YOUR CLASSICS
Allan Tannenbaum, the photojournalist who visited the Norton and Ducati factories in 1972 (see last month’s CB) reveals his own Norton ride
Allan Tannenbaum’s 1968 Norton Commando Fastback
THE FIRST BRITISH bike I ever rode was a Norton Atlas in 1967 – and I was hooked. In 1970 I bought a new Commando Roadster at Comerford’s in Surrey. I rode this bike around England and then to Paris, over the Pyrenees to Barcelona, took the ferry to Ibiza, and then back. I then took the bike home to New York where I had it for three years until a red-light runner totalled it out from under me.
In the ’90s my younger brother had a motorcycle restoration business in West Virginia and he called me when he found a 1968 Commando basket case – one of the first 200 built according to the owner, with matching engine and frame numbers. I paid for the bike and the restoration commenced. Alas, my brother tired of the business and the unfinished bike languished in his basement for many years. I was too busy with my profession to deal with it. But when my brother called in 2015 to tell me he was moving, I realised it was now or never. I drove to his place, rented a trailer, and brought the bike and its parts back to New York City. It was much worse than I remembered it.
The rebuild was done at 6th Street Specials in Manhattan. Not a concours restoration, which would have been costprohibitive and time-consuming, but good enough for reliable riding without the worry of road hazards spoiling something on the machine. Superblend bearings were installed in the lower end, new swingarm bushes were installed, and a host of other things were done to make the bike fast, safe, reliable and good looking.
I spent a lot of time making sure that the bike was as correct in a stock look as possible, and got into polishing cases and other parts to spiff her up. Now I’ve got a bike that’s fun to ride and show off.
Allan Tannenbaum, New York, USA