Visual Gratification - NORTON Commando 961

Source of Video: Motorcycle News, Source of some photos: Motorcycle USA

The Magnificent NORTON Commando 961: Reinventing Steel

Nothing like a classic, eh! A NORTON, original, factory built, just like they used to make it, but completely new from the factory. Now, wait, look at that price, it is priced at 15 995 £/ 25, 999 $, it is almost equal to the MV Agustas and sure crossing most of the Ducatis, how can they price it so high for a air cooled machine which is actually a 80s bike in totality? And not that it is going to outrun any bike in its category or even be able to provide the comfort and handling of the new age Jap or Italain bikes…
Okay, if you are thinking along those lines, you sure shouldn’t read any further and maybe you can look at some other posts. But now think! Imagine a movie, a Bruce Lee movie or a Charlie Chaplin movie which has been hiding under some dark places and now discovered again and has been digitalized to give a new look. It is not a new movie, it is an old movie but you know, it has got the digital treatment, say bright colours, better sound and all. And now think of the new computer generated blockbuster movies like 2012 or Matrix or the likes. Which movie would you prefer if the ticket costs are also equal? If you would go for the Charlie Chaplin or Bruce Lee movie, than you know why Norton can afford to make a 80s bike now. This is a Norton, period. You know MV and Ducati will keep on churning out brilliant bikes in the future just as Hollywood would keep on giving blockbuster hits, but what are the chances of you getting a hold of a rare Charlie Chaplin or Bruce Lee movie?

So, this is a Norton, period. Money has probably got nothing to do with it. What one should realize is that you can get to buy a brand new Norton, you can now buy a new Norton, you can ride a new Norton that is factory built. I know I am repeating, but do you realize that you can actually ride a new factory built Norton, yes, a never before seen Bruce Lee film has just opened in a cinema near you!
And you know what? This Norton is just too damn good, we will get to the too damn good part, what I mean is when you talk about something like Nortons, you don’t talk about money. Okay, if you are still reading the post, I believe you are a sucker for British bikes like me and so now we are on the same page.
Norton is by far the most historic and famous brand coming from the land of the Queen with due respect to modern brands like Triumph and legends like Vincent and BSA. Although it never would have mattered which motorcycle Norton relaunches, but we are oh-so-thankful that it is the greatest bike from the Norton stables, the COMMANDO.

This is the new Commando, the 961 SE and Norton although has long announced of its intention to unleash the beauty a long time ago, it was only a couple of weeks back that they finally ended our anticipation and for waiting us so long, they have given us something extra. The Norton Commando 961SE will come out or has come out has in three new models, the Standard version, the Sport version and the Café Racer version. Really cannot say which looks better, actually I guess you never compare a Norton with another Norton. Look at the headlamp, look at the side panels, look at that b-e-a-u-tiful belly and look at that sexy rear and… and look at the simple elegant exhaust and will you take a look at the overall all-metal-no-plastic beauty, this is as close as you can get to memories, thank you Norton. Just for your information, even if you plan to buy the S.E, you can’t, it is already sold out! But there is another good news, the Café Racer is cheaper at 13, 495 £ or 21, 935 $ while the Sport version is even cheaper at 11 995 £ or 19 500 $.
Watch the videos slowly and repeatedly. You will keep on falling in love all over again. I have… I have. Have you heard its voice? Oh… the legendary exhaust is back. If you think I am overdoing it a bit, then I am probably because I have not seen many legends being resurrected. Quite often, there have been talks, but nothing finally happens. And now that finally something has finally happened, it is time to rejoice. The first video is a Norton home video and its DVD is available free here and the second video posted here is covered by MCN, a British magazine which maybe partial to the Norton being a British bike. Good, because it is much better than a critic who would probably laugh off at the beauty comparing its price to what it is offering.

