It was in the late 1990s. I had been without a bike because I had a young family and I had put bikes on the back burner. I was doing a lot of T-shirt production work with a guy and we got along pretty well. One day I was over at his shop and he was giving me the tour. He pulled pack a big tarp and under it were and Oldsmobile 442 and a Norton Commando. He pointed to the Norton and said "I'll bet you don't know what that is?" I responded with "I know every nut and bolt on that bike" and then I explained my previous life as a mechanic at a Norton, Triumph & BMW dealership. No more was said but a few weeks later he approached me and asked if I would like to have the Norton? He said he know that he was never going to get around to restoring it or even getting it running and he would sell it to me for $500 if I promised to ride it and not flip it. Somehow I managed to scrape up $500 and it was mine.
The bike had been in a screen printing shop for years and it was sticky with the spray used to registered the shirts. Worse it was covered in lint and fuzz. I took it all apart. Had the frame powder coated safety yellow. (I loved the black tank and yellow frame but no one else did.) I rebuilt the engine, fixed the sump/breather with Old Brits instructions and replaced the lay shaft transmission bearing. I don't know how much I spent. The powder coating was a trade out and all the work was done by me. True to my word I rode that 1973 750 Norton Commando as my main ride for many years.
I lived on a dirt and gravel road and the bike stayed filty