Commando Versus Modern

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olChris said:
When I park at the pub, there is never a Japo bike to be seen there anymore. And no longer any of their riders at the bar. The message was clear inside, and outside. NOT welcome! There is a late night coffee shop just down the road for sissy's!!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_zeiKrRTuk

On the way to the pub.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUpDG680uew

hahaha Just taking the piss :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:[/quote]

Very good Chris.
Yes just like the wild wild west where I lived (up the road from you) for six years. They finally found my air rifle too and took that off me.
Ex wife told the cops I was harbouring weapons, an air rifle?? Give me a break!!
You don't need a weapon when riding a Commando, it is a serious weapon on its own. Most of the Japo's scattered just seeing it. The rest went for their lives on hearing it. Some went to the coffee shop, others to the gay bar in Bowral.
I don't care where they went, they aren't where I drink anymore!

Phil
 
Time Warp said:
phil yates said:
The current crop of Japo's are forgotten in a year or so.
Forty years? Not a chance!! Just rusted pieces of poor quality metal shit.
But mostly plastic anyway!!

Phil
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All steel and cost more than a Commando these days,who would have thought.
I wonder if Redline in the USA got their H2 to run faster than a 7.7 ET / 177 mph.
http://classic-motorbikes.net/images/ga ... aki-h2.jpg

I'm sure most folk ride what ever makes them happy,classic,contemporary or both,easy to forget once once upon a time the former was the latter.
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Try selling one Time, and see what you get for it. Let me know, because I do know.
Throw away pieces of crap! Here today, gone tomorrow. Fast pieces of modern junk.
With a resale value of niltch. Why are you defending them in here?
I told you I was very worried about you.
I thought you'd be a goer for the coffee shop, I'm starting to wonder.
 
The main street of Mittagong was once lined with Jap Crap.
Not one to be seen nowadays. When the Commando turns up,
cars, trucks and the lot take a detour. No one wants to tackle
a Commando!!
 

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Friday night was once a big night for gay Japo riders.
Now all gone to Bowral.
 

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ed.lazda said:
I love my Norton. Last summer it gave me my best day's riding ever, in the company a group who like to ride briskly, on modern bikes, around the twisty roads of mid Wales. Managed to keep up with the Multistrada, Triumph Sprint, K1200, etc except when the road straightened out a bit. I was constantly amazed by the ability of this 40-year old bike to go round corners like it was on rails. Not to mention looking the part, and the soundtrack, as growl turns to snarl and then glorious howl as the revs rise, then that lovely resonant boom on the overrun.

For a while we were followed through some twisties by a young guy on an Aprilia. He got past after a mile or so, but we met up again at the cafe. He hadn't been able to work out from behind what I was riding, and said to one of my mates, "That guy on the moped was doing OK. I've got fatter tyres on my mountain bike."

I've got a Yamaha TDM900 which, objectively is a much better bike in all respects, and which I like very much. But given the choice, I'd ride my Norton.
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You have to laugh at some of these guys. My main worry is that one day I'll be riding my Seeley 850 at Winton Raceway and there will be a good rider with an RS125 Honda there on the circuit with me.
 
I could more easily race a modern bike than my Seeley 850 and I'd certainly win more races. For me, that is not what racing is about. With a modern bike the development is much more expensive, and usually simply 'bolt-on'. The Seeley commando gives me the opportunity to apply my brain, and that is what my whole working life as a scientist was about. With the commando based bike, your starting point for development is well down, and everything you do brings a response. For satisfaction there is nothing like working on your bike, then taking it to a meeting and finding that with it you can outride most of the others who are there. I know that one day I'm going to have to buy myself a crashed R1 Yamaha, fix it and take it to a few race meetings. These days I don't enjoy the adrenalin rush, however I believe the exercise would be worth doing.
I suggest with modern bikes, the problems of going fast are similar to what happens with older bikes, however they occur at a quantum leap forward in top speed and acceleration and handling. It really scares me when I see beginners racing modern super-bikes. About 4 years ago we had a kid fall off one during a superbike race at Mallala in South Australia. The reason for his crash was that he used a qualifier tyre. He fell off when he was going in virtually what was a straight line, and slid for about 150 metres into a guard fence.
 
