably handled as good as any Triton could be made to handle. When I rode the 500cc Manx, I found out why they were loved so much. It was slower down the straights, but in corners I could ride the Manx much faster than any Triton. The 1963 Triumph Bonneville post-dates the 500cc Manx. It actually handles. A Seeley is a different kettle of fish altogether. it is entirely different. I would not try to race with a Commando frame.
 
We seem to have drifted somewhat from "the surprising cost of commandos"
 
Re buying a used bike: IMO, you can't trust anybody selling a used anything. I bought my Norton in '06 from a very well known US seller of Brittbikes who stated it was ready to ride across the country! Not being able to go pick it up, I had it delivered via truck and it took me a full day to get it to fire at all and it ran terribly when finally started. The fix to get it running was to replace the bad Boyer (I switched back to OEM points/AAU). Also: it had no oil in either of the internally rusted forks, it had one broken rear shock (rod separated internally from the plunger), and a clutch so stiff it nearly took two hands on the lever to release. There was more but that will give you an idea. The bike was essentially a non runner and UNSAFE to ride. ASSUMING they could have gotten it started, there is no way it could have been ridden safely around the block let alone across the country.

Due diligence is mandatory for such purchases and I definitely failed on that account because I trusted the well-known seller. ;)
 
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KiwiShane said:
3 Commando's currently for sale in NZ
The Mk3 just got its first bid

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It does look the best option of those three.

I have the CNW front brake and hydraulic clutch on my Mk11 so I know what that costs to instal in NZ. I have no experience of the CNW upgrade to the Mk111 starter but own the Mk11 CNW starter and that's an excellent product. But it will cost you NZ$4700 plus shipping and NZ import duty. Definitely way more than NZ$5 k.

I also overhauled my engine with JS motorsport pistons, longer rods, balanced crank , valves guides, premier carbs, gearbox shell, couple of new gears, ikon shocks, Landsdown forks battery tyres and on and on. My bike owes me way more than NZ$30 k. So it's certainly easy to get up there.

I'd be surprised if anyone would pay me 30 k for it but it would definitely cost way more than that to replace.

Lots of people might say I'm crazy but I have owned it 40 plus years. I worked all over the world saving for retirement and when I came home I gave me and it a big birthday / Christmas present. So it's my crazy. Maybe that's why these bikes can still get a decent price right now. It's the last hurrah. In 10 years it may be different although I'll never sell mine. If I can't ride it anymore it can sit in the lounge. :)
 
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johnm said:
It does look the best option of those three.

I have the CNW front brake and hydraulic clutch on my Mk11 so I know what that costs to instal in NZ. I have no experience of the CNW upgrade to the Mk111 starter but own the Mk11 CNW starter and that's an excellent product.

I also overhauled my engine with JS motorsport pistons, longer rods, balanced crank , valves guides, premier carbs, gearbox shell, couple of new gears, ikon shocks, Landsdown forks battery tyres and on and on. My bike owes me way more than NZ$30 k. So it's certainly easy to get up there.

I'd be surprised if anyone would pay me 30 k for it but it would definitely cost way more than that to replace.

Lots of people might say I'm crazy but I have owned it 40 plus years. I worked all over the world saving for retirement and when I came home I gave me and it a big birthday / Christmas present. So it's my crazy. Maybe that's why these bikes can still get a decent price right now. It's the last hurrah. In 10 years it may be different although I'll never sell mine. If I can't ride it anymore it can sit in the lounge. :)
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Well you almost have a crazy identical motorcycle as mine..lol...ive had 37 years of pleasure with my MK2...quess we have 2 lounge features for the future :)
 

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johnm said:
It does look the best option of those three.

I have the CNW front brake and hydraulic clutch on my Mk11 so I know what that costs to instal in NZ. I have no experience of the CNW upgrade to the Mk111 starter but own the Mk11 CNW starter and that's an excellent product. But it will cost you NZ$4700 plus shipping and NZ import duty. Definitely way more than NZ$5 k.

I also overhauled my engine with JS motorsport pistons, longer rods, balanced crank , valves guides, premier carbs, gearbox shell, couple of new gears, ikon shocks, Landsdown forks battery tyres and on and on. My bike owes me way more than NZ$30 k. So it's certainly easy to get up there.

I'd be surprised if anyone would pay me 30 k for it but it would definitely cost way more than that to replace.

Lots of people might say I'm crazy but I have owned it 40 plus years. I worked all over the world saving for retirement and when I came home I gave me and it a big birthday / Christmas present. So it's my crazy. Maybe that's why these bikes can still get a decent price right now. It's the last hurrah. In 10 years it may be different although I'll never sell mine. If I can't ride it anymore it can sit in the lounge. :)
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I never look at my motorcycles as investments. If they hold their own or increase in value so much the better. It’s a hobby I enjoy and I spend what I can afford on them . While I have a few varying hobbies , the cost of indulgence in them is far less than what some others may spend on their toys . Even a small outboard motorboat isn’t cheap anymore by the time you pay for dockage , fuel etc .
Then there is aviation - YIKES
It’s about the experience - if you travel on holiday or even go out for a meal or to the movies or a concert , what do you have when you are done?
 
Wearing its Interstate hat. I also have the Roadster black and gold set-up.
 

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johnm said:
Wearing its Interstate hat. I also have the Roadster black and gold set-up.
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I would love to get hold of a steel 6 gallon tank like yours ...beautiful bike mate...it was a red interstate that hooked me on the Commando's...and I still don't have one !!...patience is a virtue ....
 
KiwiShane said:
I would love to get hold of a steel 6 gallon tank like yours ...beautiful bike mate...it was a red interstate that hooked me on the Commando's...and I still don't have one !!...patience is a virtue ....
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My first commando was a red interstate mk2a
I changed it to a black roadster
 
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