Café Commando

What do you get if you shoe-horn a 750 Commando engine into a featherbed frame that once housed a 350 single? Henry Gregson explains…

Half a century has passed since Norton launched the Commando. In typical British tradition, they opted to use an existing (and possibly outdated) engine in a new rolling chassis. This was based around an Isolastic frame, an attempt to calm the vibration which increased in line with the engine capacity. The idea was to isolate the engine from the frame using rubber mountings and it worked.

Initially however the new frame didn’t find favour with many traditional Norton fans. It spelled the end of the legendary, much-loved featherbed, a frame with road holding which became the standard by which all others were judged. People asked ‘why fix what ain’t bust?’ and many felt that the Commando should have included the featherbed frame in its design. History has shown that Norton almost certainly made the correct decision, but…what if they had gone down the featherbed route? What would the bike have turned out like? The owner of our feature bike, Tom, may have the answer!

Tom was looking for a Commando. At an auction, he found a former racing Norton which had been part of a container full of bikes imported into the UK from Australia. Although it wasn’t a Commando, it was interesting enough to make his bid, and he was successful. There was little paperwork accompanying the bike except a few invoices. These showed that the Norton engine had started off as a 750cc Combat unit, and had been improved by a well-known tuner of Norton twins. The invoices detailed gas flowing the cylinder head, polishing and lightening the rockers and crankshaft, fitting a 7S camshaft, removing the end of the crankshaft where the alternator rotor fitted and fitting a flapper-type breather as used on the Matchless G50. Boyer electronic ignition had also been fitted.