The issues with moderns are identical to vintage except that on advanced moderns the frequency and speed and forces of upsetting oscillations and spring backs from tires patch orientation to forks suspension and frame on top of engine pulse character come on later and harsher than the old sluggish stuff. Modern things still have a ways to go to keep up with some the antique craft but these exceptions to the rule so are very rare and special

Commando Versus Modern
 
Acotrel, they were just riding briskly, not racing, and almost certainly not exploring the limits of their bikes. I was just surprised -- and a bit impressed -- that we didn't reach the limits of my Norton.
 
I once went on a ride through mid Wales too, in about 2002. I was on a stock-ish T160 (OK, not a Commando, but similar ilk). The rest were on moderns. These included a modern Triumph, R1, Fireblade and a Buell (with 1200 Harley motor).

The only guy I couldn't keep up with was the Buell rider. But that's because he was the better rider.

On one memorable blast, I got the T160 up to max speed, I couldn't tell how fast as the speedo was all over the place! At our next stop the R1 rider came up to me and said:
"Blimey that old thing goes well, you were doing 120mph back there"
To which I replied:
"Well, I was doing 8,000rpm"
He then walked off, shaking his head, saying:
"But I was doing 8,000rpm!!"
What I didn't tell him was that mine was only supposed to rev to 7,000 whereas his would go to 14,000!!!
Moral of the story: On that road, his power didn't matter. We were both riding as fast as we were comfortably able to. I was riding mine at 100% and he was riding his at (approx.) 40%... and our speed was the same!
So of course modern bikes are far superior to our old relics, anyone who denies this has simply not ridden a good modern bike! But the real questions are:
Are the roads good enough to allow them their advantage?
And moreover:
Is the average rider able to get that potential performance out of their machine?
The answer to both is often 'no'!
 
You are right there Eddie!
I went for a "bit of a run" with a mate who road a Vello Clubman every day, so up to the cat for a beer after tea , i was surprised how quick he took the bends! My zzr1100 147 bhp..him 38 bhp! I know he was going full bore,and wanted to show me a thing or two! We both know the cat from Macc is well tricky, and passing him would have ment me going to fast into the the next bend..so the duel continued untill the last straight...taught me a lession ..that in the right conditions a good classic can put up a fair showing..with a brave pilot!

Any way Kwak ZZR11' s where friggin star ships! a few months later i passed a Triumph speed triple and beat him to the cat..he walked over and said..Bloody hell! i didnt think these went round bends? how right he was! Ponderus and heavy..great for the Us of A!
 
john robert bould said:
You are right there Eddie!
I went for a "bit of a run" with a mate who road a Vello Clubman every day, so up to the cat for a beer after tea , i was surprised how quick he took the bends! My zzr1100 147 bhp..him 38 bhp! I know he was going full bore,and wanted to show me a thing or two! We both know the cat from Macc is well tricky, and passing him would have ment me going to fast into the the next bend..so the duel continued untill the last straight...taught me a lession ..that in the right conditions a good classic can put up a fair showing..with a brave pilot!

Any way Kwak ZZR11' s where friggin star ships! a few months later i passed a Triumph speed triple and beat him to the cat..he walked over and said..Bloody hell! i didnt think these went round bends? how right he was! Ponderus and heavy..great for the Us of A!
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If either had been on a Commando, you never would have passed them anywhere, let alone stay with them on the bends.
The Norton's handling surpasses anything before it, and anything long past it. It is lithe, light and with steering so quick a Japo would be still looking for where it went on bend one, whilst it was negating bend two. It makes a mockery of everyday modern motorcycles in feel, weight, handling and appearance. There are more spare parts and mods available today for a Commando than there ever were in the 70's. 80's, or 90's.

Just ask yourself, why is this so?
The answer is obvious!
 
Phil,
Games over, you are just pulling every ones chain. LOL!


phil yates said:
john robert bould said:
You are right there Eddie!
I went for a "bit of a run" with a mate who road a Vello Clubman every day, so up to the cat for a beer after tea , i was surprised how quick he took the bends! My zzr1100 147 bhp..him 38 bhp! I know he was going full bore,and wanted to show me a thing or two! We both know the cat from Macc is well tricky, and passing him would have ment me going to fast into the the next bend..so the duel continued untill the last straight...taught me a lession ..that in the right conditions a good classic can put up a fair showing..with a brave pilot!

