Eleven new 1975 Norton Commandos found in Belgium

[Mailman]

This article was from April 2010, an old motorcycle dealer and collector passed away and this is what they found. What would you do with one of these? Keep it as is? Assemble it and keep it on static display? Or put it together and ride it like you stole it! Re live your mis spent youth?

https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/black-side-down-new-nortons-found-in-belgium

 

[gggGary]

Remember that deal.
Made me look, not verified but sounds about right;

Originally Posted by grandpaul View Post
I believe they all sold at auction already.
Yep, this is what they went for...............

"UPDATE: 6/22/2010
Selling prices for the Belgian Norton Commandos have finally been revealed. The cheapest went for just under $21,000, while the most expensive sold for just under $23,000. The Matchless G80 went for a shade under $12,000. - Richard Backus"


Ride baby ride!

 

[G_YamTech_314]

I’d probably cry out of genuine excitement, I’d sell one, ride one, display one. In that order.

 

[gggGary]

Sellers are asking 8-11K for good used Commando's now.

 

[Mailman]

Sellers are asking 8-11K for good used Commando's now.

Oh , I know, I was doing a hard search for one to restore back about 14 years ago. I looked and looked and all I could find were either already restored and they wanted top dollar or they were basket cases. A guy I worked with , his dad had an old complete Commando tucked away in his garage. I kept working on him but he wouldn’t let it go, then one day he tells me he sold it to his next door neighbor! Grrr

I wound up buying a BMW R100/7 to restore. It was probably a better choice for me, those old Beemers are bullet proof and easy to work on. Later I found an old Triumph Bonneville to restore to get my Brit fix, also a good choice.
I will always love Nortons, but they seem like high bred race horses with weak ankles. Fast as hell and thrilling , right up to the point when they break.

A quick Norton story here. I have an old uncle who I dearly love. He has been a life long free spirit and a hippy who has always lived outside the cultural norms. He is an expert mechanic and professional welder who got rich working as an inspector for offshore oil drilling platforms. So my wild old uncle back in 1973 was doing his best Easy Rider impression , riding cross country on his Norton. He pulled into a roadside rest stop and met a girl from Connecticut, she hopped on the back of his bike and never got off. They are still together.
I keep photos of him up in my shop for inspiration. YOU NEVER SLOW DOWN, YOU NEVER GROW OLD !!!

The bike being towed behind his Suburban, and the girl!

My uncle nearly 70.

YOU NEVER SLOW DOWN, YOU NEVER GROW OLD!!

Last time I saw him he was in his 70’s and he had this old BMW RG1000 that he fixed up. The black and yellow one they used to call the bumblebee. He rode that from Oregon to Phoenix with nothing but a bedroll on the back, sleeping out in the open. Crazy old man! God I love that guy.
Do not go softly into the night.
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.

 

[Jim]

I've owned 3 Nortons. A 60 something 500 Manx(I think it was a 61) that someone had painted hot pink. Had a 70 Commando that I put a Dunstall kit into, and a 74-75 Interstate with the huge tank... 7 and a half gallons if I remember correctly. The Interstate was wrecked, so I picked it up for a song. It wound up bein' a daily driver that was surprisingly reliable... Lucas and Amal gremlins notwithstanding.

We had a recent thread about our first bike that inspired me to dig through some old boxes for pics. Didn't come up with many. I did find this one though... the Interstate tank just after I resprayed it.... Yeah, was a better mechanic than I was a photographer.

I distinctly remember burnin' through two rolls of 35mm Kodachrome out in the country after it was done. Still lookin'. They gotta be here somewhere....

 

[Mailman]

That’s a nice looking tank. No factory ever made a nicer looking motorcycle to this day. In my humble opinion.

 

[Jim]

No factory ever made a nicer looking motorcycle to this day. In my humble opinion.

Agreed. the Commando looked supersonic... just sittin' there.

 

[jradvantage]

Had a 1974 from about 1999 – 2003. Beautiful bike and sounded great.

 

[Mailman]

Had a 1974 from about 1999 – 2003. Beautiful bike and sounded great.

View attachment 130156

Look at that beauty! That’s what I wanted , right there!

 

[gggGary]

mmm Nortons! JRP1 bought my Norton herd, 4? back in, I don't know, 1980 He kept the best and recently got it back on the road.

I even got to ride it, maybe again in a week or two.

Thanks for sharing the pics n story about your uncle Bob!

 

[Mailman]

mmm Nortons! JRP1 bought my Norton herd, 4? back in, I don't know, 1980 He kept the best and recently got it back on the road.
View attachment 130167
I even got to ride it, maybe again in a week or two.
View attachment 130166

Thanks for sharing the pics n story about your uncle Bob!

Man! That red one is beautiful! It looks like it came right out of one of this old Norton ads, the ones with a beautiful girl draped over it!

 

[nighthog]

Built this one from boxes of bits

And reliable, after the inevitable shakedown period. I do kinda miss it.

 

[Mailman]

Built this one from boxes of bits

View attachment 130179

And reliable, after the inevitable shakedown period. I do kinda miss it.

Nice! I guess we have a lot of Norton fans here!

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - very pretty bikes indeed.

Mailman - you DO have a very cool uncle. I suspect that a number of us on this forum are seen by our families in much the same way that your family viewed him.

I hope so anyway....

Pete

 

[azman857]

I wish I could have kept my ,73 850 Commando. Best handling ride I ever had. So different somehow. Never put my finger on it how. You cranked that beast over and if it started you knew it was a powerful machine. Watching that engine and tranny vibrating in it's shock mounted cradle. Pull in the clutch and shifted up for first gear on the right side and let out the clutch you knew to tighten the grip 'cuz she pulls like a fast train. Hell yeah I want another.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

I'd like to have this version.

Note its special feature...

 

[Mailman]

You mean that little old supercharger?

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Yup. An Aisin AR300.

 

[Signal]

I have seen a supercharged one in the flesh at a show in Auckland. I think the bike I saw was customised in Christchurch.
Years ago when I was working on the tools I was in the ceiling space of a house and saw from the look of the tank a 1975 850.
It was apart and in boxes, the owner did not want to sell it, he had brought it with him from the UK.
A year or so later I saw the lady of the house somewhere else and asked about the bike. She said her and her husband had split up and he had moved out she didn't know or care where the bike was.