Wondering how old we are (commando owners) (2009)
- Thread starter yvesnorton
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- Jul 24, 2009
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- 585
52 here
Started riding hondas almost 40 years ago.
moved up to a 69 T120R bonneville is '76 (wish I kept that one)
imported my bike as a rolling basket from Los Angeles about 12 years back.
rebuilt it, got rid of most lucas stuff, mikuni conversion, recent dave taylor upgrade (NICE!)
Though an old guy by my own standards, on that bike I feel 20!!
cheers,
Don
Started riding hondas almost 40 years ago.
moved up to a 69 T120R bonneville is '76 (wish I kept that one)
imported my bike as a rolling basket from Los Angeles about 12 years back.
rebuilt it, got rid of most lucas stuff, mikuni conversion, recent dave taylor upgrade (NICE!)
Though an old guy by my own standards, on that bike I feel 20!!
cheers,
Don
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- Oct 12, 2007
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- 2,904
Lot of gray, maybe thinning, hair. No teenagers. Most young guys and girls I talk to when I'm riding my Combat love it, but they are not too sure what it is. Most people assume parts are not available.
So far, I'm second oldest. Dave, you're at the head of the line.
So far, I'm second oldest. Dave, you're at the head of the line.
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- Dec 10, 2008
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- 7,253
Well I am coming up on 55. Bought my first Norton in 71. A new old stock N15cs which I still have. My second Norton was put together in 1981 from parts scrouged from several places. It's the fuel injected Commando I am still riding. And I have picked up another 8 or 10 Commandos since just because they were there. And my middle daughter {15} is bugging me to build her a Norton {yellow thank you}. Jim
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- Dec 18, 2004
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- 436
Well, it doesn't really surprise me that most of us are old farts. I count 8 in their 60's and 13 in their 50's but of those ,5 are within a year of being 60. That would put the 60 year olds over the top. I added myself at 61. Got my first motorcycle, a Commando in UK, in 1970 at 22yrs of age. Reborn in 2001 with my current 71 Commando. Have never ridden a modern cycle and probably never will. If you don't tickle it and kick it it ain't a motorcycle.
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- Jan 27, 2008
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I'm 50.
Had my first bike - a '70 BSA Lightning with 8" fork extensions - in '78. Replaced it with a Yamaha XJ650 in '82, replaced that with a Triumph 1050 Speed Triple in '06, and picked up the Norton in January of '08.
I had so much fun putting 'Ed' together, I'm itching for another project. It'll be either an 810 Dunstall or a '67 Lightning, both basket cases. The way the Dunstall owner is, I'll probably do the BSA next year and pick up the Dunstall a year or two after that (guy's been talking about selling the Dunstall for 3 years). BSA is the same bike I almost bought when I found the Norton. This one won't last much longer.
I usually ride three or four days a week, often for work (when I don't need to take the truck). I normally ride the Norton on odd days and the Triumph on even.
Though there are three+ decades between them, I find the Triumph and Norton to be very similar in feel and attitude. The Triumph is a much more capable bike, but I have just as much enjoyment on the Norton.
Had my first bike - a '70 BSA Lightning with 8" fork extensions - in '78. Replaced it with a Yamaha XJ650 in '82, replaced that with a Triumph 1050 Speed Triple in '06, and picked up the Norton in January of '08.
I had so much fun putting 'Ed' together, I'm itching for another project. It'll be either an 810 Dunstall or a '67 Lightning, both basket cases. The way the Dunstall owner is, I'll probably do the BSA next year and pick up the Dunstall a year or two after that (guy's been talking about selling the Dunstall for 3 years). BSA is the same bike I almost bought when I found the Norton. This one won't last much longer.
I usually ride three or four days a week, often for work (when I don't need to take the truck). I normally ride the Norton on odd days and the Triumph on even.
Though there are three+ decades between them, I find the Triumph and Norton to be very similar in feel and attitude. The Triumph is a much more capable bike, but I have just as much enjoyment on the Norton.