Any way Kwak ZZR11' s where friggin star ships! a few months later i passed a Triumph speed triple and beat him to the cat..he walked over and said..Bloody hell! i didnt think these went round bends? how right he was! Ponderus and heavy..great for the Us of A!
Click to expand...

If either had been on a Commando, you never would have passed them anywhere, let alone stay with them on the bends.
The Norton's handling surpasses anything before it, and anything long past it. It is lithe, light and with steering so quick a Japo would be still looking for where it went on bend one, whilst it was negating bend two. It makes a mockery of everyday modern motorcycles in feel, weight, handling and appearance. There are more spare parts and mods available today for a Commando than there ever were in the 70's. 80's, or 90's.

Just ask yourself, why is this so?
The answer is obvious!
Click to expand...
 
john robert bould said:
Phil,
Games over, you are just pulling every ones chain. LOL!

I think you are old enough to pull your own chain.
If Jap machinery is what you prefer, your call.
There are more people interested in Commandos nowadays than ever before. Just look at the sale prices. Do you think people are just parking them in the lounge room? Well, maybe some are. But a lot of motorcyclists are sick to death of modern dull plastic crap that advertises ridiculous unusable horsepower and the appearance difference of that between two plastic coke bottles. I don't blame them.

Norton is a marque that will never be forgotten, and the Commando a model always to be revered. Take a look around you and see what is going on in the world. The Japos have had their day and unless they come up with some smart alternatives, they may die just as they started, left only to pump out dirt bikes.

That's a big call, but it is only early days. The crack has begun!
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Nortons are relics!
They are tired old dinosaurs that need to be put out out pasture. (especially the Red ones)
 
The moderns all look like big insects.

Here in Texas, we either put a saddle on them and ride 'em, or run over them with our pickup trucks (the insects that is).
 
Mark said:
Nortons are relics!
They are tired old dinosaurs that need to be put out out pasture. (especially the Red ones)
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That's what they said about vinyls when CD's came in. People started using their vinyls as dinner plates and frisbies.
In Texas? Well they hadn't even heard of vinyls, they were still using granny's gramophone with records carved out of granite.

Now the CD's are going and vinyls are back. Kids are playing 60's and 70's music instead of what's been shoved down their necks on the radio (not in Texas, radio is yet to arrive).

So be prepared to take it all back Mark, the times they are a changin!

And even if they are not, my Commando reigns supreme in the Southern Highlands.
The boys at the pub told me.
And that's all I need to know. Or want to hear.

Phil
 
texasSlick said:
The moderns all look like big insects.

Here in Texas, we either put a saddle on them and ride 'em, or run over them with our pickup trucks (the insects that is).
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I spent five weeks once at DFW airport.
All I saw were cars with guns sticking out the window.
I assumed they were Japo hunting.
But it was insects they were after?

After five weeks, DFW airport sucks.
It sucked when I got there and it sucked when I left.
I'll bet it still sucks!!

Rest of the joint looked alright though.
Nearly as flat as Oz but only 1000th the size.
And you guys call it big???

No wonder you squirt around there on Jap Crap!!
 
phil yates said:
Mark said:
Nortons are relics!
They are tired old dinosaurs that need to be put out out pasture. (especially the Red ones)
Click to expand...

That's what they said about vinyls when CD's came in. People started using their vinyls as dinner plates and frisbies.
In Texas? Well they hadn't even heard of vinyls, they were still using granny's gramophone with records carved out of granite.

Now the CD's are going and vinyls are back. Kids are playing 60's and 70's music instead of what's been shoved down their necks on the radio (not in Texas, radio is yet to arrive).

So be prepared to take it all back Mark, the times they are a changin!

And even if they are not, my Commando reigns supreme in the Southern Highlands.
The boys at the pub told me.
And that's all I need to know. Or want to hear.

Phil
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Phil, perhaps you should start your own forum. Then you can post what you like, and argue with yourself. Your life will be complete.
 
"There are more spare parts and mods available today for a Commando than there ever were in the 70's. 80's, or 90's.

Just ask yourself, why is this so?"

Because they bloody well need them !!!
 
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