All three models will of course have the same base. The air cooled 961 cc twin develops a healthy 80 bhp @ 6500rpm and a very respectable torque figure of 90 Nm @ 5300rpm. Not by any standards are they chart topping and they are not even intended to be. According to the reports, the Commando has more than enough low end grunt at even 2000rpm to zip and zoom in city traffic. The engine features an absolutely linear power delivery, which means it'll take any gear you throw at it. With 80bhp on tap from a 961cc engine, you can easily cruise the city at over a ton mark if you can get that much of a space inside the city to wriggle your right hand at the throttle. From the city limits to the scenery beauties and beyond, you can happily keep on cruising at the ton mark and that is the whole story of the bike. This is a practical bike which will satisfy you every way you want and its power is what makes it practical – useable. All 3 bikes as mentioned carry the same traits. It has a steel tubular frame with a twin-sided steel construction swingarm. Rake is 24.5 degrees and trail is 99mm with a wheelbase of 1420mm and seat height of 813 mm. Front suspensions is 43mm Ohlins with adjustable preload, compression damping while at the rear. It is Ohlins again, reservoir-style twin shocks with adjustable ride height. Front wheel size is 3.50 x 17” with chrome rim while the rear is 5.0 x 17” also with chrome Rim. Transmission is via five-speed cassette-type gear cluster is thoroughly modern and supported by an electric start. Front brakes are full Brembo system, twin Brembo 320mm semi-floating while the rear brake has a single Brembo 220mm disc with 2 piston “Gold Line” caliper. Dry weight of the bike is 188 kilos. Special features in the S.E are the carbon pack used on the front mud guard, chain guard, rear wheel hugger and the headlight mounting. For the Café Racer, you get clip on handlebars, black anodized billet yokes in the steering in place of fully machined billet yokes with triple clamp lower yokes as available in the other two versions and you get a Café Racer fly screen.

The Sport, CR, S.E and the 'Original'

Of course, you would sit ‘on’ the bike as you do on most classics, but having said that if you look at the stance in the video, you would notice it has a mixed stance of sporty handling yet not very forward bending, just right, enough for sharp handling, flickable which no way is going to strain your shoulder blades and all this is supported by some extraordinary suspension and brakes. Everything you see on it from the switchgear, lights, panels, wheels, everything is top notch, especially in the S.E, Special Edition, and that is the reason of the substantially higher price than the Sports and Café Racer version. All materials used is top quality and for a fact you still see Nortons of the 60s and 70s very easily running on the roads with little modification, so reliability is not even in question here.
As you see it, this is a classic, so you won’t get the ‘equipments’ and good for it, it stays true to the memories. The Norton motorcycles were always naked and the tradition continues with no plastic fairings of any kind, no luggage carrier either, just muscles and bones, a true show-off!

It is so British that you would forget the fact that all this restoration, all this bring back to the classic mode, a lot of credit goes to an American, Mr. Kenny Dreer who specializes in Norton rebuilds in his company firm, Vintage Rebuilds. Although I am not so sure about it, but the 961 seems to derive a lot from Kenny’s prototype. Maybe Kenny was behind the factory production, I don’t know about that. Kenny’s Commando was named 952 but it incidentally was of 961cc, with 5 gears and also displacing the same power and torque figures. The original Commando of the 70s displaced 828cc, had 4 gears and had a power output of 51 bhp @ 6250 rpm. What Kenny improvised on that is exactly what you get on the new 961.
The new Commando has the original authentic appearance and a mechanically similar general concept for its vertically split, air/oil-cooled dry-sump engine, with its forward-canted cylinders, pushrod valve gear and two valves per cylinder and so carries forward virtually every trait of the original including the authentic Smiths look.

This is a machine which you will take to the office even if your office is 2 kilometers away, just to show off that you have a Norton, this is the bike you will love to give your brother a ride because you know he will enjoy it, this is a bike your fiancé/ girlfriend/ wife will love to get in the pillion because it is so addictive and this is the bike that will cool your head at 2 am midnight just by looking at it if you happen to have a fight with your partner or even your boss. And the other thing is that these machines are largely hand built and with a steep price in comparison, not too many are going to be built anyway, so anyway you look at it, all these new Nortons are only going to get more costly in the used market some 20 - 30 years from now on. At that price, it doesn’t have any path breaking performance, but come to think about it, why do we associate price with performance, we can associate price with so many other things just like the moments you can spend on a Norton as mentioned in this para. As I said, this is like the old Bruce Lee or Charlie Chaplin movie, you know what it is going to be there (lots of laugh with Chaplin, lots of action with Lee and lots of boastful ego with the Norton) and you find exactly that, there are no surprises and that is the good thing because surprises can also be shocks sometimes, but when you get what you expected, you will be happy and this is what the Norton is all about. It will make you happy. Bad news is that except for Great Britain, it is available only in U.S and Canada.

