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[DucsandNortons]

I see it quite simply as the bike has character! Those quirks and glitches that require ones attention; those moments when kickstarting looks like a gym membership gone wrong; those spots on the garage floor that leave you asking 'hmmm... where's it dribbling from this time?; the electrics that work most of the time; those cable actuated drum brakes that leave you wishing you had disks and hoping you have enough room to stop or slow in time; the clutch the g/f needs both hands to squeeze....(keeps her on her own bike!); that sweeet sound; real wire wheels and skinny tires (tyres for the other side of the pond) and that Norton wiggle; the handling that says come on just a little bit more!; carburettors and their own catalog of idiosyncrasies; shifting backwards and with the other foot and having to rethink to yourself to shift accordingly and then finding it more natural than the other bikes you have going the other way; the fact it shifts so much nicer than the BMW R1100RT beside it in the garage; the guaranteed crowd it always draws no matter what they rode in on, be it Japanese or Harley.
It transcends the Harley vs Japanese boundary the bike community so often falls victim too and leaves people nodding their heads in admiration ...together!! Its mere presence commands respect.
Cool, it's waaay beyond cool!!!

Just my .02


Cheers,

Simon.

 

[kanlimey]

Gentlemen and ladies-
Found the forum when I was casting about looking for a good photo or paint chip for Fireflake golden bronze. Still hung between that, Fireflake Royal blue or a non-stock maroon for the latest 850 Roadster. Great forum! Nice to be surrounded on a slow work day by folks who are as ate-up with this as I seem to be! Why ate-up with it?
1) Nortons are cool.
2) Nortons are fast.
3) Nortons are different.
4) Nortons are about 30 grand cheaper than Vincents!

Live on the edge, the view's better.

Mike
Kansas, America

'69 R, '70 Fastback, '70 Roadster, '71 SS, '72 Mutt (Combat w/'71 engine replacement), '73 750 Interstate, '73 850 Roadster, '74 Hi Rider, '67 Bonnie, '71 Daytona, '79 Bonnie, '03 100 ann. Bonnie, '72 T-Bolt, 3-'67 E-Type Jags, 2 Rental houses, 1 neurotic girlfriend. Who says stress is a BAD thing?

 

[mike mcmanus]

Geez Fellas and Lady, what a great thread this has turned into, it's good to hear what you have to say about Nortons, and with all due respect to Hewho this wasn't meant to override his ongoing saga about ' WHY WE CHOSE NORTONS ' i was just interested in the seemingly recent surge in forum membership, and it doesn't seemed to have slowed down judging by all the posts from new members.

Regards Mike.

 

[ILLF8ED]

norton nuts

Ron you posted:

I'm still puzzled by the fact that a late '60's unit twin Bonneville will fetch as much as $10K (Daytona '06 auction) while an immaculate Commando will be lucky to top $8K! It seems there were two Bonnevilles sold to one Commando, so it isn't rarity. E-Bay has 4 Commando's on auction and nearly 20 650 Bonnevilles! We all know the Commando is a superior motorcycle
==============================================
The Bonneville didn't have much competition yet from the Japanese during the 60s. Triumph created a classic barrier with the changes to their range in 1971. It's similar to Harely being taken over by AMF in the same year. The Commando has to deal with the paradigm of the Honda 750 and Kawasaki 900. Looking at '71 and above the Commando prices seem to be higher than Triumph.

I restored a '68 Bonneville several years ago and agree from that experience the 60s Triumph is no match for a Commando in any aspect other than esthetics.

 

[hewhoistoolazytologin]

with all due respect to Hewho this wasn't meant to override his ongoing saga about ' WHY WE CHOSE NORTONS '

No offence...

I think the main point is, that some of us who aren't perhaps normaly in the habit of doing so, are expressing ourselves...about more than just metal and paint and lousy electrics. They are delving into what is, in reality, the most important aspect of all this. The human side of being attracted to a such a posessive, demanding, and apparently, often, rewarding lady.

If it wasn't for this emotional side of the story......even these wonderful machines...would have no more value to us than a rusty pile of nuts and bolts....... so who cares which thread gets used as an outlet for all this......not I.......:wink: