I find myself here leaping to the defence of Les Emery of Norvil Motorcycle Co. I have spoken to him on the phone seeking technical advice, but have not met him personally. I do understand that he can be prickly, however regardless of your opinion of the man, to say he steals your money is absolutely wrong and I think we do a disservice to him and our fellow Norton enthusiasts by inaccurate statements like this. I live in Hong Kong and consequently I am at the mercy of any charlatan who could take my money and then fail to deliver - without much recourse available to me. Norvil is a U.K. based business predominantly supplying Norton Commando spare parts, they have a comprehensive on-line catalogue listing all of the spares in stock and the prices next to each part. I purchase parts from Norvil and other companies both in the UK and the USA and have dealt with them for over 15 years. During this time they have never failed to fill an order at the declared price and have always sent things, properly packed and in a timely manner. On the single occasion when they sent a faulty part, they replaced it immediately without requiring the old one back as proof.
It is evident that Norvil charges higher prices than some other suppliers, however they stock a most comprehensive selection of genuine Commando parts and the quality of what they sell is in my experience good - I have in the past purchased cheaper parts from other suppliers, things like fork overhaul kits, Isolastic kits and gearbox overhaul kits etc. only to have to spend the money saved at a local machine-shop to make the parts fit! I often buy critical parts from Norvil and save some money by purchasing other less critical things from others.
Les Emery is reputed to be an opinionated fellow and could probably solve the Palestinian/Israeli impasse; because at the end of negotiations both sides would be throwing rocks at him! However his company provides a transparent service which enables us to keep our Nortons on the road. Compare prices and buy or don't buy from Norvil, but if you opt to order from this company you will get your parts.