questions about 72 Commando

I might purchase a 72 Commando Interstate. A few questions if anyone can help me out:

1. It is blue in color - is this rare or desirebale?

2. Has fiberglass tank - is this prolematic or expensive to get re-painted? (will need paint). Also - is the "Norton" on the side of the tanks painted or a decal that is clear coated over?

3. I believe it has the combat engine with 40k miles - top end has been refreshed but not the bottom end. Would this be a "must get done" or, if it runs ok, could i get away with not rebuilding the bottom end?

It appears to be a complete, original bike that runs well and has had some mechanical updating but needs lots of cosmetics.

All help appreciated!

-Dave

Dave,
I too saw the blue interstate on Ebay.
It needs alot of elbow grease but a good candidate for restoration.
It appears to be all there.
I have a 72 see avatar.
I shelved the glass tank.
Even coated properly they get soft after about 2-3 years.
Get a metal tank first or everything else you do after that will be in vain.
IE...... cleaned carbs will be gummed up by disolving tank inners.
Orig glass tanks had decals no clear coating.
My metal tank has orig. style decals from OldBritts then cleared over.
40,000 miles on orig lower bearings in pretty amazing.
If it is indeed an orig. owner how come the description is written in 3 rd party language?
I'd want to know more about the lower end activity.
It's a michigan bike and all aluminum looks like it's been exposed to road salts hence rusted parts.
If you can get it for like $3.000 to $4.500 range I'd say it is worth the investment you will be making to restore to ride.
Unless you have been waiting a life time for this specific year and model you can by a done bike for $5,500 to $7,000 range.
You will have that much into this blue one before you know it.
I'm not knocking it by any means or trying to kill the sale.
Just letting you know what your up against.
Let us know how it ends.
Marshal

Sox Fan said:

1. It is blue in color - is this rare or desirebale?

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Well, do you like it?

2. Has fiberglass tank - is this prolematic or expensive to get re-painted? (will need paint). Also - is the "Norton" on the side of the tanks painted or a decal that is clear coated over?

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Search this forum for Ethanol for a good idea of the problems involved.

3. I believe it has the combat engine with 40k miles - top end has been refreshed but not the bottom end. Would this be a "must get done" or, if it runs ok, could i get away with not rebuilding the bottom end?

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A Combat bottom end would probably not have lasted that long, they have two problems: the breather and the main bearings. For the breather search this forum for the excellent stuff Jim (comnoz) offers via CNW and the bearings are commonly replaced by so-called superblends. The usual suspects sell rebuild kits with all bearings, seals gaskets etc. which is a good starting point. I'd strongly recommend a complete rebuild incl. cleaning the sludge trap in the crankshaft and measuring(and eventually regrinding) the crankpins etc., it's not that expensive and if you don't do it know you'll have to do it later anyway but then you might need a new crankcase.... :wink:

Tim

Dave,

You mentioned it to be a good runner. If I had the choice I would ride it as it is.
Don't disturb a good running system.
On the other hand I would prefer a bike with known history. If you are in doubt, you'd better pay more for an already restored bike.

Cheers,
Andy

Regardless what you pay for the bike, you may want to consider that many Norton owners end up spending 10 grand over and above what they paid for the bike. I don't say this is absolutely necessary, just a fact. Getting the bike that you described into a decent appearing and running Norton will probably take $5000 over purchase price. The other $5000 is easily spent on upgrades, which are numerous. Not trying to dissuade you from buying it, just want to tell you what you are getting into. The less expensive way to Norton ownership is to buy one of the already refurbished and upgraded Nortons.

Looks to be a good machine. Many desirable upgrades in place. The ones they say that have not been done are not really needed for dependabe operation which is what I look for. I love and own a 72. Hopefully the price will stay where it is at. Swoop in at 4.2 g's in the last ten seconds, although it looks to be worth a bit more.

None of us want to see the price of these bikes inflated by outlandish sales prices...unless of course we are selling, but the initial cost is of little consideration if it is THE bike you want.

