Hi Guys!

Hello, im 16 and im slowly trying to restore a 68 fastback.
I have a question what is the original color? i'll probably have
more questions later on . Could you please help me. Thanks Jeff

When i first got it


Currently

Ah ,to be 16 again. The Fastback is the best looking Norton in my book. If you give us some numbers on the frame number plate near the steering one of us can go to research work and find the probable colours for you. The side oil tank would be a silver and many were sold with a bright orange seatcovering.Sometimes you can find traces of the original paint by looking on the underside of the gastank.Whilst under there you should notice a thin frametube running from the big backbone to the base area of the steering headbearing tube area. If there is only a big backbone tube to this area then the entire bike must be disassembled and the frame sent to a competent experienced weldshop for small tube addition work.Earliest Fastbacks only,I believe the warranty replacement has expired by now, good luck on the restoration.

Were many sold with an orange seat or just a few demonstrators ?

The fuel tank is glass-fibre so the original colour will still be there somewhere (if it's the original tank). It's your bikle though, paint it whatever colour you like ! Just don't invest too much time, effort and money if you can't guarantee ethanol-free fuel (time to search the forum !)

The frame number plate is missing but theres a number 127252 and the engine number is 20m3/127252.

And i know all about the ethanol. When i got the bike it was
full of gas and the coating was all bubbled my dad cut
the tank open and i cleaned it out and and fiberglass it back together then coated it with caswell.

What an absolutely wonderful experience you are having at age 16.

To be able to hands on learn how things work, how they come together on a motorcycle!

You will be meeting a lot of very knowledgable people here who are very willing to share and help you out.

I am jealous, I wish at age 16 that I would have had a Norton Commando!

Best wishes, and have lots of fun learning about your new bike!

I wanted a Commando at sixteen. It took me about five years to save for it though...and I'd owned it about two weeks before I had to pull it apart...

It looks as if the tank colour was originally British Racing Green from the gel coat ? That would be spot-on for 1968 combined with silver oil tank and panel.

J1125r said:

The frame number plate is missing but theres a number 127252 and the engine number is 20m3/127252.

Click to expand...

That is perfectly okay for an early Commando. That plate only appeared after one or two years or so and the first ones have the number punched directly into the headstock tube. It would be interesting to see how the headstock area looks like - the early frames didn't have the small horizontal tube but a "half tube" Gusset (a 1968 frame I have in my cellar has both) and the ign coil bracket was different.


Tim

If a teenager can take on a barn find Commando and get it gone through soup to nuts there will be few events in life to test as much and the level of confidence and self worth to take on a life time of problem solving will be a practiced skill. Once you do have it nice please be kind to all the women attracted.

Oh, Boy. That's my dream project.

Don't shoot your eye out.

Welcome.

Dave
69S

Welcome to the forum great to hear young guys getting into classic bikes just curious is you bike handed down thru family or you got it for a project either way it will take a lot of work but the satisfaction at the end is so rewarding good on you

Thanks guys! and tim i'll get you a picture.

I got the bike from dads friends brother for 1,500

A Commando requires special tools from Whitworth to major home tear down implements, a manual that must be ignored in a few vital sections and a parts book to ID the parts and assembly then network of seasoned hand holders and some luck spares ordered are correct item and fit. The level mechanics this should teach is beyond just how tight to turn a nut, but how to determine if a parts is still in spec or not to reuse and building or adjusting stuff back to spec and diagnosing what is wrong with old and brand new spares that stumps ya and us too - often. It took me five years my first time through learning curve on a good runner just leaking and smoking to embarrass. You also face decisions each step of the way to stick with real Norton or how far away from the good book to get. As vintage/classic bikes or modern motorcycles go - Commandos are bargains for what ya get but still luxury expensive for even those with careers established a while.

Girls cars and drugs and gas and school books can sure cut into a projects speed so I've heard tell. Girls cars gas and books come and go but many retain their Commandos as the one constant in life that makes one look forward to more.

Crikey . Make the best of it as it is , its how its growed up / matured .

Even if it offends the eye of certain purists . Its usual to make a list .

DONT make it a wish list .

That there Machines a MACHINE , and as such , maintanance / serviceing are FIRST PRIORITIES .
the rests a load of tripe . Se shes set right to do itself no harm . And see you dont mess with it
in the big stick , youll do what youre told veign .

After a few years you get to appreciate the refinement of the design . Id say after 5.000 miles on it youd have a bit better understanding and appreciation of if anythings not good enough as they made it . OR it even WANTS changeing .

It wont take you back to the time it came from if you make it into a product of today . So BURN any Chopper Magazines .
There Brains've Gone .

One or two components , like a lay shaft bearing , are a bit suss .

Any bloke who could pull a tractor to bits and put it together so it runs better than new should be able to tell you how not to bugger it. DONT let anyone who thinks its ' an old piece of Sh.. touch it . OR near it .

Save your money for some decent tools , so its a pleasue to work on and listen to . Dont take it over 6000 rpm's .


https://www.magneto.co.uk/acatalog/Onli ... __4_6.html


http://www.eastyorkshire.co.uk/eddsfiel ... on_man.htm

NOW he's Done It . 8) :lol:

Wow, I thought I was the only 16 year old restoring a Norton. :shock: I've got an '72 Interstate, its my 2nd favourite Norton model, 2nd to your fastback. I started my restoration about a year ago now, and everything is apart and completely rebuilt. Now its just a race to see if I can finish it by May, my licensing birthday! Anyways, good luck with your project - its great to see more young guys getting into vintage bikes, as I know many of the older folks here are worrying about their hobby dying. Maybe well meet while riding our Nortons, sometime down the road. The guys here have a wealth of knowledge, so dont hesitate to ask them. If it werent for this forum I have no idea where I'd be.

Also, if you need parts, try asking for them for christmas. That my plan at least.

Matt

OK J1125R. You have yourself a real machine to work on there. I would like to know where you hail from. I see a number of other two wheelers in the garage there and suspect by the look of the neat tank work you did there that pops may have a few skills and a well equipped tool set to assist you in your task ahead. Listen to the things he tells you and file away the stuff you learn as you go. The memories of this time will always be in your mind. Especially the first time aboard that snortin Norton.

You can get a parts list here.

http://www.eurooldtimers.com/eng/manual ... 1970-.html

Dave
69S

Hey, Heff, welcome to the forum.

We need a big crowd of young men just like you, with a healthy appetite and interest for old bikes.

You have done well so far, keep at it!

P.S. that Dunstall 2-into-1-into-2 pipe is somewhat rare and well worth keeping.

IMO there is only one good colour for the Fastback (only because my first new bike was a 68 fastback) and that is silver with an orange seat, yes orange! I have only seen a very few of the orange seats. I remember several dealers immediately reupholstering to black so the bikes would sell better. I guess the fastback styling was a bit too avant-guarde for many and I think that the Orange seat was just a bit too over the top for the time. I don't think I saw orange upholstery again until the mid eighty's GSXR 750.

What a nice project for you and your father. I am very jealous and only wish I might have had the chance to do something like this with my father. I am now 57 and have a son who is 20 but he seems to have little interest in my passion with old motorcycles. Treasure the experience. Best of luck and you have certainly come to the right place!