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- Jul 25, 2009
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- 62
I'm 58. Took the new demo 1973 Commando off the showroom floor where I worked one weekend when I was in my early twenties. Got drunk, drifted it a about 50 mph around a 90 degree turn and lowsided. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone so I borrowed some money and bought it for $1260 rather than confess my irresponsibility. I put 23,000 miles on it over the next five years with many highway miles and a trip to the coast from the mid-west. It was my only transportation for two years (including the Kansas winters). Finally had a head-on with a 1967 Buick Wildcat. Have never had a bike since that more perfectly fit my idea of a motorcycle (except maybe a Harley XR750 on a mile track). I started riding when I was twelve on a Honda S65 until I wore the grass out in the backyard and started riding again about 11 years ago. Now kids start racing at six years old but I don't think I missed a thing. The dirt tracks and guys I met won't be forgotten by me. BMW's and old Honda's now. Finally decided to get the Norton back together after carting it around the country as a wreck for 35 years. I'm in the process of building up the bike with another frame, same engine and running gear. Thanks for all the help this forum has provided. 
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- Jan 30, 2009
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I'm 46 and got my commando at 42.
I missed my youthful days on my Triumph's.
I had a 1971, Tiger, in 1979. I thrashed this bike and it never let me down.
In college I had a 1973 Bonneville and loved it. I sold it foolishly when I left for the
Marine Corp in 1985.
I didn't want another Triumph but something I never had.
The Norton was always appealling to me just outta my price range at age 17.
At 42, I finally had enough spare dough to buy one.
A 1972 Combat. It will not be sold. I hope my 15 y/o son takes an interest in it?
MarshalNorton
I missed my youthful days on my Triumph's.
I had a 1971, Tiger, in 1979. I thrashed this bike and it never let me down.
In college I had a 1973 Bonneville and loved it. I sold it foolishly when I left for the
Marine Corp in 1985.
I didn't want another Triumph but something I never had.
The Norton was always appealling to me just outta my price range at age 17.
At 42, I finally had enough spare dough to buy one.
A 1972 Combat. It will not be sold. I hope my 15 y/o son takes an interest in it?
MarshalNorton
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2009
- Messages
- 443
I'm 65. My first bike was an old 1949 Harley flathead "45" I bought for $50 in high school. I confess to riding a Honda in grad school in the late 60's. Bought my first Norton in 1972, a Combat, in my late 20's, and still remember the pull over 4000 rpm. Bought and rebuilt a BSA Victor a couple of years ago (still fun to ride and lovely to look at). Came back into the fold late last year with my Mk3. Every nut and bolt of this bike has been rebuilt or replaced by me (even the paint) with a great deal of help from this forum, to whom I'm genuinely grateful. My Mk3 is the sweetest ride I've ever had. I figure I've got a few more projects ahead of me before I hang up my boots and gloves.
Rick
Rick
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- Aug 21, 2006
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47 years young here. Loved Commandos and all other British and Italian bikes since I was a kid in Canada but always had Japanese bikes when I was a young 'un. Have recently (2004) gotten back into motorcycles and restorations. Seems to me like there is a pretty reasonable distribution of ages interested in Commandos!! That is very encouraging. Some of the other marques of interest to me (Matchless and AJS) have a much older membership in the enthusiast clubs. The documentation on these bikes is quite poor (no exploded parts diagrams!!) so we rely heavily on the collective memories of the membership during restorations. I don't see the 30-somethings showing much interest in these older British bikes and even in non-Commando Nortons like the Dominators etc. which worries me quite a bit.
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- Oct 7, 2005
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- 1,170
I think I lost my post, so I'll have another go.
First two wheeler was a 1958 Vespa 150. Mom wouldn't allow a "motorbike", so the Vespa was a compromise. It was really a way of saving money on my commute. I travelled about 35 miles to work, taking about 90 minutes on two buses and costing almost 80 percent of my apprentice's wages. I temporarily left the 2-wheel fraternity with a 1938 Austin 7 car, but that was a mechanical nightmare, so I went back to two wheels with an Ariel Leader. This was a motorcycle, but looked like a scooter, so Mother was reasonably happy.
The Leader was a 250cc two-stroke twin with very sprightly performance at speeds up to about 75mph. It could blow off an Austin Healey Sprite, but couldn't keep up with an MGB. Smoked like a factory chimney, so it wouldn't be accepatable in today's environmentally sensitive society. I'd like to have one, though. I bought mine at a bit over a year old for £ 90. A nicely restored one, if you can find one, runs about £ 9000 nowadays.