Photo credits to NORTON MOTORCYCLE Official Webpage. Some photos as watermarked belong to London Bikers. Source of information is Norton Motorcyclers website. Visit the website for a look at the history and information on the company. You can also visit the three models from these links, 961 S.E, Sport and Cafe Racer.
Specifications:

- Engine: 961cc, air cooled, parallel twin with push-rod valve actuation, dry sump, 2 valves per cylinder
- Bore x stroke: 88mm x 79mm
- Compression ratio: 10.1:1
- Power: 80PS @ 6500RPM
- Torque: 90Nm @ 5200RPM
- Gear box: constant mesh 5 speed
- Final drive: 525 “O” ring chain
- Clutch: Wet multi-plate
- Electric start
- Front & Rear brakes: Twin Brembo 320mm semi-floating hi carbon stainless steel discs, Brembo 4 piston “Gold Line”axial callipers & Single Brembo 220mm disc, Brembo 2 piston “Gold Line” calliper
- Frame: Steel tubular with integral oil tank
- Swing arm: Twin-sided steel construction
- Wheelbase: 1420mm (55.9 in)
- Rake & Trail: 24.5 degrees & 99mm (3.9 in)
- Front & Rear suspension: 43mm Ohlins RWU - Adjustable preload, compression damping & Ohlins reservoir-style twin shocks - Adjustable ride height
- Front & Rear wheel: 36 spoke 3.50 x 17” & 40 spoke 5.0 x 17” (Both Chrome Rim)
- Front & Rear tyre: 120/70 x 17” & 180/55 x 17”
- Fuel tank capacity: 17 litres (4.5 US gallon)
- Dry weight: 188kg (414.5 lbs)
- Seat height: 813mm (32 in)

Letters for the NORTON 650SS

I had made a post of the bike you see here quite some ago. (Link to Original post). It was actually sent by one Mr. Pituco from Brazil who wanted to know thw origins of the Norton. Yes, the looks very well say that it is a mix up of Nortons, but he was not sure what went where and I wasn't either. I had requested for help if anyone knew anything or could put some light on the bike. I must admit I have never got so many mails in reply to a single post of my blog as this post got. One such mail was from Mr. Gary Parker who is the Canadian representative for the International Norton Owners Association, where he had detailed about the bike credentials. I also liked his justifications and put it on the blog. (Original Link). Recently I got 2 more mails commenting on the bike. As I am no Norton expert, I thought it would be best to just put the mails on the blog and I am also providing the emails so that you can put your queries through.

Email of Pituco, who wanted to know about the bike - pituco.com@uol.com.br
Email of Mr. Gary Parker - atlas65@shaw.ca
Email of Mr. Paul Wilson, whose post is attached below - pw2k@talktalk.net
Email of Mr. Joe Shmoe, whose mail is also attached below - sportspecial@hotmail.com
Mail by Paul Wilson

Hello,I was just looking at the pictures of the cafe racer, described as a 650ss project. I'm a lifelong fan of the featherbed framed Nortons and can give some information, based on what can be seen from those images.The rolling chassis appears to be Manx Norton. Definitely not 650ss. The Manx frames were made from Reynolds 531 tubing with brazed joints. The diameter of the curves to the upper rear frame tubes are Manx profile.

The forks, swinging arm, wheels and gearbox could well be Manx. I'm not sure about the front brake plate; but it does look like a nicely made item.The camshaft breather type is either Atlas, or early 750 Commando. The engine is most likely one or the other. Not 650ss. It looks as though there is a Manx type primary chain oiler, with the correct type of reservoir in the left-hand top frame tube. I didn't understand what you meant by: "....Commander crank-piston-air vents". but realised that you were referring to the cylinder fins (inclined on Commando; but horizontal on Domi/ Atlas). You can use different engine plates to achieve either with any Norton twin. The cylinder barrels look as though they are aluminium alloy; so may be another bonus with this project, assuming they are well made and in good shape inside. The Wal Phillips 'fuel injectors' are not bolt-on-and-ride-away accessories. They would take a long, long time to set up properly. Even then, they were designed for flat-out, short-track racing and would be a real problem to ride with for any more than 10 minutes!

