Commando side panel decals

nickjtc · Feb 27, 2013

At risk of sounding really anal :? , and having way too much time on my hands at work......

I will be repainting my '71 Commando back to its factory colour of signal orange shortly. This will obviously entail replacing the various decals on the bike. So, here's the thought: on all of the advertising literature for the bike, and looking at the majority of bikes out there, the side panel decals are applied parallel to the top edge of the side panel.

However, this means the decal is not horizontal, especially on the left side. This does not look quite 'right' to me. :wink: So, what's a person to do? Be totally 'authentic' or buck the trend and place the decals level with the ground?

Also, decals towards the top of the side panel or closer to the mid-line?

concours · Feb 27, 2013

Keep it parallel to body lines.. As shown. Vehicles with logos/signage level with earth just look stupid, when the body lines are inclined. IMHO
I notice commercial vehicles every day, (ESPECIALLY pickups) signage applied with a level, looks added on, afterthought, amateur attempt.

BillT · Feb 27, 2013

Here's a '71 brochure:

http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Brochures/1970/1971Commando.pdf

The decal on the Front page orange bike is level, not parallel to the top of the side cover, and it's even the left side!

bwolfie · Feb 27, 2013

Level it with the world, anything else just looks off.

dynodave · Mar 1, 2013

nickjtc said:
snip
: So, what's a person to do? Be totally 'authentic' or buck the trend and place the decals level with the ground?

snip

Buck the trend ...which is.... to have body shop guys that don't have a clue put the decals.
Commando side decals have from new been parallel with the ground and the top of the Z plate. At least that's how I remember it starting with my first commando I got in 1971. In the last 40 years I have watched as the uphillers have crept in like cancer.

So many bikes are shown with crooked up hill decals and I want to throw up....laugh or cry
When I am asked to do show judging, in my book, an uphill decal imediately gets the bike rejected. I don't care otherwise how bling bling it might be.

DogT · Mar 1, 2013

I couldn't agree more with DD. Just look at the brochures. 'Uphillers', I love it.

Dave
69S

nickjtc · Mar 1, 2013

Hmmmmm. Thanks for the replies.

I have the brochure with the orange bike on it (which is how mine is going to end up) and guess I just did not notice the horizontal-ness of the decals on the side panels. So I'm assuming that all of the Commandos I have seen with the decals skewed 'uphill' have been repainted at some point and the decals put on parallel with the top just make it easier...... :?:

Except..... the brand new orange right side panel I just got off eBay (been in a box in Australia for the last 42 years) has the decal parallel with the long top edge, just to confuse matters.

Rohan · Mar 1, 2013

nickjtc said:
Except..... the brand new orange right side panel I just got off eBay (been in a box in Australia for the last 42 years) has the decal parallel with the long top edge, just to confuse matters.

Don't know precisely which sidecover this was - there has has discussion elsewhere about some of those "original" sidecovers in boxes. Some of them appear to be repaints, and cannot be relied on to be entirely factory accurate. The pinstriping was also set too far to one side on them to be correct either - or the pinstriper was having an off day ?! = Factory, or showroom, rejects ??

acadian · Mar 2, 2013

Meh, just eyeball it...

Guido · Mar 2, 2013

Personally, I prefer it to be level. That's just the artist in me.
Who's to say that when Norton was doing the decals that the guy installing them on a bench just put them on parallel with the top edge because that looked better on the bench.
I wonder if any of those guy are still alive and registered on this site. Maybe they could chime in.

Rohan · Mar 2, 2013

It has been asked here before, several times, if Nortons had their own paint shop.
Or if they were painted outside.

No answer on this, so far.
You never see pics of the tanks being painted or lined either..... ?

The tanks were likely made/pressed outside too ??
Did we see an Italian maker mentioned somewhere ?