You decide if this one is yours, once you make that decision it is like getting married...you see it thru in sickness and in health regardless of whether the bottom end has a few too many miles on it.

If you specifically want an Interstate you might want to look around for a metal tank and figure that into the price. Here is a link for Norvil, I believe the prices are GBP, so you need to convert. http://www.norvilmotorcycle.co.uk/

Good luck,
Russ

the ebay one is V similar to mine!

def get a new tank,

Thanks for all the responses folks - some great information. I am really struggling trying to decide whether to buy a runner that needs restoration or buy one that is "done". My preference would be to buy one like this one, ride "as is" this summer, while i learn the ins and outs of Nortons and then restore it over a few years, component by component. I can afford to sink an additional $5-10k in it over a couple of years and would probably enjoy that. My rational side says find one already restored and buy it - will be less expensive in the long run.

I am surprised how much some of these unrestored bikes are worth. This one seem like a good candidate if it can be had for a decent price. Thanks again - much appreciated.

-Dave

Buying one 'already restored' could still entail lots of work, depending on the restorer and whether it was cosmetically restored or genuinely gone through from front to back. If you buy an unrestored one it may well not give you reliable service until you restore it yourself. My advice is to buy the best one you can afford and try to get someone knowledgeable to help with the decision, there will be plenty to do on even the best Commando to keep it reliable so don't think it wont be hands-on even if it is well restored.

dave M said:

Buying one 'already restored' could still entail lots of work, depending on the restorer and whether it was cosmetically restored or genuinely gone through from front to back. If you buy an unrestored one it may well not give you reliable service until you restore it yourself. My advice is to buy the best one you can afford and try to get someone knowledgeable to help with the decision, there will be plenty to do on even the best Commando to keep it reliable so don't think it wont be hands-on even if it is well restored.

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Oh yeah - i get that part!

I would assume a "restored" Commando would still involve constant maintenance and tuning as well as discovering stuff that maybe wasn't done right or overlooked during the restoration. I owned a 2005 Thruxton before and wouldn't expect one of these bikes to be like that where you just jump on it, push the button and ride worry free. Unless I knew the person who did the restoration, i would be a little concerned as well.

There is a gorgeous looking silver one on e-bay right now with a "buy now" price of $7200. Something about it makes me nervous though - "professionally rebuilt engine that still leaks oil", etc. I like the idea of buying an original so that i "own" the restoration process and am sure of what i have/don't have. But, if you find one that was restored the right way, definitely seems the less expensive way to go in the long run. Decisions, desisions.

I don't think all '72 combats had the bad main bearings. They found the solution and went to the Superblend bearings after a certain serial number in 1972. If it did have the bad bearings it likely wouldn't have made it past about 5K-10K miles so it has either had the bearings changed already or it already has the Suoerblends. Mine (202093) had the bearings go at 4700 miles and now has 33k or so on it so I would not mess with the bottom end unless you have to or just want to. The oil pooling problem in the crankcase I don't think is that big a deal unless you are running at 5000 or above for long periods. I don't do that much anymore, except that one time trying to keep up with a crazed Suzuki two-stroke rider this past Spring. (If I had the bottom end apart I'd have that fixed though.)

You can put a lot of money into a Norton but it doesn't all have to be done at once. You can ride all summer and pick a few winter projects to do maintenance and/or upgrades every year. This year for me it will be the John Bould kit for the front forks and replacing my primary chain (2 broken rollers) and adding a Dyno Dave clutch seal while I'm at it.

