Not "real" Nortons, despite the badges

frankdamp

Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
1,170
I'm toying with the idea of getting back onto 2 wheels, but don't want the high performance of the Commando in the traffic environment around here. I'm wondering about getting either a Jubilee 250 or a Navigator 350. Were either of these exported to the USA?

I know they're poorly disguised Franny Barnett/James machines, but they could be interesting for my intended use. I might also consider a Villiers-India "Fantabulous" scooter, if such a device ever made it into production. I tested one by riding it to and from work, for a couple of months at N-V and it was on the stand at the 1967 M/C show. I don't think anyone noticed! I don't believe any were ever sold in the UK but I don't know about the Indian market. When we got it, it had the 150cc Villiers-India motor, but it had a hard time pulling the skin off a rice pudding. We swapped it for the venerated "9E", 197cc engine, which imperoved the performance quite a bit.
 
The Fantabulus certainly made it to the Indian home market.

Maybe a hippy trek to India is on the cards, to get your head together and find a scooter.
 
Acotrel:

I was thinking about something completely out of the ordinary. If I were to consider a Honda, it would probably be the CX-500, but that's really more perforrmance than I want. With the emissions problems of two-strokes, particularly in Washingto State, I'd have to re-engine any stroker I found.

Just interesting speculation when the dull, wet weather starts closing in!
 
Frank, How about a trusty old Triumph 350 twin, a pretty little bike and a nice compromise between light weight and acceptable performance and if you need more power after riding it around for a while you can put a 500 top end onto it.
 
A Commando doesn't have to be overwhelmingly powerful. Put a single carb on it, go easy and it's perfect for putting around town. Personally, I think you'd have buyers remorse getting anything less than a Norton 750/850. :)
 
Johny, I had a Triumph T100 Daytona, it was a great little bike, smooth, light and quite fast. I felt like The Fonz when I was riding it!
 
Get ahold of the Northwest Norton Owners club in Seattle. I bet they know where there are plenty of the lightweight twins. There were purported hoarders of the damn things around there. :mrgreen:
 
Check ebay right now...just saw a navigator up for sale ...looked complete and running,,,,,correction,,,it's a 1964 electra 400es. Not running and 2 grand on the buy it now price. Has 3 days left on the auction
 
The trouble with buying a Jubilee 250 or a Navigator 350 is they are long obsolete and you really require buying 2 of them just to keep one running, plus they were not very good anyway. An old 350 single would be better, if I were you I would be practical and go for the models which there was a lot of and which spares are still available .
 
Find a model 50. That should be slow enough. I had a 57. Come to think, my 61 ES2 wasn't much faster. You can't ride in Anacortes for more than 4 months out of the year without scuba gear, right. :D
 
It rains a lot but it doesn't rain much. After 48 hours continuous rain, the total might stagger as high as 0.75". When i was at N-V, I was doing 500 miles a day on the Commando prototypes in UK late fall and winter weather, so Anacortes and surrounding areas are no problem.

Unfortunately, I suspect buying a bike is a pipe dream, but I wanted to get a feel for the group's opinions. There are just too many inattentive drivers in the region, mostly age-related (vision problems, inability to concentrate) because Anacortes is primarily a retirement community. There are bikers in town mainly on Harleys and Hondas, but there aren't very many.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top