Norton Dilemma

hi Folks,
I have a dilemma and I would welcome your advice.

I found two pristine Commandos today locally. One is a '71 Highrider with 1700 original miles. the other is a '75 850 with 15,000 miles. In the possible mix is also a '66 BSA Thunderbolt and a '66 Matchless CSR (with Norton motor), both pristine.

I am considering selling my '68 Commando to buy one of these Commandos. Mine is totally re-built from bottom up, and i know what's in it. It runs perfectly.

My dilemma is: Should I trade or would you recommend the low miles Highrider or the '75 850??

I am worried that putting mile on the Highrider would reduce its value. The 850 has higher miles than my 750, which is basically new.

I don't really have room for all.

Your advice please.
Cheers!
Stephen

Why would you trade your known entity for an unknown one? Hard to assess without knowing your motivation.

Just me, but I'd rather have the 71 than the 75. (Rather have a 73 or 74 than either).

I too would go for the earlier one. Just my preference. It depends on what your motivation is. Do you want a newer bike, or do you want something you already know, or do you want a new project? Your decision. I have always thought the earlier bikes were leaner and better looking.

Dave
69S

BrianK said:

Why would you trade your known entity for an unknown one? Hard to assess without knowing your motivation.

Click to expand...

Unless you don't trust your current bike.

Your gonna get heaps of different opinions here.

Sounds like yours is a nice cammando. Personally, I think the MK111's are the best commando for many reasons - maybe not the quickest but the easiest to live with if you ride a lot. And I've had a few. My interstate is the best touring bike I have ever owned bar none.

If you have a fully sorted Commando of any style that you are happy with then you are already ahead of the game.
I think you first and foremost need to decide whether you want to ride or to collect. I believe The High Riders are among the least loved of the Commando models, but frankly buying any Commando purely as an investment is probably a waste of time - look how stable the prices have been in the last 10 years or more, if anything they have fallen behind inflation. What most people love about the model is that it is an affordable classic that gives a good account of itself in today's environment. Apart from special and rare, well-sought after models I believe that Commandos and unit BSAs and Triumphs are still going to be available at reasonable money for some considerable time to come. If you want to invest in classic bikes the rarer stuff like Vincents, Brough Superiors, Indians, some Harleys, and sundry other marques seem to be appreciating much faster than Commandos. A perusal of Miller's Classic Motorcycles Price Guide from 1999 ellicits the information that a Vincent V-twin could be had for between 10,000 to 15,000 pounds (over double the higher figure today) a Brough Superior SS80 for about the same price range (well over double the higher figure today) and Commandos for 2,200 to 4,000 (you can still buy one within this range today).

If you want to trade for a different riding experience, then the 850 makes more sense, as the motor is a bit torquier and the later model has an electric start facility which might see you alright well into your dotage. The brakes can also be readily upgraded for modern conditions. There is also the possibility with the larger engine of uprating it in the future to 920cc or more if this is of interest. The down side is that the 850 is quite a bit heavier. However no matter how good the bike you buy is purported to be, you will almost inevitably have to spend more time and money on it to bring it up to scratch, especially as you already have a reference point in your own fully sorted example.

My advise for what it's worth is to try and keep your 1968 Commando - A well-sorted one can perform as good as any other Commando that you are likely to find - and think about buying either the BSA or Matchless for a different riding experience. I personally would rather have the CSR than the Thunderbolt. If this is not financially feasible why not look for a project that you can pick up for less money and do it yourself, as you obviously have sufficient mechanical skills if your Commando is in such good shape.

Stephen,
Do you want to ride or collect these bikes? For collecting I'd lean toward the HiRider if it was me. The MkIII wins out over them all as a rider. I just went over the results of the Las Vegas auction in January. They were actually pretty solid, so if you can get either at a good price you might want to buy now and decide later. Daytona is coming up and it'll be interesting to see how those results look. I've always had sellers remorse, so my inclination would be to try to make room
http://www.midamericaauctions.com

And I'd buy the CSR, there were only 500 and they sure were fun.

The sprag gear setup and anti backfire mechanism for the starter on the 850 MkIIIs drive the local guys crazy. That said, there are some things I don't like on the '71 such as the side stand bracket. Keep the '68. They're getting rarer. I agree '73 or '74 850s are my preference with the RH10 head on the '73 being the better one. I won't trade my combat for any other year, but wouldn't mind having an 850 also.

It's clear the BMW has to go

I've always wanted to take a Hi-Rider and swap out the bars, seat and pipes for those of an S model and make a street-tracker. IMO Hi-Riders were a factory kluge-job chopper that would be better off not seen in public. If you had a brace of bone-stock 0-mile original Commandos, Fastback, Roadster, Interstate and Hi-Rider, the latter would be worth the least, investment-wise.

You folks are great! I knew i would elicit some really good comments.

For my part, If I were to buy, it would be to have a rider. I'm not much into "trailer queens". I really like my '68 & know what's in it, so it's a keeper.

I was thinking of buying all 4 & selling off 2 or three of them. Buyers/sellers remorse or not I really don't want to tie up too much money in 4 more bikes, even if the prices are pretty reasonable.

Of the 4 I am leaning to the Mark lll and the Matchless CSR. The CSR has the same Norton motor (was the Atlas motor the same?) and leading shoe front brakes as my Commando. However, I am betting the riding experience would be totally different & a lot shakier (no isolastics).
Cheers!
Stephen

" IMO Hi-Riders were a factory kluge-job chopper that would be better off not seen in public."

It's good to be diplomatic in public; that's the nicest thing I have ever heard said about the Hi-rider.

Keep your current Commando and get the Matchless, you have your Commando all sorted-out why start a new one,hopefully the Matchless is not in need of too much repair. :wink:

Does that hi-rider have a steel tank?!!

I love the word "kludge".

My kid brother taught it to me when we were trying to build my first PC clone computer from scratch. He got me so interested in them, I started my own business, EXACTLY at the same time as Michael Dell, a guy he was at the University of Texas with. Turns out Dell did "a bit" better with PCs than I did...


Oops! Back to the topic:

I'd take the Mark III, buy a seat and handlebars of the style of your choice, and swap 'em out.

If you want to check out something very similar look at the one GP is restoring in the other bikes section. The CSR had a then current Atlas engine with only a couple of changes, it had the Matchless primary and I can't recall if they had to redrill for that. Ludwig would know. I used a bunch of Atlas parts in a Commando later and there were changes in the crank and head mating surface that meant a re balance, re time, and machining.
The differences I recall in the CSR over a CS were head pipes, mufflers, factory rear sets, short Roadholder forks, different shock valving and fuel tank. It also came with very short gearing making it a stoplight rocket, or at least mine did. There were slightly different versions over the few years of production.
Mine was smoother than my Featherbed Commando hybrid, not quite as good full out handling as I recall. The rear end would hop on mine near the limit and if you respected that you were OK. Folks have said the Matchless frame damped engine vibrations.