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Norton Motorcycles Saved...

On country roads a lad beat me on my new Z1000 Kawasaki. He was riding one of those 400cc two stroke Yamahas and went past me on too many corners. On the straights it was a completely different matter, though then there was more blue smoke coming from the Z1000 than the RD. The known oil ring problem...
 
On country roads a lad beat me on my new Z1000 Kawasaki. He was riding one of those 400cc two stroke Yamahas and went past me on too many corners. On the straights it was a completely different matter, though then there was more blue smoke coming from the Z1000 than the RD. The known oil ring problem...
On an RD400 I fancy my chances vs a GPZ900 but not on a CB250, not unless it was a go-cart circuit
 
On an RD400 I fancy my chances vs a GPZ900 but not on a CB250, not unless it was a go-cart circuit

It was tight twisty country road with the odd straight bit and the GPZ was only a few month old and the bloke on it really didn't seem confident/capable in the twistery. His first big bike maybe or too scared of pranging his brand new uber-machine? I rode the tits off the RS250 to the extent that this is the only time I can recall brake fade with disc brake! The RS250 is very light and a good handling bike. It was also one of the quickest 4 stroke 250's in a straight line in spite of being single cylinder.
I later had a race tuned RD250 on the road that would do 108 and embarrassed many a 750+ on that! It would match the likes of CB750 or GS750 from 0 - 60! and did about 20mpg on a good day...

I got beat myself by a grey import 400 Kawasaki 4 with a 18000rpm red line and 135mph top end ridden by a 5', 9 stone ringing wet lunatic with a death wish on a similar twisty road and me on the 186mph Blackbird! About 60BHP V 164BHP but the Kwaka about as small and light as a 250. He was so determined to beat me that he was overtaking cars on blind bends and blind rises etc!
 
All this goes to prove is that the fastest bike through any set of bends on a public road is the one driven by a madman who doesn't much care whether he lives or dies. The magazines used to run it regularly with an Impreza WRX and a Blade or R1 on a track with the same result.
 
On an RD400 I fancy my chances vs a GPZ900 but not on a CB250, not unless it was a go-cart circuit

You've never diced with a despatch rider of any ilk I take it then Richard.. ? Rossi and Marquez would struggle against those nutters :p
(Well maybe not Marquez - he's even worse than any of those lunatic despatch types)
 
You've never diced with a despatch rider of any ilk I take it then Richard.. ? Rossi and Marquez would struggle against those nutters :p
(Well maybe not Marquez - he's even worse than any of those lunatic despatch types)
Barry Sheene was a despatch rider I think.
 
Watching that video I had the strange feeling that everyone was acting a part, while looking at each other through their many "visual windows."
 
LepZf5
i have a Ducati Diavel ,and yes it is a black and a very fast Devil ;)
I have a Moto Guzzi 8V 1200 SE Black Devil , and that is the official MG colour way name :)
I also cut my teeth on a Norton Commando Mk2A 850cc right foot shift, the best commando by far
 
LepZf5

I also cut my teeth on a Norton Commando Mk2A 850cc right foot shift, the best commando by far

I had a new very slow 1975 850 mk2A, sold a yellow 1973 MK5 750 Combat to pay for it. I regretted my decision straight away and rapidly bought a 1976 Ducati 860. That was yet another mistake :(. I had to go to Kawasaki to regain my sanity.:)
 
The Combat was a very different bike by all accounts, though later Commandos can be made to go well without breaking. It's such a shame that the British bikes of that era were made with clapped out machinery and highly variable in quantity.
 
I had a new very slow 1975 850 mk2A, sold a yellow 1973 MK5 750 Combat to pay for it. I regretted my decision straight away and rapidly bought a 1976 Ducati 860. That was yet another mistake :(. I had to go to Kawasaki to regain my sanity.:)
Mine was 1974 ‘N’ reg, there were a few rumours going about at the time that they were just banging out all the end of run stuff in ‘75 as the MK3 was being released in ‘75.
 
My memories of 850 Commandos at that time were the annular black cap silencers which were too quiet and the heavy electric start which didn't work on the Mk3. My Duke had electric start which shed metal which took out the ignition. The Duke also became a 430 single when it rained - which was fun <cough> Happy days though
 
I had a 1971 750 Commando LR. Which stood for "Long Range" because it had a metal tank like that of the Atlas which held about half a litre more petrol. In fact I think someone discovered some leftover Atlas tanks and thought up the "LR" series. It was, in my opinion, better looking than the standard fastback. A great joy when it ran well, but constant adjusting, repairing, oil leaks, broken clutch cables, self-destructing alternators, bits falling off. Lovely Smiths instruments, though.
 
I had a 1971 750 Commando LR. Which stood for "Long Range" because it had a metal tank like that of the Atlas which held about half a litre more petrol. In fact I think someone discovered some leftover Atlas tanks and thought up the "LR" series. It was, in my opinion, better looking than the standard fastback. A great joy when it ran well, but constant adjusting, repairing, oil leaks, broken clutch cables, self-destructing alternators, bits falling off. Lovely Smiths instruments, though.

My 1973 yellow Commando Combat Roadster went from 0 to 13,000 miles , the only bit falling off was one trafficator. I gather that after that mileage problems occurred. It was more reliable than a new 1983 BMW 800 and much more fun.:)
 
I was lucky. Because they had just bought out the 750 high comp version when I purchased mine. They sold me the wrong model so it went back to the factory to be rebuilt under the supervision of John Hudson. Whilst all around me were blowing their mains mine did 30 thousand trouble-free miles.
 
My 1973 yellow Commando Combat Roadster went from 0 to 13,000 miles , the only bit falling off was one trafficator. I gather that after that mileage problems occurred. It was more reliable than a new 1983 BMW 800 and much more fun.:)

When I had my fastback, the Combat engine was supposed to shatter its con-rods because the compression ratio had been raised too much. Here in Italy all the Commandos' alternators self-destructed after about 20,000 Km. The rotor shook loose from the end of the crankshaft and gouged out bits of the stator. Norton kept sending out spares, but did not modify the design. I'm very glad you sold yours at 13,000 miles!
 


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