surffly
Over 1,000 Posts
1974 Norton Commando 850.
Period café racer survivor
Can best be described as a “rider” or a ten-footer. Bike was used as a daily ride last season and never missed a beat. I will try and list the bike as honestly as I can. Would rather scare off a buyer by over stating the bad, then have someone unhappy with the purchase.
Bike has a clear title and is currently on the road. Numbers all match. Yes, this is an old British bike, but I cannot think of any notable leaks, noises or issues. About the worst thing I can say is that when sitting in traffic on a hot day the right cylinder will puff a little smoke, I think this is more to do with the oil being over full and leaking into the air box than anything else.
When out with the bike I get great comments and people love to come over to talk about it.
Would not hesitate to ride this bike anywhere. Even if the bike sits for a bit it never fails to start on the first or second kick. It has never let me know or left me on the side of the road.
The bike came to me from a long-time owner. After years of use it was stored and semi forgotten, as is the classic story for so many vintage motorcycles. My main focus was to service the bike so that it would be a reliable and useable classic. Much more attention was put onto replacing parts and making meaningful upgrades, rather than dressing up a barn find. As a long time SOHC Honda CB750 owner and rider I was pleasantly surprised how easy this Norton was to work on and keep on the road.
I am more than happy to work with your shipper to get this bike anywhere in the world. Please note that you will have to actually make the arrangements. I do not have a crate; nor can I build one. Clearly payment will need to be made before releasing the bike.
Please feel free to email with any questions or for additional information. I have tried to list the systems and conditions as best I can.
Body Work & Frame:
•No evidence that the bike was ever down or wrecked.
•Frame not modified, cut or rusted.
•Paint on tank and side covers appears to be original. There are some nicks, dings, scratches and fading. It will be up to the next owner to decide if they want to restore this. I personally liked the patina and honest display of the bike.
•Rear tank strap is new
•Under tank rubber pads were changed
•Front tank mounting rubber discs are new.
•Back of the side covers were painted flat black as they had surface rust and were on the bad side of patina.
•Rubbers for the foot pegs are new.
•Seat has a hole and crack that you can see in the pictures.
•Bike was stored outside the whole season so some of the bolts has some surface rust. I did not try and hide any of that in the pictures. I’m sure an afternoon in the garage with some steel wool and oil would do WONDERS for the look.
•Fenders polish up okay, not perfect. Cleaned the undersides of gunk.
•Center stand installed and not cracked. Replaced the hardware and bushings.
•Side Stand installed and works perfectly.
Controls:
•Handle bar switches are OEM stock
•Clutch cable new
•Rear brake cable new
•Throttle cables are new
Gauges:
•Neither the tach nor the speedo are working even though they both have new cables. This issue did not bother me, so I never dug into it.
•Tach bounces around 4k RPM no matter how the engine is running.
•True mileage is unknown. The previous owner road and used the bike for many years. I can only assume that it is NOT a low mileage find.
•None of the “idiot lights” are hooked up. All of that part of the harness is there (new actually) and wrapped under the dash.
Engine:
•External cases have light polish to give the bike a little “pop”
•850cc, was told that the pistons are 1st or 2nd overbore. Unsure what compression ratio the pistons are. Bike pulls very well.
•Gaskets and oil seals changed. Engine cases were NOT split, but everything that could be freshened was.
•Fresh oil and filter (This year Commando has an external spin on filter)
•Reed check valve to prevent wet sump when stored
•Colorado Norton Works oil tank modification that includes new coating and mounts.
•Stainless braided oil feed lines
Ignition:
•Tri-Spark electronic ignition kit. VERY easy to set up. Great spark and performance
•Tri-Spark upgraded coils
•NGK spark plugs
•New wires
•Correct caps
Gear Box Transmission:
•All gears removed, inspected, cleaned and reinstalled
•Fresh gaskets, seals and oil
•New front sprocket
•New chain
•Barnett Clutch (All disc)
•Atlantic Green O-Ring clutch modification
Fuel Delivery:
•Brand new Amal Premier 32mm carbs. These are the more expensive units with the updated jets and upgraded slides. The new slides do not wear like the originals. Carbs perform great and keep the classic look, unlike Mikuni set ups.
•New petcocks
•OEM tank is clean and steel so no need to worry about modern fuel swelling the tank or causing issues.
•Stainless braided fuel line
•New rubber boots from carb to airbox
•Fresh K&N filter to replace stock air box material.
•New choke cables
Isolastics, engine mount and swingarm:
•Front Iso upgraded to modern adjustable unit.