After getting married, it was four wheels (with one foray into three-wheels with a Heinkel bubble car) until I went to work for Norton Villiers. Then my wheels were company-provided. My ride-to-work for most of my time there was a rather tired 650SS. It had over 100,000 miles on it as a company hack. There were ocaasional diversions. One was a 50cc Motom (Italian) that N-V was considering importing for the UK market. I found that it burned more gas that the 650SS and was very fragile. The idea was dropped.
The worst one I got stuck with was a scooter called (believe it or not) the "Villiers Fantabulous". Made by Villiers-India, it was a belated attempt to grab some of the Vespa/Lambretta market. Yeah, right. As built in India it had a 175cc 2-stoke single. We replaced that with an electric-start 197cc Villiers 9E. I couldn't figure out how the structure was supposed to hang together, and the handling showed that physics won out. It was tucked away in a corner of the Norton stand at the 1968 Motorcycle Show at Earl's COurt, but thankfully, nobody noticed it.
On moving to the US, I concluded that traffic was too dangerous for someone on two wheels, particularly someone with a wife and two kids (later four) who was used to riding on the other side of the street, so I never got back into motorcycle ownership. Now retired and 68, the chances are slim indeed. A good deal on a Honda CX-500 might tempt, and a restorable Ariel Leader or Triumph 21 definitely would, but I don't think either of those made it across the pond.
I'll just stay in this fraternity and add the occasional anecdote from my time at N-V as the opportunity presents itself.
First two wheeler was a 1958 Vespa 150. Mom wouldn't allow a "motorbike", so the Vespa was a compromise. It was really a way of saving money on my commute. I travelled about 35 miles to work, taking about 90 minutes on two buses and costing almost 80 percent of my apprentice's wages. I temporarily left the 2-wheel fraternity with a 1938 Austin 7 car, but that was a mechanical nightmare, so I went back to two wheels with an Ariel Leader. This was a motorcycle, but looked like a scooter, so Mother was reasonably happy.
The Leader was a 250cc two-stroke twin with very sprightly performance at speeds up to about 75mph. It could blow off an Austin Healey Sprite, but couldn't keep up with an MGB. Smoked like a factory chimney, so it wouldn't be accepatable in today's environmentally sensitive society. I'd like to have one, though. I bought mine at a bit over a year old for £ 90. A nicely restored one, if you can find one, runs about £ 9000 nowadays.
After getting married, it was four wheels (with one foray into three-wheels with a Heinkel bubble car) until I went to work for Norton Villiers. Then my wheels were company-provided. My ride-to-work for most of my time there was a rather tired 650SS. It had over 100,000 miles on it as a company hack. There were ocaasional diversions. One was a 50cc Motom (Italian) that N-V was considering importing for the UK market. I found that it burned more gas that the 650SS and was very fragile. The idea was dropped.
The worst one I got stuck with was a scooter called (believe it or not) the "Villiers Fantabulous". Made by Villiers-India, it was a belated attempt to grab some of the Vespa/Lambretta market. Yeah, right. As built in India it had a 175cc 2-stoke single. We replaced that with an electric-start 197cc Villiers 9E. I couldn't figure out how the structure was supposed to hang together, and the handling showed that physics won out. It was tucked away in a corner of the Norton stand at the 1968 Motorcycle Show at Earl's COurt, but thankfully, nobody noticed it.
On moving to the US, I concluded that traffic was too dangerous for someone on two wheels, particularly someone with a wife and two kids (later four) who was used to riding on the other side of the street, so I never got back into motorcycle ownership. Now retired and 68, the chances are slim indeed. A good deal on a Honda CX-500 might tempt, and a restorable Ariel Leader or Triumph 21 definitely would, but I don't think either of those made it across the pond.
I'll just stay in this fraternity and add the occasional anecdote from my time at N-V as the opportunity presents itself.
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- May 31, 2009
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davamb said:79x100 said:GRM 450 said:
Caretaker ? I'm doing my damnedest to wear mine out
So it was you 79x100 that I've got to thank for all the hard work!
52 now, been riding longer than I've been driving. Could get your 'L' plates here at 17 and 6 months. Don't think I've not had a bike at any time since. Not had a lot of bikes, but have kept each one a long time. e.g. the Pantah since '82, the Commando bought sometime around '95.
Never had a car licence never wanted one...bikes through and through.
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