Whoever made the saddle has never ridden a 'wideline' framed Norton! This could be a real good special; but will need a hefty wallet to finish it nicely.
Regards, Paul (Devon UK)

Mail by Joe Schome (abridged)

The front brake IS Manx. Not all year Manx bikes had primary chain oilers fed from the frame, some years fed them from the oil tank, so that is not a reliable method to throw out and say "that frame is a Manx or that is not a Manx", besides, anyone with any fabricating skill can add or delete frame features at will. ...if you look at the photos closely you can see that someone went over the whole bike with #1 a bead blaster, and #2 a spray-bomb of silver paint. Notice how the tach drive and many other alloy parts look "frosted", nothing on the bike has it's stock "as cast" finish. Notice how there are no nuts holding the cylinder barrel on, bolts holding the head on, no springs on the rear shocks, No tach cable, wiring or fuel lines or cables. Bits of silver overspray here and there. Contrasting this someone put a seat on with new
upholstery.

Yes there are a lot of Manx bits there, but they are beat ... and would need to be gone over by a real engineer. The cylinder is Dunstall, but Dunstall made 750 and 810 cylinders, so saying it is probably one or the other is more shit-talk. Also, Dunstall and the Norton factory, and other tuners put fittings and lines in the exact same location that the 750 Atlas breather fitting was to feed oil to needle bearing camshafts... I have been around Brit bikes ... do you want me to talk about having a featherbed Manx and at least one example of every model Norton dominator made since WWII?

Correction on a previous NORTON post

I had made a post of a NORTON 650SS restoration or so that was what I thought. Today I got some mails from Mr. Gary Parker who is the Canadian representative for the International Norton Owners Association stating that the mentioned bike is actually a Norton Atlas 750. He had justified his statement through his mails. When a person of his stature has confirmed about the Norton, than I guess, we can rest all doubts about the model. I got quite a few mails with the queries surrounding the mystery of the bike. I guess the following mail from Mr. Gary Parker will rests
all doubts.

Hello there, My name is Gary J Parker, and I am the Canadian representative for the International Norton Owners Association. The bike in the photos that are posted on the "Visual Gratififcation" blog are of a Norton Atlas 750. They are NOT from a 650SS or a Commando. There are a number of ways we can identify this.
1) The engine breather on an Atlas (and very early Commandos) exits the engine on the front drive side, off the end of the camshaft, whereas the 650SS engine breather exits the engine at the REAR of the drive side crankcase. As you can see from the photo of the drive side, there is an angled pipe on the front drive side which eliminates the possibility that this engine is a 650. That area would be bare if this was a 650 engine. The pipe is almost uniquely Atlas.
2) Commando top end oil feed is from the sides of the head, between the rocker spindle cover plates, google any image of a Commando and you will see the oil feed in the space between the spindle covers, whereas the Atlas has its oil feed from the top of the head, on either side of the head steady. On your engine, the area between the spindle cover plates is bare, indicating that the head at least is not a Commando head.
3) Your engine has a tach drive, which only the very earliest Commandos were fitted with. 4) Interestingly, your bike is equipped with a "Laid down" Norton gearbox, a design which was changed in 1956, all later Norton twins were equipped with the AMC gearbox, which continued till the Commando. For reference, there were no 650 or 750 motors being built by Norton in 1956. This box is from a much earlier bike.
5) Another interesting thing is the cylinder block, whch is not stock Norton, the fins are too few and spaced too far apart. This cylinder block is in all likelihood a Dunstall kit, bored out to 810 cc. It is DEFINITELY NOT Norton, but aftermarket and desirable. Paul Dunstall marketed "Go Fast" goodies and tuning kits back in the late sixties and early seventies.
Any more questions i would be happy to answer.
cheers, Gary J Parker,
Canadian Rep,
INOA Victoria BC Canada

Well, I also thought that it may be a Commando, but Gary has very clearly put that it is not. He sent some more proof in his second mail.

