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Since you always seem to discuss with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, there is not much to say.


Except that to call Nortons 1949 Dommie Model 7 "light" is putting the cart before the house - its heavy !   It was one of the heaviest 500cc twins of the time in fact - even more than similar 650 models from other makers. That iron cylinder head weighs a ton. And the frame is heavy, and even the tank and mudguards are considerably heavier than their single cylinder cousins parts.


Also, you keep rabbiting about about ancient designs - but harley, guzzi, BM and a few others survived with pushrod motors, and some still do. So thats not a prerequisite fo " modern" design. ?  If all the small componentry and detail is updated, an old design can still be modern ?

A good Commando is still quite a capable bike in modern traffic, so its "design" is not the problem.


A lot of folks would suggest that a large part of the oriental motorcycles success story was simply attention to detail - fuel taps that didn't leak, handlebar switches that kept on switching, clutches that stayed put and were self cleaning, wide enough casting joints that didn't leak oil, sealed wheel bearings, oil pump systems that always kept oil pumping, etc etc. Something that didn't need constant repair and attention.  The japanese showed it was possible......


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