Interesting Commando & R90S video from Dave & the gang.

Great video, well done guys.

Dave… I’m interested in your rearset / handlebar combo on the Commando. Any chance of a side on photo of you on the bike?

Screen shot

the video could have used a detailed walk-around of the bikes.

Your video has shown me why I will never buy a road motorcycle. My manual six-speed 2007 Mazda 6 does that job better than any motorcycle, - and when it does it, I can talk to my wife and listen to music.
In any case the video was not a fair and unbiased comparison of the two bikes. When the Norton was being ridden, the rider was giving it a squirt, then backing-off. When riding the BMW, the rider's approach was much smoother.
We are all conditioned to think in certain ways. If I was riding the Norton and had that road in front of me, I would probably fang the bike. Then I might come around a bend and find a farmer with a tractor and trailer across the road - either that or the cops would be there,
The BMW would be a much saner ride - but who really needs that.
The only BMW I ever rode, was an R69S and I rode it at high speed down a runway on an airfield. I did not like it much - it had leading-link forks and as I braked the front did not go down, so the trail did not change in the right way. On a normal bike, as you brake the trail decreases and the bike becomes more stable and has a tendency to undersrteer if the effect is too great.
I will say this, there is a really big difference in the sense of excitement between those two bikes.
I enjoyed watching the video - thanks for your effort

Al :

I watched this video and cast my mind back to 1974 in NZ.

I was broke and couldn't afford a new bike but I'm pretty sure I saw the Commando priced at NZ$2399. I just searched the internet and found a 1974 sales record for a R90S sold new in Auckland for NZ$5000. Over twice the price.

That was a years salary back then.

But the biggest problem for both the Commando and the BMW in New Zealand those days was this guy.

Crosby on a Z1.

Watching him win at Wanganui on the street. and then the Castrol Six Hour production races. If you wanted a Superbike in Australasia in 1974 there was only one bike in the game.

johnm said:

I watched this video and cast my mind back to 1974 in NZ.

I was broke and couldn't afford a new bike but I'm pretty sure I saw the Commando priced at NZ$2399. I just searched the internet and found a 1974 sales record for a R90S sold new in Auckland for NZ$5000. Over twice the price.

That was a years salary back then.

But the biggest problem for both the Commando and the BMW in New Zealand those days was this guy.

Crosby on a Z1.

Watching him win at Wanganui on the street. and then the Castrol Six Hour production races. If you wanted a Superbike in Australasia in 1974 there was only one bike in the game.

Click to expand...

How many NS $ did the Z1 cost?

Ed

APRRSV said:

How many NS $ did the Z1 cost?

Ed

Click to expand...

I knew someone would ask that.

Best I can find is they cost Australian. $1845 when they cane out in late 1972. NZ would have been close to that I expect. So probably similar to the Commando in 1974 I'd guess.

Those years were pretty crazy down under. The Japanese used the Castrol Six Hour races to develop and test their machines. Everyone I knew rode bikes.

I had a 72 Roadster and later a R90s. Now a 74 850 . The R90s was great for a longer trip and it was quite practical as a daily driver what with the factory panniers. However: it did not hold a candle to any brit bike in the handling department. And the front twin disc were about adequate. Yeah it had the reliable electric leg too. So all in all a ok bike, it was well made and looked
nice. It cost more than the average bike though.
The R100 was a big improvement in the handling department.

No wonder the Germans call the BMWs the "gummikuh" !!

I reckon I could make a similar video. But I'm not that type guy. I currently own and ride a '78 R100s and a '75 C'do, and a couple of "moderns". Yep, the BM is the longer distance mount of the these two, but the C'do makes all the right noises and vibes. Cheers