More: Looking again at the pics, i have come to some conclusions. This bike was originally an early to mid fifties Norton Dominator or single, in all likelihood a bike which had a catastrophic engine failure. The frame and all cycle parts are too early to be Atlas (Or 650SS for that matter)
the frame number (Located on the metal flange which is directly behind the primary chaincase) will tell a great deal but the frame is quite early, I would say 53-55, and may even be from an International or Manx OHC single. It is definitely "Wideline" or pre -1960.
My conclusion, a long time ago someone with a wideline Dommie or Inter blew their engine up and found a mid sixties Atlas with a Dunstall big bore kit and plumbed it in.
cheers, Gary
PS search for frame numbers and engine number is on front drive side of crankcase just below barrels.
I am very familair with the Norton Dominator/Atlas/650SS/Mercury series of bikes, I own two and have restored a couple more.
cheers, Gary

I recieved another mail from him with his final thoughts.

OK, More conclusions. Sometimes it takes quite a few looks to get familiar with something. Some things are obvious, some things must be inferred by context and "Feel".
Engine: 750 Atlas engine, 1963-68, fitted with Dunstall overbore kit, possibly 810cc. will be stamped thus: 20 xxxxxx or something along those lines, followed by the letter "P". Possibly stamped N15CS xxxxxx (xxxxxx indicates actual serial number) If the latter is the case, then the engine, while identical to an Atlas, came from a Matchless/Norton hybrid scrambler, made between 65 and 68.
Gearbox: pre '57 "Laid down" Norton box, 4 speed. Carburetion: Wal Phillips Fuel Injectors, rare nowadays, period aftermarket "Go Fast" goody commonly used in the sixties, difficult to find now.
Frame; Looking more and more like a Manx or Inter OHC single frame, the key is the curve to the rear of the engine, the twin frames had a tighter bend, frame number if found will tell. Definitely pre -1960 which eliminates as noted any likelihood of it being a 650SS. This baby is a true "Bitza". Frame number, as previously noted, will be found on the flange to the rear of the primary thus: 122 or 14 or something like that, the 122 if present would indicate a Domi 88 500cc, the 14 indicates a Domi 99 600cc. These are model deignations, the actual serial numbers follow. If the frame is a true Inter or Manx, instead of 122 or 14, the horizontal number will be either 10, 10M2, 11 or 11M2. Let me know what you find, I'm curious. The frame, although early, is not TOO early, being post 54 as the rear section was bolted on prior to that, not welded as in this case. The shocks are Armstrong, not Girling, so mid fifties is what I'm thinking. the rear brake has been heavily altered and may not be Norton at all, it has a bolt on sprocket, which Norton roadsters didn't have at the time. the front wheel (Or at least the hub) is conical, possibly Manx, but there is also the possibility it might be late Triumph, but I'm betting on Manx or International. The front guard is Inter or manx pattern.
My conclusion then, the bike was a racing Inter or even a Manx (again, without numbers it's very difficult), the engine blew or was removed for some reason, and a modified Atlas engine was installed in its place, complete with the Wal Philips rig.
you have a very interesting and unusual bike here, rather a bitza but a good one. Incidentally, the bike in the background in the picture of the timing side is a 57-59 Dominator i think but it isn't clear enough to tell.
cheers, Gary

The third letter had me dumbfounded. There was no question of doubt even after the first letter, but the second and the third... the third was actually too technical and a lot of things flew over my head. I read it thrice, still... I could only capture some ideas what Gary was saying. And I am sure lots of us will feel the same.
This man is a genius on Nortons, what an amazing amazing techno person. Any person on earth having any doubts on his Norton can mail him at atlas65@shaw.ca and I bet even if you have a mudguard from a Norton, Gary will be able to recognize the model!
Thank You Gary, you are amazing... REALLY!

Before any gentleman get to having second thoughts on certain things Gary had mentioned, please note that his comments are guesswork based on experiences with these machines. After reading the post, he specifically mentioned to add a few more notes to clarify things.

