Peely’s Passion. 
Some guys play Golf, some do up cars, some play guitars, some guys just do stuff for the fun of it. Andrew’s hobby is buying bikes, doing them up, then selling most for a tidy profit. Some he just keeps. Most are Japanese makes from small two strokes to the big sports tourers, but one bike in particular that drew my attention was Andrews pride and joy – his 1974 850 Norton Commando. So a little about Andrew. He’s just turned fifty one and is a Branch Manager for an electrical technologies company in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Andrew is married to Libby with two children Tom and Emma.
His music tastes include anything from Bob Dylan to 21 Pilot – U2 and Bowie are his favourite. Other interests are Cycling, Hunting and of course Motorcycles.
The Bike:
Make: Norton – Villiers. Year: 1974
Model: 850 Commando Mk2a – it currently has a U.S. spec high rider tank and bars. However, I am changing the tank and bars as I prefer the Roadster models.
The Engine is 829cc’s or 50.9 cubic inches if you still relate to imperial measurements. It’s a four stroke, parallel twin, push rod engine with two valves per cyclinder. The gearbox is a 4 speed right hand shift. Interestingly its 1 up and 3 down. The Norton develops around 58 BHP or 43 Kilowatts. Stopping the Commando is a single disc front end with a Lockheed calliper and a drum brake on the rear. It is suspended by telescopic front forks and twin shocks on the rear. The tyres are the same on the front and rear – 4.1 x 19.
When introduced the 850 was known as the untouchable on the track, they were a very nimble machine that out handled and powered its competitors. They were very reliable and fast for their size. The Commando is a pleasure to ride, it’s a head turner as there are not that many around, compared to that American brand that every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to ride. Obviously its handling is nothing compared to a modern bike! Though once “dialled in” for a bike that is forty years old they handle like a dream. Braking is ok but a bit under done, some guys prefer to upgrade the front disc and caliper system.
Any issues you’ve come across?: The twin Amal Carburetors can be the cause of some issues, mine was no different, even after trying several Jet combinations it seemed to lack bottom end power and I couldn’t get it to stop popping in the right-hand cylinder when coming off power. After many discussions with other Commando owners I opted to install a single VM36 Mikuni Carburetor and adaptor manifold. So, I boxed up the Amals and purchased a kit from Tom at Mikuni OZ in Townsville “Great bloke by the way”.
This was the holy grail for my Commando, it now has all the bottom end I need “Pulls wheelies easily” with plenty of top end and economy to go with it, she also idles like never before.
Where and how did you come across the Bike?: I had wanted a Commando for years, pretty much ever since a good friend of mine in Sydney “Bruce” first let me have a ride on his Norton – Dunstall.
So let’s go back a couple of years – I had been thinking for some time that I would like to join a club and get into older bikes, I had been doing up cheaper Japanese bikes for several years and thought that I would like a sweet original machine that I could put on club rego. I have always had a passion for two stroke bikes, especially Yamaha RD’s – the LC model was my preferred but they are going for silly money. I finally found an original U.S. import 1974 RD350 B. It was imported by Classic Imports Direct in Melbourne by Richard Schoular.
So I bought the bike and joined the Vintage Veterans and Classic Motorcycle Club of the A.C.T “VVCMC” and reaped the benefits of a great bunch of likeminded people, cheap rego and sunny Sunday rides. After being a club member for a couple of years and seeing other members turn up on all sorts of bike – especially the Norton’s – my mind started ticking – thoughts of me on an 850 Commando kept flooding in!
I hopped on the internet and went to Richards website http://classicbikesdirect.com.au/about-us/. He had an 850 Commando for what was a very reasonable price – $13,500.00. Keep in mind that the price range for one in good condition is between $15 and $20k plus. I made an enquiry with Richard and left it at that. After a couple of months I had another look on Richards site and it was still there. The price had dropped to $11.5k. So I called him – but the bike had just been sold. Thinking that was that, a couple of weeks later Richard called and asked if I was still interested – he informed me that the guy who purchased it couldn’t keep the bike and that he lived in Canberra. Richard gave me the buyers details, I made contact and basically purchased the bike for what it owed him, just under $12k to cover his delivery costs from Melbourne.
The biggest challenge was negotiating, sacrificing and agreeing to payment conditions with my wife – that was tough! Luckily I had a few bikes in the shed at this stage that I was happy to sell to cover the cost of the Norton.
What to look out for if buying similar: For return on investment ensure the frame, engine and gearbox have matching numbers, all British bikes have matching numbers, with the Japanese bikes only Yamaha matched their frame and engine numbers – if you get a Honda, Kawasaki or Suzuki with matching numbers it’s a fluke, they did not pair their numbers. If you’re looking at getting into restoring old bikes, you need to look through the patina – there is a dollar to be made in any bike. Use your imagination and apply your skill to the project, we all have it in us.
Whats your “If I could Bike” ? A 1980 Suzuki Katana 1100 Spoked wheel model.
So if you are interested in a similar hobby and have an understanding wife, we have included some bikes and comments from Andrews collection. Enjoy.
1980 GS850G: Original 20000k’s on the clock, beautiful bike to ride.
I can attest to this, I had one and apart from my day to day ride it crossed the Nullabor twice, toured Tasmania and survived the Pilbara region for two years before being ‘T boned” in suburbia. – bullett proof! -RD
1988 RGV 250: Jap import I purchase from an importer in Sydney for $2500. Spent some time cleaning it up – sold for $4000. This was a sweet little machine and absolute powerhouse for its size, very fast bike for a 250cc.
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GPZ750: I bought this off a mate for $350, It was a mess. Took a bit of straitening up but came up a treat. Sold it for $3500 in 2010
1994 ZZR-1100: This was my touring bike for many years – true rocket ship this old girl, not the best handling bike in the tight stuff but awesome on the open road and was very very fast.
GSX-R1100: Picked it up for nicks, cleaned it up and got it going – quite a machine when I got it on the road, very aggressive motor when you pulled on the throttle, sold it for $2800
The RGV, GSX and ZZR were sold to fund the Commando. There are several others I have owned but can’t find the photos, they include:
2005 BMW R 1150GS: Possibly the best all-round bike I have owned, still don’t know why I sold that.
1984 VF1000F: This was my first project, cost me 2 cartons of Carlton Draft, plus around $800 in parts. Sold for $3500
1981 GPZ1100: Swapped this for a 1976 Triumph Bonneville 750
1976 Triumph Bonneville 750: Sold this just after we purchased our first house and when kids came along. I have since learnt that you do not sell shit or you will never get it back…
Andrew and his son Tom have another project underway. We look forward to seeing the end result. I would like to thank Andrew for his time and in sharing his passion with manstheory.com. Its a great world full of really interesting people and topics. Gotta love it! – RD
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