My aspiring photographer wife made this picture of me and my old Norton a few weeks ago in the sunshine of an autumn day here in Northern California. Keep the Fonzie comments to yourself please.
1970 Norton Commando Fastback
VIN 139887
Racing Green
After years of owning and riding Triumph Bonnevilles and TR6s I one day had the life-changing experience of riding a Norton Commando. Despite the similarity in engine design, the Isolastic engine mounts that were the trademark of these later Nortons helped make freeway use much more bearable. I bought a very worn Fastback that had been extensively modified. I once again began making the pilgrimage to Raber's Parts Mart in San Jose, CA. Anyone that owns a British motorcycle knows Bob and his staff there. Bob had a Canary Yellow Fastback sitting in the back that I'd been buying parts off, one by one. Finally one day Bob said, "TJ why don't you just buy that thing and restore it." He had a point, as it was in original, unmolested condition, and the numbers matched, something my "cafe-racer" Fastback would never be able to come close to. So I sold the cafe racer and bought the 70. This is what it looked like when I brought it home. Notice the period era Craven luggage rack and the awful US export model handlebars. It had a British license plate on it and had never been registered (or run for that matter) in the United States. It had been leaning up against a wall back in England, and covered (not too well though) with a tarp. At one point in its convalescence the owners must have stucco'd their house because the bike was covered in a light coat of the stuff. Both sparkplugs were out and sitting on top of the head. The bores were filled with water. Later, it would take a 40-ton press to get one of the pistons out of its bore.
This is what she looked like when I rolled her off the truck and in to my driveway.
The Norton comes home. November, 1997
Here are some more pictures of the Norton during and after the restoration.
Here are some scans of some Norton sales literature that I have collected over the years.
Last updated 11.12.2005