Oddball Norton Commandos
(Page 5 of 6)
January/February 2008
By Robert Smith
But the P10 engine is shelved, and for good reason: It is complex (the cams were driven by one long timing chain running through tunnels on the outside of the engine), expensive to make and — critically — less powerful than the 750 Atlas.
RELATED CONTENT
Most people wouldn’t think of touring a 1928 Norton Model 18 — let alone with their 10-year-old son...
Simmering heat. Blistering sun. And Dunstall Norton Commando that's stood in a scrapyard for the la...
On Sept. 15, 2007, I celebrated 25 years of owning my Norton Commando. In that time the bike and I ...
The Norton name is back in the U.K., this time under the sole ownership of a British businessman wi...
While the Norton motorcycle company faded from existence as the sun finally set on the British moto...
Faced with an urgent need for a new bike, Norton’s Bernard Hooper, in an inspired piece of lateral thinking, suggests putting the old Atlas engine in Bauer’s frame. OK, says Poore, build it — adding that it has to be ready for the 1967 Earls Court show in London, just three months away.
But Bauer designed his frame around the unit construction P10 engine, where the swingarm could be attached directly to the power unit. Part of Hooper’s dilemma is that the separate Atlas engine and gearbox first have to be mounted in a sub-frame to which the swingarm can be attached.
Hooper, an experienced development engineer, and his assistant Bob Trigg set to. They make the show — just.
In Hooper’s Commando, rubber buffers are enclosed in two cross-frame tubes mounted on the engine plates. The buffers bolt to the frame, allowing the powertrain to vibrate without transmitting its shuddering to the rider. Lateral movement is controlled by shims — it’s said this was Poore’s contribution. A notorious cheapskate, he apparently nixed screw adjusters in favor of cheaper shims, which required awkward and time-consuming fettling by the owner. Vernier adjusters did appear, but not until the last MkIII Commando in 1975.
At the time, cynics sneered that only a British manufacturer would take a bike with an obsolete engine (the Atlas), and a great frame (the legendary Featherbed), then ditch the frame and keep the engine! Nevertheless, the Commando was a critical and commercial success. It went on to win Motorcycle of the Year in British rider polls five years in a row, while staving off the collapse of the British motorcycle industry.
Owner’s reviews
Tony Duffett, R model: “I like the older style touches, like the twin leading shoe brake,” Tony says. “The early models — like the R — also came with a narrower front tire, so they’re a little quicker handling.” Tony has also heard from various sources that the R came with a different profile camshaft. “This one is a really strong motor. It makes great power,” he says, especially compared with the 1971 Roadster he also owns. “I also prefer the sound that you get from the earlier style Dominator exhausts. They’ve got a deeper, throatier sound. Overall? “It’s a great around town motorcycle.”
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
Next >>