Details welcome !!

marston rhode · Mar 3, 2013

I don't know about Plumstead-built Commandos, but all later ones had panels, both plastic and steel, that were made and painted/lined by sub-contractors. Decals were applied in the Andover and, later, Wolverhampton factories.
Decals are supposed to be parallel to the Z-plate, just like they're shown in the brochures. Any that are not parallel are re-paints.
I know this for a fact as I was there from 1969 to 1974 and, amongst other things, took care of the photo-shoot bikes to ensure they exactly matched the Design Office specification.

Onder · Mar 3, 2013

...from the horse's mouth!

Guido · Mar 3, 2013

marston rhode said:
I don't know about Plumstead-built Commandos, but all later ones had panels, both plastic and steel, that were made and painted/lined by sub-contractors. Decals were applied in the Andover and, later, Wolverhampton factories.
Decals are supposed to be parallel to the Z-plate, just like they're shown in the brochures. Any that are not parallel are re-paints.
I know this for a fact as I was there from 1969 to 1974 and, amongst other things, took care of the photo-shoot bikes to ensure they exactly matched the Design Office specification.

You sir are such a valuable source of knowledge to this post. That settles that.

Rohan · Mar 3, 2013

Thank you, that is a valuable contribution.

In the Plumstead era, the tank and sidecovers were fibreglass. With the colour (mostly) in the gelcoat, it seems.
The name of the supplier of the fiberglass bits is in Mick Woolletts book on Commandos - can't quite recall offhand.

DogT · Mar 3, 2013

Guido said:
. That settles that.

Yeah, but will anyone pay attention?

Dave
69S

marston rhode · Mar 3, 2013

Rohan said:
Thank you, that is a valuable contribution.

In the Plumstead era, the tank and sidecovers were fibreglass. With the colour (mostly) in the gelcoat, it seems.
The name of the supplier of the fiberglass bits is in Mick Woolletts book on Commandos - can't quite recall offhand.

As I said above, I only know about Andover and Wolverhampton days when the glass tanks and panels were made by Mitchenall Bros at Durrington, about 15 miles West of the Andover site. In one of their 're-organisations', Mitchenalls became Composite Laminated Products and then CLP; their factory has been a housing estate for many years now.
Fibreglass panels were made either by the hand lay-up process, which could incorporate the coloured gel coat (including Fireflake) or later by cold-press where there was a male and female tool clamped together to produce a smooth interior as well as exterior. I seem to recall that these panels had to be painted.
S-Type, early Roadster and Interstate, and late Fastback, were all hand lay-up. I think only Roadster-type panels were produced by cold-press, but I'm not absolutely sure of that.
Fibreglass tanks were all hand lay-up with coloured gel coats, the upper and lower parts being glued together with a resin/filler 'pudding'.

DogT · Mar 3, 2013

Pudding? Isn't that a kind of 'desert' as we call it here in the US?

Kidding. Glad to hear how it was done. Did you know Frank Damp, he's on the forum once in a while.

Dave
69S

marston rhode · Mar 4, 2013

DogT said:
Did you know Frank Damp, he's on the forum once in a while.

Dave
69S

No, Frank and I have had PM conversations not so long ago, but our times at Wolverhampton didn't overlap.

nickjtc · Mar 7, 2013

marston rhode said:
I don't know about Plumstead-built Commandos, but all later ones had panels, both plastic and steel, that were made and painted/lined by sub-contractors. Decals were applied in the Andover and, later, Wolverhampton factories.
Decals are supposed to be parallel to the Z-plate, just like they're shown in the brochures. Any that are not parallel are re-paints.
I know this for a fact as I was there from 1969 to 1974 and, amongst other things, took care of the photo-shoot bikes to ensure they exactly matched the Design Office specification.

All very interesting stuff about what is perhaps a not-too-interesting topic. Good to get information direct from the source.

Hmmm. I hope that this is not a repaint because I have just had my paint guy mix me up a batch to match it!

And to add another bit of anal-ness: Is the fact that the decal is placed closer to the top of the side panel (rather than towards the middle as in the brochure here: http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Broch ... mmando.pdf ) confirmation of the the fact that it it is a re-paint?

Commando side panel decals

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