1971 Norton Commando

What was your intended objective when you started the build?

I completely restored the Norton to it’s original glory, and make it as reliable as possible. I put all the reliability upgrades possible on it. I made some improvements that improved the look of it as well.

What motivated you to start your project?

I wanted a new bike, and I wanted to restore the Norton, so, I killed two birds with one stone and got both with the Norton.

What was the most unique and creative thing you did to the bike?

I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary other than better paint and powder coating of items that were painted before as well as items that were not painted.

What are you most proud of?

How well it turned out and how well it runs.

What do other people say about your motorcycle?

Most everyone loves it and remarks about how nice it looks. People who don’t know what it is knows that it is something special.

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Submitted by: Nicholas Kunz

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Specifics

Classification: Classic/Restored

Make, Model & Year: Norton Commando 1972

Fondly known as: The Norton

Time spent: 23 Months

Motorcycle cost: Thousands

Engine: 745cc bored 0.020″ over is now 756cc. New superblend crank roller bearings. New original spec cam, tappets, valves and guides. Every mounting hole was broke out, re-welded, and mounted tightly. The engine is virtually oil tight. All old British twins leak oil!

Intake: Amal Premier carbs, 32mm, hard coated slides for improved wear. Totally re-buildable. Don Penders gantry style throttle pull device. Synchronize carbs with digi-sync digital synchronizer. Norton intake and heads come polished from the factory! Hemi head, all British twins were hemi heads.

Exhaust: Standard up-swept exhaust system with “peashooter” mufflers.

Transmission: Standard 4 speed, pre-unit design. New bearings, seals, cover with real lip seals, not o-rings. Upgrade counter shaft ball bearing with roller bearing. Replaced 19t sprocket with 24t for better highway cruising. Big difference! These transmissions are known for their silky smooth shifts and they are!

Frame: Stock frame, sub frame, brake backing plate, motor mounts, kickstand, all powder coated. New factory VIN plate.

Suspension: Stock suspension, new shocks/springs. Front forks got new stanchions, seals, bushings. Kept the original fork sliders. Put swingarm collars on the pivot pin for rigidity and better handling.

Wheels, tires and brakes: Wheels on these machines are 19″ front and back. Dunlop K81-TT100 original type tires. Drum brakes front and back. They work fairly well. Certainly not disk but for my speeds more than adequate. New original style rims and stainless spokes and nipples.

Finish – Paint: The paint is yellow-orange enamel with clear coat. Black decals. Everything else painted and not painted is now powder coated. I powder coated all the foot controls black for a very unique look.

Accessories: All LED lighting with projector headlight and halo. Halo flashes with the turn indicators to get the cage drivers attention. The Led’s have reduced the current draw to less than half of the incandescent lighting amperage. (measured) Harley Davidson type rectifier/regulator. Bike is now negative ground. Pazon sure-fire ignition unit with Harley Davidson type coil. Much neater look. Starts in 1 or 2 kicks every time! Corbin Smuggler seat with trunk. Great for tool bag and small items. CNW led brake light kit, CNW primary belt kit with Barnett clutch plates. Oil filter kit. These bikes did not come with a spin on oil filter. Smiths electronic tach and speedo, eliminates the cable drives for both to make a much cleaner look and they are smooth! Handle bars are stock “western” style as Norton calls them. They imported about 90% of their production to America. Every nut, bolt, washer, bearing, seal were replaced on this bike!