Visit to Colorado Norton Works

My fiancé and I planned a trip in August to Colorado to visit Matt Rambow and Colorado Norton Works.

The trip was delayed because my lower back went out for the 3rd time in 2 years and I had to have lumbar fusion surgery on the 22nd of September.

I kept in touch with Matt and we were able to make the trip this week. We visited Matt at the shop on Monday.

Matt was very hospitable and cut into his day to show us around. CNW is expanding and so it was very busy with construction.

The bikes are more beautiful in person and we are lucky to have such amazing talented people within the Norton community.

Thanks Matt for an awesome day!

Build it and they will come!

Isn't it great to see real craftsmen and what they build?

Unfortunately, many in the U.S. are flocking to the likes of Walmart for the cheapest, made in China, junk they can get.
We even see some of our members here forgoing top quality products for the cheap, shoddily made Chinese version. Sorry guys, but that Harbor Freight lift doesn't even begin to compare to an American made Handy lift.

Dennis,

Glad you guys took the time to stop by. Sorry about the construction mess. Its driving me a bit crazy to have to work around it but it wont be much longer before we are done with it

I have been trying to get Jim to move down here to Dolores so that it would be easier to get to both shops. He's got to much 'stuff' to move, so it probably wont happen......

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

www.coloradonortonworks.com

Colorado is starting to look pretty attractive as a place to live. Comstock Engineering, Colorado Norton Works and legal marijuana. Can it get any better?

Dennis. I need to know. Does he really polish the inside of nuts?

just add inexpensive yet attractive hookers and i'm there!

JimC said:

Colorado is starting to look pretty attractive as a place to live. Comstock Engineering, Colorado Norton Works and legal marijuana. Can it get any better?

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Would you settle for a "Bipolar alcoholic girlfriend"

ha - had 2 many of those in the past!

bluemax said:

Would you settle for a "Bipolar alcoholic girlfriend"

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bluemax said:

Would you settle for a "Bipolar alcoholic girlfriend"

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Had one of those that required a restraining order to get rid of.

JimC said:

Build it and they will come!

Isn't it great to see real craftsmen and what they build?

Unfortunately, many in the U.S. are flocking to the likes of Walmart for the cheapest, made in China, junk they can get.
We even see some of our members here forgoing top quality products for the cheap, shoddily made Chinese version. Sorry guys, but that Harbor Freight lift doesn't even begin to compare to an American made Handy lift.

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Don't think you have it all to yourselves in the States. We have that same problem here. I bought a lift in NZ. It was supposed to be air operated. what a joke. sent the ram back and even the substitute didn't work. works ok with the foot pump though. Fcuk. Saw the same thing being sold by a Chinese guy at Big Boys Toys a year later for 1/2 the price. double fcuk.
I sell an item in my shop that has the equivalent of 10 times the hardening of the cheaper brands. It wont sell because it is 50% dearer. We have a local warehouse that sells siht. I wont buy it either.
all the best. Dereck
ps now IWIS chain is available off the shelf in NZ [ from me ]. It is a little dearer that the ordinary "m/cycle" rated chain. lets see what happens.

yeh I know we are off topic, but my lift is for my Commandos, and the chain I sell is for them as well.
We all collect stuff though. I wish I had a 20 car garage with an nice flat on top. Trouble is, as my Uncle said, I would just fill it up with more siht.

JimC said:

Build it and they will come!

Isn't it great to see real craftsmen and what they build?

Unfortunately, many in the U.S. are flocking to the likes of Walmart for the cheapest, made in China, junk they can get.
We even see some of our members here forgoing top quality products for the cheap, shoddily made Chinese version. Sorry guys, but that Harbor Freight lift doesn't even begin to compare to an American made Handy lift.

Click to expand...

So have you bought a TV lately, microwave, Computer, fridge, electrical appliance for the kitchen maybe a drill or electrical device for the workshop ?? Just as well the cheap and cheerful cyclelift is the suitable for most DIY blokes .. Goes upndown 20-30 times a year and will only last ...... decades.... mmmmh how many.. Shame on "We even see some of our members here forgoing top quality products for the cheap, shoddily made Chinese version" some of our members

CNW do beautiful work and are at the top of the list for custom (norton) bikes..IMO ... We would all love to have a few of his creations and just go for a stroll through his shop... But some cannot and just work within a budget, so :evil: :evil:

JimC must be talking about me.
I am a cheapskate, always have been.

(P.S. there are plenty just like me here in Colorado, so if being thrifty really is an issue for you, maybe you should stay where you are.)

