Trick suspension

Here's Tyler's smooth riding Norton with modern VFR 750 monoshock rear suspension and fat tire. The entire motor and drive train with isolastics was moved 1" to the left to accommodate the tire.



Front end is off a CRB900


Keihin CRS carbs tucked away underneath the tank.

With that much shift of the power unit, does it turn left better than right?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Which in this case, ain’t me.

Though I do admire the workmanship.

Time Warp said:

https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/1971-single-sided-swingarm-fastback-2011.7750/

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Yep - same bike

Big job for somebody to restore one day.

Mental note, don't invite FA to next party.................

It is a very pleasant-looking bike. But with the fat back tyre, I think the owner is kidding themself. Fat tyres on modern bikes are not there for their good looks. A Commando is a completely different kettle of fish. It is very rare that a Commando is used in corners at extreme angles of lean and at the limit of adhesion of the tyres while trying to put 100 BHP down on the road. Extrapolating back from that situation gives the wrong answer. The skinny tyres on the Commando allow it to be more nimble. I once used a 4 inch tyre on the back of a Triton when racing. It made the bike feel dead.
It is always worth looking at the latest developments which are being used on modern bikes, but assuming they will make on old bike better can be silly. In the extreme, often what happens with modern bikes at high speed also happens with old bikes at a relatively lower speed, but it is not always the case.
If you look at modern superbike racing, often there is a line of bikes all high speed and at the same extreme angle of lean, and nobody has any advantage - regardless of how the bikes handle. The guys who pass usually do it under brakes. Riding a Commando fast in races is never like that.

I used to have a 1996 VFR 750. Great engine, really good bike, handed well, good commuter bike, but I swapped it fr a Gixer for a bit of excitement.

The mods look well executed and people do want they want, it is an interesting project.

But VFR suspension isn't actually 'modern' is it.....the design now qualifies for 'vintage', it is over 25 years old!

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Would you enjoy riding this more than a well fettled isolastic twin shocker? Who knows.

I think the VFR750 Honda is one of the best. I believe it was a spin-off from the RVF 750R racer, which was unbeatable. I have a friend who has a VFR750Honda - it is a lovely bike. A Commando is a bike for someone of a different mentality. I don't think VFR750 Hondas are completely rebuildable. It is the reason that Harleys and cars with chromed bumpers are popular in Australia with some people. If a car has not got chromed bumpers, you cannot work on it.

The equivalent of putting F1 suspension and slicks on a Morris Minor. My Norton would ride rings around it.

You might think a normal Commando would be faster in corners, but if the guy with the trick suspension was able to get on the gas much earlier, he would out-gun you. More suspension travel on the back of a Commando might help it turn better in the middle of corners - more squat increases the rake. When you brake on most bikes, they become more stable and tend to go straight (understeer) . As you gas them when cranked over, they tend to oversteer more. If you watch Mike (Spike) Edward's videos, he usually tries to correct understeer by raising the rear suspension. It never seems to work. To some people, the effect is counter-intuitive. You might think that if the front is down and the back is up, the bike would steer better. The castor effect does not work like that.

It never feels right to grab a handful of throttle in the middle of a corner while the bike is cranked right over. But if your steering and rear suspension are right, the bike turns under itself and tightens it's line. And you are on the gas from a much longer distance back in the corner, so you are faster later. There is one corner on Winton raceway which my bike wheel-spins out of. Most bikes would high-side you, if you did that. When I do that, I have all sorts of feelings that I might get bitten. But it has not happened yet.

Keeping things in context it's a road bike, and that suspension setup will undoubtedly deal with variable quality road surfaces much better than the best set up standard Commando possibly could.

Very well executed, although I reckon the headlight fell through the ugly tree and hit every branch... IMHO of course

Its always easy to to throw $hit but don't do it when you have had to get someone else to build your bike because you are most likely Edward bodger hands.
That's a nice job and I like that radial Brembo. maybe a black Lucas headlight would look more fitting.

That dude also did a nice job on his black 'InterBack.

At times like this I would suggest that Alan hasnt had any personal experience riding a well sorted street Commando and relies heavily on a Seeley framed Commando which hasnt had any race outings for sometime, so a lot of his comments are hypothetical.
Just saying!
Regards mike

Nice work but not something I care for. I would like to know how the upper shock is mounted ie solidly or with some sort of isolastic

I've experience Norton race bikes with twin shocks and with mono shock. There is no doubt that a well laid out monoshock is a better handler. It soaks up the bumps where twinshocks don't and helps you get through the corners faster. The photo below is my monoshock as I was racing it. It turned the fastest Norton times that I know of at Willow springs.




An even faster version of the bike as it was modified by Ken Canaga with 920cc motor, front end upgrade and mag wheels. With rider Rob Tuluie who was the last one to put a Norton on the podium in AMA BOTT (against a field of Ducatis).

on THAT chassis it more than likely is an improvement BUT on isolastic commando it is a totally different game. the angle of the shock (shocks) can change the for and aft load in the isolastics which can change characteristics of the handling.

jseng1 said:

I've experience Norton race bikes with twin shocks and with mono shock. There is no doubt that a well laid out monoshock is a better handler. It soaks up the bumps where twinshocks don't and helps you get through the corners faster. The photo below is my monoshock as I was racing it. It turned the fastest Norton times that I know of at Willow springs.

An even faster version of the bike as it was modified by Ken Canaga with 920cc motor, front end upgrade and mag wheels. With rider Rob Tuluie who was the last one to put a Norton on the podium in AMA BOTT (against a field of Ducatis).

Click to expand...

bill said:

on THAT chassis it more than likely is an improvement BUT on isolastic commando it is a totally different game. the angle of the shock (shocks) can change the for and aft load in the isolastics which can change characteristics of the handling.

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The engine dosent move that much on the ISOs
How does a monoshock affect it?
I'm assuming the bottom link is attached to the gearbox plates and not the frame