Norton Commando Interstate Mk 11 a 1974

boundless · Mar 21, 2007

Early 70's Book

'Kickstart' by Douglas Rutherford.

Derring do and intrepid wheezes, using nothing but his wits and a Norton Interstate, the hero plans the perfect heist.

The author came to be regarded as the Dick Francis of the motor racing world.

Brilliant book, better by far than anything Ian Fleming wrote.

Got me into bikes, indirectly.

Anybody else read it?

I'd buy it now, even at antique book prices, just to read again. (But not in German.)

Blackal · Mar 22, 2007

boundless said:
'Kickstart' by Douglas Rutherford.

Derring do and intrepid wheezes, using nothing but his wits and a Norton Interstate, the hero plans the perfect heist.

The author came to be regarded as the Dick Francis of the motor racing world.

Brilliant book, better by far than anything Ian Fleming wrote.

Got me into bikes, indirectly.

Anybody else read it?

I'd buy it now, even at antique book prices, just to read again. (But not in German.)

Did he also have a Breitling watch? If so -I think I did read it a few decades ago.

Al

Rob Farmer · Mar 22, 2007

cookie said:
not heard that one before

I am suprised given your penchant for old Guzzis

cookie · Mar 22, 2007

Rob Farmer said:
I am suprised given your penchant for old Guzzis

things don't fall off guzzis. not much compared to british bikes anyway

MikeP · Mar 22, 2007

Clive said:
If you do buy it - don't be tempted to attach a sidecar.

Eventually the downtube will snap away from the main spine

Blimey Clive, you've shot-up in height since you had that combination!

Mind you I can see why you had to have the chair on it in those days what with your feet being so far from the ground and all.

ELIMINATOR · Mar 22, 2007

Code:

things don't fall off guzzis. not much compared to british bikes anyway

Probably coz the electrics are so shite, they won't start :augie

cookie · Mar 22, 2007

ELIMINATOR said:
Code:

things don't fall off guzzis. not much compared to british bikes anyway

Probably coz the electrics are so shite, they won't start

bosch or lucas?

let me think... :blast

ELIMINATOR · Mar 22, 2007

Bosch on 1974 Guzzis

sorry, i accidentally splatted your post, above is all that's left. cookie

cookie · Mar 22, 2007

ELIMINATOR said:
Bosch on 1974 Guzzis

short answer is bosch charging and starting was fitted post *about* 71. points etc. were still marelli.

no ones ever owned up to making the switchgear AFAIK

ELIMINATOR · Mar 22, 2007

Just arranged a viewing on Saturday.

I have seen the front brake conversion on another mates bike. This was some work. The fork was milled out to accept a new caliper mount, welded up, fork internal bore trued. Seems to know what he's doing, sods law says that the more enthusiastic I get, the faster the price will rise.

(RIP) Kaister · Mar 22, 2007

I like that - its got the ádv'tank conversion

i've always preferred interstate tanks and its got all the right bits and mods done to it.

just check the forks have no play front to back and that the wheels are in line

Ash · Mar 23, 2007

i had a brand new shiney mk111 in 1977.[not for long]
oh dear oh dear.

most bikes now running should be sorted if not the bits to make them reliable[cough] are easy to get.
a mate has two and has modernised them and has very little agro.

Ash · Mar 23, 2007

Steptoe said:
They sound like a barrel of fun -

Bet the club don't have many ride outs .

they have tow in's

ELIMINATOR · Mar 24, 2007

Just had a go on it. Gearbox was confusing, apart from brake & gear lever being opposite. I'd forgotten that the gears qwere 1 up, 3 down, made the ride..................interesting :augie

ELIMINATOR · Mar 24, 2007

Just been offered a 750 roadster for £3,000. Same front brake conversion. How does the 750 compare to the 850?

Is the 850 an improvement on the earlier model?

alimey4u2 · Mar 24, 2007

In search of horsepower, Norton came up with the 850 (actually about 820ish cc) as the last highly tuned variant of the 750cc ("combat" motor) was very fragile....
Yes it was a better bike although let down by very poor chrome (as did they all)

ELIMINATOR · Mar 25, 2007

Best thing about the 850 is that the max torque comes in at 3,000 as opposed to the 750 at 5,000 rpm. More mechanically sympathetic for an old bike.

Hew · Mar 25, 2007

Think carefully what you want the bike for.
If it is the occasional bimble on a sunny day and to look pretty in the garage then a big Brit twin is the thing.
I have owned a T140 for 23 years. I bought it in a pile of bits as a 19 year old built it up and thrashed it mercilessly as a teenage boy would. I could live with the vibration but it broke brackets that were a 1/4 inch thick!. I have since rebuilt it and rode it for the first time in 15 years two years ago. Still breaks down like it used too and they are still caused by a previous bodges.

Have you though of a Moto Guzzi either S3 750 or the 850 Le Mans. These have the required looks and performance and in my opinion genuine continent crossing reliability. They also have the same type of feel/character that the Brit big twins have.
Whatever you buy make sure you take the time to check it properly as there are many poor bikes out there and they are priced the same as good ones.
Good luck :thumb2

Rob Farmer · Mar 25, 2007

I prefer the 750 engine, they rev better and sound crisper. My ideal would be a 750 engine in the later 850 roadster chassis. You are probably far safer getting the latest bike going though. There were so many mods made over the years to improve them. My mates 750 combat is still going strong, it's been thrashed mercilously since the early 80s, apart from a gearbox bearing going its been no problem at all - the bloody thing was faster than my 1100GS :blast

Coolcarbon · Mar 25, 2007

As Hew says, you need to consider what you want this Bike for...

I rode the 750 as well as both 850s with alternate gear change/brake pedals...for a living, it was interesting whilst we had both 850s on the fleet...

Covered 10s of thousands of miles on them but.........they were in the workshop virtually every week, mainly due to the the mileage and err, the hard life we gave them...

Snapped Chains and spokes in the rear wheel were not uncommon and the electrics were best described as weak..

When we got the 'Electric Start' 850...it only really managed to crack up that Empire State Building type stroke when the motor was warm, first start of the day always involved the kick start, assisted by the 'button'...

The brakes were absolutely average...the front pads could be worn out in a week if the weather was shyte and a lot of town riding was done, but they were only small round things and a single disc doing a lot of work...

I'd love to have one in my imaginary "Stable" but only for Sundays and High days...even my rose tints find it hard to blot out some of the negatives...

The 750 with the 'Reverse Cone' silencers sound beauuuutiful...

the 850s were tamed down considerably, noise wise...

Handling was predictable and surefooted...I had the lightest bike on the Group, wore away Fairing lowers, foot pegs etc. etc. even used to lift the rear wheel occasionally but the bike remained as predictable as a low tide...all this on Avon Roadrunners too...

And....remember those adverts, for the Commando as well as the T150...'Well 70s macho stuff....:cool

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