I said "Your engine has a tach drive, which only the very earliest Commandos were fitted with." which of course is incorrect, both the Atlas and some very early Commandos had tach drives mounted on the TIMING COVER, but all later Commandos had tach drives on the front of the crankcases , running off a worm gear located on the camshaft.I also said "The front guard is Inter or manx pattern.", which is misleading, the guard is Manx pattern, Inter guards were totally different, very much like Dominator guards, the International being a roadster, whereas the one in the picture is a racing mudguard, absolutely purebred Manx, not Inter. The bike in question, with a few more looks, is definitely a Manx framed ex racebike, the final clue is in the thin pipe which leads from the upper drive side frame rail to the primary chaincase. This is a chain oiler, with a reservoir in the upper drive side frame rail, a feature which I have only seen in one other place, on a genuine Manx Norton race bike which I featured in an article a while back in the "Norton News". These chain oilers were not installed in roadsters at all, and were unique to the full race spec Manx OHC bikes. You have a RARE frame. The frame used Reynolds tubing, rather than the plain mild steel of the roadsters. This feature does make them a wee bit fragile though when put into service on public roads with hard use. Caution should be exercised, these were seven lap frames, upon completion of which the bike would be thoroughly stripped for inspection and overhaul. the frames are lighter and the tubing thinner walled. The front brake is still a mystery, it doesn't seem to be a stock Manx Norton brake, it isn't a Gramicci or Fontana, and I don't think it's a John Tickle either, which leaves me stumped, I am going to keep looking for pics of this particular brakeplate, but it is an odd one I haven't seen before.I am a bit envious, the bike is certainly not as it left the factory, but it has obviously a fascinating history and could probably tell some neat stories if it was able to speak. Whoever built it, once the "Cammy" engine was removed, used quality components and took care with the build. The Wal Phillips injectors, the Dunstall barrels make it rather special but any Norton that once was a Manx is interesting enough.

cheers, Gary

PS: I've owned Nortons for nine years now, so no expert credentials, I'll leave that to the people who've owned and worked on them since before I was born, and there's quite a number of those! I do, however, get pretty obsessive about my hobbies and there is a lot to research to keep me occupied in Norton land and I'm learning all the time.

PPS: Please keep me posted and I am VERY curious about frame and engine numbers, if any can be found. This will be the final link in this puzzle.

Norton Atlas 750 and The Bike I posted earlier

JAMES ML125 & NORTON 650SS - Restoration

There are certain persons in the world whom you look forward to meeting just for the sheer enthusiasm the person carries. Muthukumar Kanakasalam (E-Mail: chitra_auto@yahoo.com) is one such guy from Tamil Nadu, India. He restores cars and bikes to such an extent that it will be difiicult to say whether the vehicle has actually been out of the factory. And to top that, he gets a lot of very rare bikes to restore like the featured JAMES or BSA BOND. This JAMES ML is a 2 stroke 125cc bike probably of 1947-48 although Muthu says it's around 1938. Anyway, posting a pic before restoration and some after that. I have a hell lot of photos of restored bikes by Mr. Muthu and would definitely make a post or rather lots of post on his restored vehicles including a very rare 3 wheeler. Just wanted to introduce him to you and you can mail him at the given email. He is very down to earth, very humble and is always eager to help. Another link to a restored James by Mitchell Classics, this one is for sale for $5995.

I recieved a mail with these photos and absolutely no text at all. just the attachments. it came from a gentleman from Brazil, that i got to know from the email pituco.com@uol.com.br. All the images came under the name of Navio Motors. A frantic search on the google for Navio motors ended up in a possible link which was directed at Flickr, but the link had no motorcycle images. Pituco.com also was kind of a dead end.

Anyway, hoping the guy would send some more details on the restoration of the NORTON 650SS. All the Best! I have been a part of a Norton restoration project and must say, if you are not in U.K, its one hell of a job. We will be definitely waiting for more photos and the end product. Good Luck!

Okay, I got another mail from the guy who actually wants to buy this ongoing restored bike but he is not sure if it is the NORTON 650SS. The frame definitely is from the 650SS. The engine... to what I feel can also belong to a Commander as the Commander crank-piston-air vents are slightly inclined than the more straight 650SS. But then I could be wrong. Anyone with any more insight? Email pituco.com@uol.com.br or diesel@aol.in