COMMANDO FASTBACK
We ride a fighting fit example of the first-year Norton Commando
Terry Wood has a soft spot for Commandos, especially the early Fastback model. “I owned one back in the day,” says the Lincolnshirebased marine engineer. More recently, having bought a Laverda 3C/mirage special he’d found on a classified ads website and brought it back from years of neglect, he was looking for another project. Then he spotted this Commando on ebay: “I fancied something British after doing the Laverda,” he continues. “And, because I’d owned one years ago, this one leapt out at me. It was down on the south coast, but I was working on a boat down there, so I went and had a look at it and brought it back in my van when I’d finished the job.”
Back home, Terry realised that if he wanted a project he’d picked the right bike. “The guy selling it said he’d had it running, but I don’t think so,” he explains. “I don’t think it had run for quite some time, so I decided to go right through it and stripped it completely.”
As Terry worked his way through the bike, he made an interesting discovery. “I noticed that the carbs were 932 Amals (32mm) instead of the stock 930s (30mm),” he says. “It also had a non-standard exhaust, and a bit of research revealed they were period Dunstall modifications. When I stripped the engine, I found the cam was Dunstall ‘street’ profile, too. The gearbox worked fine, so I left that well alone. The crank was good, too, and there were plus 20 thou pistons fitted in freshly rebored barrels – I don’t think the engine had done much work since having that done. I have fitted new valve guides; I’ve gone with the later type guides that have seals, but the valves and their seats were fine. And I did remove a bodged-up, home-made tensioner that was fitted to the points drive chain.”
The previous owner had imported the bike from America – the first owner lived in Las Vegas – and it’s an early example from the first year of Commando production.
“Some early Commandos suffered from frames breaking,” Terry reveals. “Norton replaced a lot of the early frames under warranty, but mine is one of the early type. It hasn’t broken yet, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed – especially as I’ve had it powder-coated by Classic Coatings in Grantham (classic-coatings.co.uk), along with the swingarm, stands, yokes and barrels. The engine is the early type, too – basically an Atlas engine with higher compression pistons fitted and the rev counter drive on the timing cover.”
Terry hasn’t tried to return the bike to catalogue-correct specification. He bought it to ride and rekindle memories of his first Commando, so he’s made a few changes to his Fastback. “I’ve tried to make the bike a little better suited to regular use today,” he says. “So, I made a timed breather for the crankcases based on a design Colorado Norton sell in America. It’s basically a reed valve fitted at the back of the crankcases to reduce crankcase pressure and lessen the chances of oil leaks from gasket faces. I machined up the reed housing and cases myself. I’ve also fitted a Czech-made Wassell electronic ignition unit and changed the stock 19-tooth gearbox sprocket for a 23-tooth item. I think bikes for the American market were under-geared deliberately to improve acceleration – that was the big selling point out there performance-wise.”
Terry’s bike came without an airbox, so he’s opted to use pod-type air filters. “I had to machine some offset inlet stubs so the filters didn’t clash with one another,” he says. “Other than that, I just got a few parts rechromed by Derby Plating (derbyplating.co.uk) and got the bodywork resprayed locally. The paintwork is a Rover car colour – I chose it purely because I liked it. I’ve just polished up the exhaust downpipes and fitted pattern upswept silencers. I know my bike should have the Atlas-type silencers, but I much prefer the look of the later type. I polished the hubs and engine cases in the workshop at work and got Central
‘I DON’T THINK IT HAD RUN FOR QUITE SOME TIME, SO I DECIDED TO GO RIGHT THROUGH IT AND STRIPPED IT COMPLETELY’
‘THERE’S NO HESITATION OR GLITCHES TO THE FUELLING AND THE 745cc ENGINE FEELS STRONG AND SMOOTH’
Wheel Components to lace them up with stainless steel spokes to slightly wider than standard rims, which allowed me to use slightly wider tyres. I fitted new shocks, swingarm bushes, brake shoes and fork bushes while everything was apart. Basically, anything that was needed has either been replaced or refurbished.”
To preserve the original glassfibre tank on his bike, Terry has borrowed from his marine engineering background. “I’ve lined it with chocking resin,” he reveals. “The resin is used to align marine engines with the hull of the vessel they’re fitted to. In the past, we had to precisely machine metal chocks, but that could take days per installation and was very costly. The resin is cast round the engine once it has been jacked into exactly the right position. It’s a much quicker and cheaper solution to the problem and the resin is resistant to absolutely everything. It’s ideal for the Commando tank.”
It was the final piece in the jigsaw, and Terry’s Commando was ready to hit the road again after just nine months of work. He’s pretty pleased with the way the bike has turned out. And now it’s my turn to find out if I agree.
First impressions are all good, as the Commando strikes up with the first kick. It does take a little while on the choke before the engine is happy to settle to a steady idle, although Terry thinks that’s probably due to the slightly larger than stock Amals. But, with the engine warmed up, there’s no hesitation or glitches to the fuelling and the 745cc engine feels strong and smooth. There’s bags of the strong midrange power that I’ve come to expect from a well set-up Commando, too. Terry’s joined me on his Laverda special, and following him on the Norton is no bother. I’m sure he could lose me if he really wrung the big 1200cc Lav’s neck, though at a brisk – albeit sensible – pace, I find I can keep up just fine.
We’ve headed out to some Commando-friendly roads for me to get a feel for Terry’s Fastback on my own. The swooping up-and-down bends of the B1176 near his south Lincolnshire home, and the minor roads off it, are the perfect place to enjoy the Commando at its best. Tight turns, short straights and rapid changes of pace – the Fastback handles them all, punching out of the corners with exhilarating verve and accelerating hard where the road opens out a bit. The handling is what I’ve come to expect from a well puttogether Commando, too, with a refreshing lack of bulk, a chassis that holds its line perfectly on faster bends and just the right balance when dropping into tighter turns.
Only on a few occasions do I wish for a little more stopping power from the twin-leading-shoe front brake. It’s probably at least as good as most early disc units and the engine braking of the Atlas-derived lump – aided by a swift downchange on the AMC gearbox – is also pretty effective at scrubbing off a bit of speed when riding a bit more sensibly. But who wants to be sensible on a bike like this?
If you like twins, you’ll probably like a Commando. And they come without the baggage of excessive vibration – except at low revs. The Isolastic engine mounting system was an inspired solution to a problem as old as the parallel twin – and it’s a solution that genuinely works.
I’d say Terry has done a great job with his Commando. He hasn’t spent a fortune on it, but he has applied his experience from more than 45 years in engineering to produce a bike that’s great to ride – but not so highly-strung that you can’t ride it hard and fast. And that’s just what he does with it. Perfect.