•Rear Iso upgraded with adjustable set up.
•New fiber washers front and rear
•Swing arm rebuilt with new shaft and SS plates
•Dave Taylor head steady
•New rear engine mount shaft
Suspension:
•New rear shocks (Girling reproductions by Emgo)
•New fork seals
•Replaced fork bushings and sliders (top and bottom)
•Fresh fork oil
•New dust caps
Wheels and Tires:
•New Avon Roadrider tires front and rear
•New tubes
•Wheels have some rust on the chrome. No broken spokes or issues
•Front wheel/tire should be balanced, there is a vibration around 35mph
•I have a VERY RARE set of Cambary wheels that if the new owner was interested in I would be willing to give a price on. (They are NOT included)
Brakes:
•Front caliper rebuilt with SS pistons and fresh seals
•Ferodo pads in the front
•Rebuilt front master
•Rear shoes are new
•I have a NorVin 14-inch floating rotor kit with an AP racing caliper that I never installed. IF the next owner is interested in this I would be willing to give them a price. (NOT included)
Electrical:
•New main harness with cloth wrap
•New secondary harness for accessories under dash is new with cloth wrap
•Most of the connections have been changed with new
•New capacitor
•New battery (smaller than standard)
•New tail light
•Headlight is wired only for high beam. Low works, but not hooked up.
•Bike has no blinkers or electric start
•Charging system inspected and working as it should
Period Modifications:
•Dunstall (?) Fairing with new Gustafsson windscreen. When mounting one of the holes cracked. 90% of the crack is under the fiberglass and out of sight. The fairing itself has some cracks and nicks that you can see in the pictures. A few have been repaired with glass on the backside, these repairs can politely be referred to as functional, they are not pretty.
•Windscreen is not perfectly straight, can see in the pictures.
•Dunstall labeled clip ons.
•Grand Turismo GT grips
•Dunstall decibel slip on mufflers. There is no packing in the baffles, they sound great
•Dunstall (?) bolt on rear sets. These rearsets are set up as a “GP” or reverse shift pattern. The bushing in the shifter arm could benefit from a new bushing to tighten things back up, but it works as is and never fails to select a gear.
•Fairing mount covers the factory VIN Plate and has deformed it. I have a new replacement.
Tool Kit:
•I have a fairly complete set up factory tools to go with the bike.
Period café racer survivor
Can best be described as a “rider” or a ten-footer. Bike was used as a daily ride last season and never missed a beat. I will try and list the bike as honestly as I can. Would rather scare off a buyer by over stating the bad, then have someone unhappy with the purchase.
Bike has a clear title and is currently on the road. Numbers all match. Yes, this is an old British bike, but I cannot think of any notable leaks, noises or issues. About the worst thing I can say is that when sitting in traffic on a hot day the right cylinder will puff a little smoke, I think this is more to do with the oil being over full and leaking into the air box than anything else.
When out with the bike I get great comments and people love to come over to talk about it.
Would not hesitate to ride this bike anywhere. Even if the bike sits for a bit it never fails to start on the first or second kick. It has never let me know or left me on the side of the road.
The bike came to me from a long-time owner. After years of use it was stored and semi forgotten, as is the classic story for so many vintage motorcycles. My main focus was to service the bike so that it would be a reliable and useable classic. Much more attention was put onto replacing parts and making meaningful upgrades, rather than dressing up a barn find. As a long time SOHC Honda CB750 owner and rider I was pleasantly surprised how easy this Norton was to work on and keep on the road.
I am more than happy to work with your shipper to get this bike anywhere in the world. Please note that you will have to actually make the arrangements. I do not have a crate; nor can I build one. Clearly payment will need to be made before releasing the bike.
Please feel free to email with any questions or for additional information. I have tried to list the systems and conditions as best I can.
Body Work & Frame:
•No evidence that the bike was ever down or wrecked.
•Frame not modified, cut or rusted.
•Paint on tank and side covers appears to be original. There are some nicks, dings, scratches and fading. It will be up to the next owner to decide if they want to restore this. I personally liked the patina and honest display of the bike.
•Rear tank strap is new
•Under tank rubber pads were changed
•Front tank mounting rubber discs are new.
•Back of the side covers were painted flat black as they had surface rust and were on the bad side of patina.
•Rubbers for the foot pegs are new.
•Seat has a hole and crack that you can see in the pictures.
•Bike was stored outside the whole season so some of the bolts has some surface rust. I did not try and hide any of that in the pictures. I’m sure an afternoon in the garage with some steel wool and oil would do WONDERS for the look.
