Introduction to the Norton Commando
In
the
immediate
post-war years, British
motor
cycle
manufacturers began
to
appreciate
the
advantages
of
a vertical
twin
engine, acknowledging
the
success of
one
manufacturer
who
had
succeeded
in marketing a highly
attractive
design as far
back
as
1937.
The
first
Norton
twin
was unveiled
at
the
1949
Earl's
Court
Show.
Of
497
cc
capacity it was
marketed
as
the
Model 7.
The
specification
included a
cast
iron engine with
splayed
exhaust
ports
and
push rods located in cast-in tunnels
at
the
front
of
the
cylinder
block.
The
magneto
and
camshaft
were driven by
separate
chains
that
formed
part
of
the
timing
gear assembly
and
were fully enclosed
within
a conventional
timing cover.
Norton
Roadholder
forks
looked
after
the
front
suspension;
at
the
rear
end
a 'garden
gate'
frame
layout
employed
plunger units characteristic
of
that
era.
As
time
progressed,
the
Norton
twins assumed
the
name
Dominator
and
the overall
specification
was changed
to
include alloy engine
components,
the
famous
Norton
'Featherbed'
frame
with
swinging
arm
rear suspension
and
shortened
Roadholder
forks.
Machines
fitted
with
the
'Featherbed'
frame were redesignated
the
Model
88
and
during
1956
a
596
cc
version,
known
as
the
Model
99,
was
added
to
the
range.
Sports
versions
of
both
models were
introduced
during
1962
and
a
646
cc
machine
to
the
same basic
specification
that
was available in
both
standard
and
sports
trim.
Financial
problems
necessitated
Norton
Motors becoming
part
of
the
Associated
Motor
Cycles
Group
and
in
1962
the
old
Bracebridge
Street
works in Birmingham,
the
traditional
home
of
the
Norton,
finally closed when all
production
was moved
to
Woolwich.
Although
the
Norton
range of
motor
cycles was
continued,
some
hybrids
were
marketed
comprising in several
instances
Norton
engines
fitted
into
AMC cycle
parts.
The
twins
were, however,
the
least
affected,
apart
from
some
export
only
versions. It was
about
this
time
that
the
Norton
Atlas came
into
being,
fitted
with
an
enlarged
twin
cylinder
engine
of
745
cc.
It
too
ultimately
acquired
an
AMC
frame.
By
now
the
Bdtish
motor
cycle
industry
in general was faced
with
financial
problems, mainly
on
account
of
the
Japanese invasion
of
their
traditional markets_ Associated Motor Cycles were
one
of
several
manufacturers
to
collapse
under
the
strain
and
towards
the
end
of
1966
a
satisfactory
arrangement
was
completed
for
their
assets
to
be
acquired
by Manganese Bronze Holdings
Limited,
of
which Villiers Engineering was a subsidiary_ A
new
company
was born -Norton-Villiers Limited
and
work
com-
menced
on
a design
project
under
the
direction
of
Dr
Stefan
Bauer
at
the
Villiers premises in Wolverhampton. Meanwhile,
Norton
production
was again
on
the
move,this
time
to
new
premises
on
one
of
the
trading
estates
at
Andover_ The move
was
completed
during
1969.
The
outcome
of Dr Bauer's
project
was
the
Norton
Commando,
a
750
cc
vertical twin using
an
inclined version
of
the
original
Dominator
engine
suspended
in
an
entirely
new
frame
by
means
of
Isolastic stlspension
mountings,
a
patented
Norton-Villiers inventlon_
Although
initially dismissed by
the
sceptics as merely a revamped Atlas,
the
Commando
soon
found
favour
with
all who were privileged
to
have a
test
ride.
The
Isolastic suspension eliminated
the
high
frequency
vibration normally associated
with
the
vertical
twin
engine
and
gave a
hitherto
unknown
smooth
ride_
From
this
moment
the
Commando
became a success,
as
underlined
by
the
presentation
of
the
'Motor
Cycle
of
the
Year'
award
on
no
less
than
five consecutive years as
the
result
of
a reader
contest
organised
by
Motor Cycle News.
Six
versions
of
the
Commando
have
been
marketed,
the
Interstate,
designed
for
long distance
riding,
the
Roadster
for
normal
road
use,
the
Fastback,
virtually
the
original version,
the
Hi-rider,
built
in semi-chopper
style,
the
750
cc
Production
racer
and
the
Interpol,
a fully-equipped police
model used
by
many
police forces
throughout
the
world.
Only
the
Fastback
is no longer
in
production.
Further
permutations
are available
from
the
use
of
the
standard
or
the
Combat
engine,
the
latter
being a specially-tuned version
that
develops
65
bhp
at
7000
rpm
- 5
bhp
more
than
the
standard
engine_
During March
1973
an
850
cc
model
was
added
to
the
range,
fitted
with
a modified
form
of
the
750
cc
engine
that
has
the
same
power
output
but
imposes less stress on
the
more
vulnerable
components_
This
too
is
currently
available
in
five versions,
one
of
which
is
specially
equipped
to
give a significant
reduction
in noise level.
Perhaps
the
greatest success
of
the
Commando
was
Peter
Williams' Isle
of
Man
TT
win in
the
1973
Formula
750
race,
when a British
manufacturer
showed
that
a British
motor
cycle
could
still
offer
a serious challenge
and
emerge victorious.
The
Norton
Commando
is
indeed a superbi
ke
and
it
is
particularly
fitting
that
this descriptive
attribute
was
applied
to
the
Commando
when
interest
in large
capacity
high-performance
models
heightened
several years ago.
Modifications
to
the
Norton Commando range
When
the
Norton
Commando
was
announced
towards
the
end
of
1967,
it
was
greeted
with a certain
amount
of
scepticism
because
on
first
sight
it
appeared
to
comprise
of
the
old
Norton
Dominator
twin
cylinder
engine
mounted
at
an
inclined
angle in
a
set
of
new
cycle
parts.
It
was
not
realised
that
the
new
Isolastic
method
of
engine suspension
damped
out
all engine vibration
and
produced
a
machine
which
had
an
uncanny
smoothness
for
a vertical
twin.
In
due
course
the
critics were
silenced
and
the
Commando
had
the
distinction
of
being
regarded
as
the
first
of
today's
so-called
'Superbi
kes'.
There can be little
doubt
that
the
original design
concept
has
proved
correct,
since comparatively
few
modifications
of any
real
consequence
have been made since
production
commenced
during
1968.
Mostly
they
relate
to
styling
and
the
introduction
of
'slim line'
front
forks.
In
March
1973
the
750
cc
range
was
supplemented
by
the
introduction
of
an
850
cc
model,
the
engine
of
which embodies several design modifications
to
enable
the
same
power
output
as
that
of
the
750
cc
Combat
engine
to
be Obtained, with less stress
on
the
engine
components.
Today,
five variations of
the
basic
750
cc
model are available,
together
with five versions
of
the
850
cc
model. These include
the
Interpol
model which
is
used
by
police forces
throughout
the
world.
Some
of
the
engine
and
gearbox
data
contained
in
this
manual can
be
applied
to
the
earlier
Dominator
twins
of
497
cc
and
597
cc, also
to
the
646
cc
twins
and
the
745
cc
Atlas
model.
It
is mainly
the
cycle
parts
of these
latter
models
which
differ.