illf8ed said:
I would not make any assumptions as to a clear procedure for ensuring VIN numbers left the factory in numerical order. This is not peculiar to Norton. Checking date of mfg for my BSA showed the same at the BSA factory.
I learned from my Ranger that the first batch of Commandos ran from 126125 to 128634 which ran between a batch of P11A/Rangers ending in 126123 and the Ranger, which ran from 128646 to 129145.
I know the last Commando in that first batch (128634) was dispatched to LA on Sept 30, 1968, and the last Ranger (129145) was shipped to New York on October 17, 1968.
This tells me they must have been building Rangers while they were still building Commandos, as 500 Rangers seems lot to assemble in 2 1/2 weeks