Mark said:

JimC must be talking about me.
I am a cheapskate, always have been.

(P.S. there are plenty just like me here in Colorado, so if being thrifty really is an issue for you, maybe you should stay where you are.)

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The thread is about Colorado Norton Works. You may have noticed there are many motorcycles available for much less than the price of a CNW Norton. Anyone bottom feeding would not be interested in CNW, even if they live in Colorado.

Fullauto said:

Dennis. I need to know. Does he really polish the inside of nuts?

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Ha! I can't answer that question because Matt didn't show me the inside of the nuts...the bikes were beautiful tho.

To those like me who are commenting on wanting to build their own bike(s) or just not able to afford a CNW bike, that doesn't preclude us from admiring the work, and learning from the CNW team. One way to look at it is that Matt along with others have elevated the Commando to a very special place compared to where it was not so many years ago. CNW has helped us all in terms of the prestige and value of the mark along with engineering improvements and upgrades that can make all of our bikes more reliable and fun to ride.

On top of that Matt is a great guy and willing to share.

I ordered a head steady from Matt...after much procrastination because it is a bit more expensive than the other options, but from my perspective it is the best one out there. I forgot about the Tri Spark ignition to upgrade my old Boyer...will be ordering that as well. I'm sure the list will continue to grow, as I finalize the parts to start assembling my MKIII.

For me this trip was to meet two of the best in the Norton community and for those of us that love Commando's and motorcycles like I do, visiting Matt and Jim Comstock made the trip. The beautiful scenery didn't hurt either

Thanks for the write up Dennis. Glad you made the trip to CNW. ..

I am fortunate enough to own a CNW build. And, as mentioned in this thread, the CNW builds are a work of art.

What is not mentioned here is the back-up you get from Matt. I have had a couple of problems with my build, nothing serious.. Matt paid to have my bike sent back to Colorado from Florida to fix the problems. No questions asked.

Matt stands behind everything he does.

And as far as polishing the inside of nuts. Well I doubt it. Matt is a perfectionist (Times 10) and polishing the inside of a nut would change
both the thread minor diameter, and possible pitch diameter, making the thread not conforming to specifications, and Matt would not allow that LOL

CNW said:

Dennis,

Glad you guys took the time to stop by. Sorry about the construction mess. Its driving me a bit crazy to have to work around it but it wont be much longer before we are done with it

I have been trying to get Jim to move down here to Dolores so that it would be easier to get to both shops. He's got to much 'stuff' to move, so it probably wont happen......

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

http://www.coloradonortonworks.com

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Matt,

I can't imagine Jim moving...besides he is sitting on such a back order of work that it would be impossible...unless you set up a new shop for him He was telling me about a Haas mill with tool changer that he would like to have

The CNW business model is one I greatly admire. Provide the best product available, cost be damned. Even though a CNW build is quite expensive, I would guess for the time spent by some of the more knowledgeable and capable craftsmen in the business, the buyer of a CNW build is getting quite a bargain. Many M/C shop will charge $100/hr for some flunkies to maul your bike. We have plenty of just such shops in my area.

JimC said:

Build it and they will come!

Isn't it great to see real craftsmen and what they build?

Unfortunately, many in the U.S. are flocking to the likes of Walmart for the cheapest, made in China, junk they can get.
We even see some of our members here forgoing top quality products for the cheap, shoddily made Chinese version. Sorry guys, but that Harbor Freight lift doesn't even begin to compare to an American made Handy lift.

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The message is the same as it has always been when J.E. Deming delivered it to the Japanese. For both Australia and America the market niche must be at the high priced quality end. I was reading yesterday about the 2.6 million GM cars which were recalled due to an ignition switch failure which caused many deaths when cars stalled. It seems that the culture in GM was one of individualism with no-one taking responsibility as opposed to well integrated self-managed teams. Seems the 'divide and conquer' attitudes of management paid off in the wrong way ?

JimC said:

The CNW business model is one I greatly admire. Provide the best product available, cost be damned. Even though a CNW build is quite expensive, I would guess for the time spent by some of the more knowledgeable and capable craftsmen in the business, the buyer of a CNW build is getting quite a bargain. Many M/C shop will charge $100/hr for some flunkies to maul your bike. We have plenty of just such shops in my area.

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'Quality doesn't cost - it pays' ?
If the Chinese get the reputation for building quality products first, the rest of us are finished. Standards Australia International has offices in China, and the Chinese are using our standards. We still have a window of opportunity, however it won't last much longer - time to get real about ISO9000. What happened with Japanese production should be a message to all of us to become excellent in everything we do, and sell on the basis of quality.