Russ

Hi,
I notice the seller said they were the original owner. This is usually a good sign.
The more people that have owned a particular commando means more things could have been bodged on it.
Ive owned mine fron new & know all the bodges ive made on it & i'm happy to ride it at 100 mph.
I rebuilt mine over the last 2.5 years on the cheap, about $1500 spent on bits & re chroming etc.
Its not cooncors but if starts 1st time, handles well now & seems reliable after sorting out the problems you get after a rebuild.
I stripped the frame completly & had it powder coated, put a new complete wireing harnes on it & only replaced what was knackered. Its not immaculate now but looks fine & goes well without investing thousands of pounds or Dollars in your case.
Just buy it if the price does not go up too high & enjoy riding it. you only needs to replace things when they go wrong as as you feel like it.
Get a buffing maching for the chrome And alloy bits & a tin of polish, then enjoy it.
My commando is Black & had a Metal tank from new, the blue was a bit less po[pular but not really rare.
One of my mates has a combat 750 which has been painted bright yellow & is nearly as fast as my 1200 Suzuki Bandit.
Best of luck with the ebay auction, but if you dont get it look again elswhere.
I'm keeping mine until old age.
The pic on my avatar was taken summer 2009

Hello,
I purchased a 72 combat a couple of years ago for around A $4000. It was in a bit of a sad state. So it got the full treatment. I did split the case and found that it did have the superblend bearings (206412) but the interference on the crankcases were pretty loose. I had it bronze bushed. The cam also looked like it had something hit it (There must have been a failure at some time) so I replaced it with a stock cam. I also performed the breather/oil mod, put new pistons, carrillo rods,crank balance,valves,guides. Painted frame, new bearings everywhere,dave taylor headsteady, mkiii isolastics, new forks, new seat, steel tank, stainless mudguards, new harness,recromed wheel rims, pazon ignition, exhaust system etc ..etc. I dont really want to see how much I have spent. Its not even on the road yet, but it will be very soon. Next few months. Did I say it was in a bad way... I guess the moral is you can spend a lot of money on them. Im surprised there are a lot of combats around with the problems they had.

bryan_woods said:

Hello,
I purchased a 72 combat a couple of years ago for around A $4000. It was in a bit of a sad state. So it got the full treatment. I did split the case and found that it did have the superblend bearings (206412) but the interference on the crankcases were pretty loose. I had it bronze bushed. The cam also looked like it had something hit it (There must have been a failure at some time) so I replaced it with a stock cam. I also performed the breather/oil mod, put new pistons, carrillo rods,crank balance,valves,guides. Painted frame, new bearings everywhere,dave taylor headsteady, mkiii isolastics, new forks, new seat, steel tank, stainless mudguards, new harness,recromed wheel rims, pazon ignition, exhaust system etc ..etc. I dont really want to see how much I have spent. Its not even on the road yet, but it will be very soon. Next few months. Did I say it was in a bad way... I guess the moral is you can spend a lot of money on them. Im surprised there are a lot of combats around with the problems they had.

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1972 was a pretty big year for Norton, and I understand most of the 1972 production was Combat. The stories I heard about exploding Combats mainly involved long runs at high speed. For example, someone here posted about the main German importer having to replace something like 400 engines due to Autobahn failures. Even if 2% of Combats had engine problems, it would have been enough to taint the reputation of the whole brand. After all, would you buy a vehicle if you heard there was a 1 in 50 chance of catastrophic failure in the first year?

This is years back but I think my dealer had couple blow due more to night time road racing. I think he personally replaced all his Combat bearings with superblends, I never asked but I thought it was a factory recall. When I blew mine up due to dropping it in a race and it revved out of control for some time he had the bearing right in stock. Then when I needed a second set (don't ask) he still had some in stock for me.
Because they got fixed Norton still had a pretty good rep in our area but I was always a bit leery of Combats as being slightly weaker but faster. The BMW R69 had the same rep at that time, you knew an R60 would last but not an R69.

Decided to pass on the blue 72 on e-bay. Bidding went up to $4150 and there were too many negatives for me (color, mileage & fiberglass tank). I appreciate everyone's input - these are fun bikes to talk about and research.

I think that price is fairly realistic. It is hard to say for sure how much any bike is worth since each one has its own story to tell. It is interesting to look thru the completed auctions on Ebay and see what is selling and for how much.

As far as if the French Blue color is rare or not, I see more black ones. However Norton used the blue on the cover of thier '72 sales brochure.

I got the sprinter,
It's just a personal thing :wink:
Marshal