Norton Riders? Young? Old? Or somewhere in between?

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L.A.B.

L.A.B.

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I was just wondering how old (young) we Norton owners are?

As I would guess that the majority of us have to be somewhere around 45-55 years old?

Am I right or wrong?
 
So far your guess appears to be right on the money!

In our club certainly the majority are in the 45 to 55 age range.

Debby,
geezerette
 
so how old are we?

I am 60 going on 18,my Commando has rejuvenated me back to my days growing up in the UK in the early /mid 1960's, Goldies, Tritons, Bonnies, Rockets et al., coffee bars, burn ups, music. I am " dead chuffed" -- Brits the World over know what that means -- to be a part of this group of Norton fans. Aging is for wine,cheese and old farts. Stay young. Be safe. James.




-----------------------------------------------------------------
I (as a moderator) unfortunately managed to delete James' original message by mistake when I posted a reply to it, but he has been kind enough to rewrite it.
I will try to be more careful in future.

Thanks James.
L.A.B.
 
James,
It looks like we are in the 0% range ( I'm a 1949 vintage and aging badly), I wonder if we'll get enough to make 1%.

Too right "Be Safe" been broken up too many times.

Cash
 
I picked my Norton up in 1977 second hand, its a mk11 interstate. I must have been 23 years old at the time. I am now 53 years old and enjoy the feeling of freedom the old girl gives on the open road. I parked it in a shed between 1991 and 2005 she was burning oil through the exhaust valves & guides and was amazed what a great machine it is when I finally had it back in running order. Yes I am chuffed.
Thanks for a great site and for the human knowledge base it represents! :wink:
 
Back in my teens I was the proud owner of a Matchless G80 CS, a single cylinder 500. A friend had a 500 (I believe) Norton Dommi which I took a spin on and lusted after a Norton since. A year later the Commando came out and I told myself that one day I will own one of them.

Took awhile, life interfered, but...... 38 years later I bought a 750S. Yes, I am chuffed!

Steve
 
I'm 34, so I'm between 25 and 35.
I ride bikes since I was 9 and have always had one or two motorcycles at home until I became old enough as to ask my father for a ride. He got scared that I could get to like motorcycles, so he sold them.The last two bikes that left the house were a 500 Ossa Yankee and a BMW R90S Daytona. I still dream of them.
My first "big bike" was a Sanglas 400E when I was 21. I got my Norton a couple years ago.
The reason why is that I've been a rocker (not just a musician, but a leathered jacket, motorcycle and brillcream bloke) since I was 14 and have always been so much in love with british bikes and culture. That's why I got my W650: Brit look and jap reliability, but still prefer the Norton feeling and how it reigns supreme in the trafic between other cars and bikes.
 
45 (Just turned) Nortons for over 15 years-Triumphs before that. Nothin' but Brit ever.

Mike
Kansas, America
Junior Geezer in training.
 
Bought my first Commando when I was 23 and have now owned it for 23 + years ! :o

Since then, I've always had at least one Commando taxed and insured.
 
In my teens my daily transport was a 250 AJS. Ten years later I restored a Velocette Venom from a basket case to a mint machine. I then had a long period without a bike until I got the 850. Boy, how good it is to feel 16 again! It makes me forget that I am 60.
 
I wouldn't worry to much about being 60 yrs. James and Cash, as the saying goes "your only as old as the woman you feel" :twisted: and I'm about to marry the one I feel, but she's a year older than me so does that make me 50 or 51?.

How about it Les are you going to let us in on your vintage?

Mike
 
how old are we

I think that the future Mrs. mcmanus has her hands full -- er -- I mean she has a lot to contend with --er, oh hell, you know what i mean!!,good on ya blue!, happy married days,two up on a Commando tripping around Oz, beaut, mate. James.
 
mike mcmanus said:
How about it Les are you going to let us in on your vintage?
Click to expand...


I am 50 years old Mike.

Does riding a Norton (or any other bike?) make me feel any younger?

No!....Not really...as I've always owned and ridden motorcycles over the past 30+ years, using them as my primary means of year-round daily transport, as I do not own or drive a car.
 
I am a couple years away from joining the 46-55 group and have owned my Commando for almost 14 years.......(my first bike was a BSA and that was something like 20 years ago!) funny thing is I bought mine when they were affordable, not sure if the youngsters are into our style of bikes these days, but from the looks of the poll results there are a few out there.
Commando74
 
Of the 755 Registered Members there must be more than 30 willing to submit their ages, it is anonymous so no ones going to know.

Mike
 
I'm probably one of the newer Norton owners out there (and not far from entering the 46+ age majority). Found my way here by just falling head over hills over the bike's history, aura, legend, rider folklore (uncles and friends always showed up in them when I was a kid) and perhaps most of all, the incredible beauty of the machine itself. Since I was 12, I always wanted one. It is my first bike restoration project. Sometimes - more often than I'd like to admit - I want to chuck her into the nearest dumpster in sheer desperation at me botching things.... and the cost. Next morning though, back in the shop, I usually find I can correct my mistakes armed with good information (more often than not obtained from the generosity of the folks here). I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Kind of like restoring an old wooden sailboat. The wind just hits the sails a bit differently....

But errr..... yes. What was your question again? Oh, yeah. Just turned 45. Sorry for the long-winded response.

wrench
lowly Pittsburgh, PA

2000, 2001 Kawasaki W650s
74 Ducati 750 GT (next project)
71 Norton (current project)
 
Not too long left to slide into the 36-45 category but still do!
I would have fit in the pre 25 category...or the pre teen category for that matter (if there was one) if I'd had the means at the time.
When I look at my own bikes, I still vividly remember the bike shop owners who allowed the incessantly inquisitive 12 year old to spend hours admiring the Commandos in their shops and not chasing me away! :o
 
Hey Wrench,
I had just finished posting and read your post (you must have been writing yours at the same time as I was) :lol: apparently there's just something about being 12 and being in awe of the things that influenced us at that age.
Let's hope that we can post somewhere that we fit the 65+ category as Commando owners :lol:
 
I too was a youngster when first awed by the Norton, and never forgot. I was well into my fifties when the kids were gone that I decided to make my lifelong dream come true. "Honest, honey I'm only going to look!"...even left the checkbook at home...but I fell in love and thank God I had that spare check in my wallet. It was a match made in heaven...British Racing Green and all. My first bike, and that led to my wife's first bike, a Hinkley Triumph. We are riding buds and have never enjoyed life so much as having the bikes on the road. And so it goes, happiness fulfilled.
Gene

74 Commando
2000 Triumph Legend
 
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