What Commando racer?

Hello,

just make my first post/topic in this great forum! I am very pleased to be here and find this place very encouraging in my all time favorite motorcycle Norton interest.

I have a frame which was bought by my friend about 20 years ago in England from a very rich collector of bikes and cars. He had it stored in a barn with numerous great classic cars and bikes. Also alot of spare parts I remember. He said this frame had some kind of one/off works origin. I was on that trip too England when it was bought by my friend - a later bought it from my friend and kept it stored now for 20 years.

I remember that we went past , I think was Norman Whites workshop (a Norton workshop beside some racetrack) He said to my friend(which owned the frame at first) that he couldn't tell anything exactly about the fra - but it for sure had a head steady mount which was a original Norton factory works part, so..... ????

PLease take a look, I will post more pics if asked and the motor plate/swinging arm is not original with the frame.

Best from Peter -
Denmark


image hosting 5mb

The head steady mounting plate:


adult photo sharing

Btw theres builtin oil tank in the big top tube...

Ehh, have I posted this topic in a wrong way, wrong sub or even wrong forum ?

I actually thought this special oneoff frame would catch some attention amongst fellow commandos connoisseors...?

NortonCPH said:

Ehh, have I posted this topic in a wrong way, wrong sub or even wrong forum ?

Click to expand...

No, as it could very well be a one-off, it may just be that nobody here knows anything about it-or I'm sure they would have said?

Hello and welcome to his forum, you posted your question in the right place, there surely must be someone out there who can shed some light on your frame.
I have seen more frames with the welded plates that double as oil reservoir, but most were homebuilt, and I am not sure if these modifications were ever made at the factory. Does it have any numbers on the headstock ?
What are your plans for this frame ? build a complete bike ?
As I said, I am no expert when it comes to Command race frames, but I am sure that someone will chime in here who can help.

I can't give you any information on your frame, other than it would appear that the hole on the head steady mount plate looks as though it would accommodate a Production Racer style head steady.

See THIS for details

I, for one, would love to see that frame built up to an actual vintage racer, or at least a cafe racer that gets to see track days.

Welcome!

The more one looks at your frame Peter, the more interesting it is!

At first glance, it looks like a modified standard frame, ie something that someone has modified with a hacksaw and brazing gear in their shed.

But when you look closer you can (I think) tell that it is not a stock frame at all. It has been built from the ground up. But it has been built to closely resemble the stock frame, which begs the question; why?

Is it a racing frame built to resemble the production frame visually? Or a home built job? I don't know, but my guess would be the former.

I would suggest an email to someone like Norman White, along with a few photos.

Someone went to a lot of work to build that frame. Yes close inspection says it was built from scratch , not stock and modified. So yes a racer it shall be.

LAB, Grandpaul, Peter R ,Fast Eddie and Torrontinian - Oh, as impatient for answers on my forum post, as pleased and happy I am now for the warming and genuine interest shown to my picture of the frame I have had with me for now twenty years.
I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures made. And to, I apologise for having this maybee extraordinary one/off built frame laying alone without attention in my sheed. Even that if its only handmade privately or by coincidence a factory backdoor leftover - It certainly deserves some attention and definitely a buildup, as some kind of reborn racer in the near future.

My dream rebiuld/recreate scenario would be something like this bike:


For many years I also have thought about this kind of look, though I know the special tank/gasoline pump setup would difficult to replicate and very expensive to purchase. It wouldnt either be a correct buildup regard the JPS Nortons frame spec.


And for sure this bike will be on wheels this year...

NortonCPH said:

LAB, Grandpaul, Peter R ,Fast Eddie and Torrontinian - Oh, as impatient for answers on my forum post, as pleased and happy I am now for the warming and genuine interest shown to my picture of the frame I have had with me for now twenty years.
I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures made. And to, I apologise for having this maybee extraordinary one/off built frame laying alone without attention in my sheed. Even that if its only handmade privately or by coincidence a factory backdoor leftover - It certainly deserves some attention and definitely a buildup, as some kind of reborn racer in the near future.

My dream rebiuld/recreate scenario would be something like this bike:

For many years I also have thought about this kind of look, though I know the special tank/gasoline pump setup would difficult to replicate and very expensive to purchase. It wouldnt either be a correct buildup regard the JPS Nortons frame spec.

And for sure this bike will be on wheels this year...

Click to expand...

Pete, I don't know how much you already know about such matters, but, re the blue JPS racer that you show a picture of, Norman White built and raced these from the mid 90s up to a few years ago. So he will be your best bet if you were interested in bodywork etc.

And, as mentioned prior, I'm sure he'd be happy to peruse pics of your frame and advise if it is an early factory racing effort or not.

He's a very pleasant and knowledgable chap. And his JPS was indecently fast for a 750 twin !!

fixed the pix

Welcome NortonCPH ... That certainly is an interesting frame you have there, thanks for posting the images of it. Sorry I can't help you with any info regarding it's origins, but it seems that its future is looking brighter now that you are ready to build it. Will you powder coat or paint it ? Does it have registration paperwork or is it only for the track? Cj