•Fenders polish up okay, not perfect. Cleaned the undersides of gunk.
•Center stand installed and not cracked. Replaced the hardware and bushings.
•Side Stand installed and works perfectly.
Controls:
•Handle bar switches are OEM stock
•Clutch cable new
•Rear brake cable new
•Throttle cables are new
Gauges:
•Neither the tach nor the speedo are working even though they both have new cables. This issue did not bother me, so I never dug into it.
•Tach bounces around 4k RPM no matter how the engine is running.
•True mileage is unknown. The previous owner road and used the bike for many years. I can only assume that it is NOT a low mileage find.
•None of the “idiot lights” are hooked up. All of that part of the harness is there (new actually) and wrapped under the dash.
Engine:
•External cases have light polish to give the bike a little “pop”
•850cc, was told that the pistons are 1st or 2nd overbore. Unsure what compression ratio the pistons are. Bike pulls very well.
•Gaskets and oil seals changed. Engine cases were NOT split, but everything that could be freshened was.
•Fresh oil and filter (This year Commando has an external spin on filter)
•Reed check valve to prevent wet sump when stored
•Colorado Norton Works oil tank modification that includes new coating and mounts.
•Stainless braided oil feed lines
Ignition:
•Tri-Spark electronic ignition kit. VERY easy to set up. Great spark and performance
•Tri-Spark upgraded coils
•NGK spark plugs
•New wires
•Correct caps
Gear Box Transmission:
•All gears removed, inspected, cleaned and reinstalled
•Fresh gaskets, seals and oil
•New front sprocket
•New chain
•Barnett Clutch (All disc)
•Atlantic Green O-Ring clutch modification
Fuel Delivery:
•Brand new Amal Premier 32mm carbs. These are the more expensive units with the updated jets and upgraded slides. The new slides do not wear like the originals. Carbs perform great and keep the classic look, unlike Mikuni set ups.
•New petcocks
•OEM tank is clean and steel so no need to worry about modern fuel swelling the tank or causing issues.
•Stainless braided fuel line
•New rubber boots from carb to airbox
•Fresh K&N filter to replace stock air box material.
•New choke cables
Isolastics, engine mount and swingarm:
•Front Iso upgraded to modern adjustable unit.
•Rear Iso upgraded with adjustable set up.
•New fiber washers front and rear
•Swing arm rebuilt with new shaft and SS plates
•Dave Taylor head steady
•New rear engine mount shaft
Suspension:
•New rear shocks (Girling reproductions by Emgo)
•New fork seals
•Replaced fork bushings and sliders (top and bottom)
•Fresh fork oil
•New dust caps
Wheels and Tires:
•New Avon Roadrider tires front and rear
•New tubes
•Wheels have some rust on the chrome. No broken spokes or issues
•Front wheel/tire should be balanced, there is a vibration around 35mph
•I have a VERY RARE set of Cambary wheels that if the new owner was interested in I would be willing to give a price on. (They are NOT included)
Brakes:
•Front caliper rebuilt with SS pistons and fresh seals
•Ferodo pads in the front
•Rebuilt front master
•Rear shoes are new
•I have a NorVin 14-inch floating rotor kit with an AP racing caliper that I never installed. IF the next owner is interested in this I would be willing to give them a price. (NOT included)
Electrical:
•New main harness with cloth wrap
•New secondary harness for accessories under dash is new with cloth wrap
•Most of the connections have been changed with new
•New capacitor
•New battery (smaller than standard)
•New tail light
•Headlight is wired only for high beam. Low works, but not hooked up.
•Bike has no blinkers or electric start
•Charging system inspected and working as it should
Period Modifications:
•Dunstall (?) Fairing with new Gustafsson windscreen. When mounting one of the holes cracked. 90% of the crack is under the fiberglass and out of sight. The fairing itself has some cracks and nicks that you can see in the pictures. A few have been repaired with glass on the backside, these repairs can politely be referred to as functional, they are not pretty.
•Windscreen is not perfectly straight, can see in the pictures.
•Dunstall labeled clip ons.
•Grand Turismo GT grips
•Dunstall decibel slip on mufflers. There is no packing in the baffles, they sound great
•Dunstall (?) bolt on rear sets. These rearsets are set up as a “GP” or reverse shift pattern. The bushing in the shifter arm could benefit from a new bushing to tighten things back up, but it works as is and never fails to select a gear.
•Fairing mount covers the factory VIN Plate and has deformed it. I have a new replacement.
Tool Kit:
•I have a fairly complete set up factory tools to go with the bike.
