But the Combat proved fragile, having been pumped up to its practical limits of performance, it was easily pushed too hard. Replacing blown Combat engines became the factories preoccupation for the latter part of The Combat was dropped for The Commando was wildly successful, although Norton could never produce the volumes of bikes that Triumph did at the time. Demand outstripped supply, making them even more sought-after. Motorcycle Auctions bristle with various versions of the Norton Commando.
Buy one now before the world realizes that they can have an awesome machine like this for one third the price of a new Harley. But, with way more exclusivity. It was such a good idea that they homologated it into a street bike. Known as the JPN short for John Player Norton , it was introduced to a stunned public in , no one had every seen a street bike like this before. Today, fully faired road racers are quite common, but in they were unheard of.
While looking the park of a full-on race machine, the street version of the JPN was actually mechanically stock in every way. JPN was basically an appearance package.
Oh, but what an appearance! John Players are much sought-after today by collectors. Stephan Bauer, who thought the Featherbed Frame was bunk. He took a whole new look at the situation. What he came up with was Isolastic Suspension. The true genius of this system was not the rubber mounts, that had been tried before.
Problems always arose keeping the chain aligned as the engine moved around in its soft mounts. Rigidity was to be assured by a large-diameter 2. However, the first frames on the Norton Commandos were actually prone to bending under stress. During this time he worked in sales for Greeves and later AJS. And that Norton "punched above their weight"! Mike was definitely talking world wide 50, Commandos. I thought the NOC had the factory records?
Do they confirm 50,? Hi-Rider production like just about every Commando topic has been discussed here at one time or another some frequently and Joe Seifert has said previously that Mike Jackson is wrong. Mike Jackson once said there were only very few, because they did not sell. He then suggested a very low number. But that is quite obviously wrong. The Hi-Rider stayed in the programme for several variants of Commandos, so had it flopped straight away they would not have bothered to list it again.
ZFD said:. Mike Jackson is a very entertaining and amusing man, has been involved with Nortons on and off for about three decades, and knows how to tell a good story. A reliable or accurate source he is not. Accurate numbers are definitely not his forte. I discussed the number of Hi-Riders produced with him recently, and his estimate was totally out against what I have since seen in the records, even at a brief glance.
The same applies to his statement about the total number of Commandos produced. I suspect Mike forgets there were those big gaps in the system that LAB rightly points out. Had I the time I'd be looking up the smaller gaps which I seem to remember I saw in the despatch records.
On an aside you'd be surprised how many P11s and Mercurys were produced alongside the early Commandos- all in the same numbering sequence. Last edited: Jun 15, Hi riders could well have been a US success but a home market flop Joined Apr 1, Messages Regarding production numbers - 50? Probably half that number Hi Rider gas tanks for sale here on Ebay at any time, fiberglass and steel. Tank is a hot item - looks great on a Roadster. Joined Dec 30, Messages 3, I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a resounding success in the US or anywhere else but probably was intended for the US market.
Considering s were produced in a six year run and the s in three years seems there should be more s. You must log in or register to reply here. Similar threads. Norton Motorcycles Modern. When did Mk2 production stop Started by possm Aug 22, Replies: Norton Commando Motorcycles Classic. Started by Fast Eddie Jun 3, Replies: 6. Hinckley triumph moving production overseas Started by baz Feb 24, Replies: Read More. Ben Branch. Published by Ben Branch - October 21st British Cars Classic Cars Films.
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