"The World's Finest"

[luckydave215]

I currently own an '04 Aprilia Tuono (my #1 bike) a '01 Kawasaki ZRX, a '78 Kawasaki KZ1000 (old superbike racer with a license plate "street illegal"), a '73 Dunstall Norton Commando (restored), an '08 Harley Fat Bob, a '93 Honda XR628, a '79 Honda XR70, a '67 Honda Z50 (restored), and a pocket bike.
And then there's the two race cars (actively campaigned) and the five street cars.
And of course, our 60c to fool with.
It's a good thing I just rent airplanes, or NOTHING would run. As it is, my registration and insurance costs alone would buy a private island......

[MikeP]

I find this "best" stuff to be total Cr@p. Best for what? A HD the best motorcycle? For Lime Rock? Er, uh...no. For the twisties on 89a in AZ? Er, uh, no. Cruising Route 66? Maybe. Puttering thorough town with 30 other baby boomers doing the same thing? Absolutely!

Yes, I'm a BB, Yes, I've owned Harleys (a two year failed experiment that resulted in my next bike being a Ducati 996.)

A Rolex the "Best watch?" Obviously, timekeeping ability wasn't a factor.

All this "best" is just some guy/gal's personal opinion PLUS whatever the manufacturer can do to sweeten the pot so as to be selected as the "best."

Absolute and total garbage! Though fun to read.

[yachtsmanbill]

I couldnt resist... had to go through the archives for this guy. I bought this new in '74 for $1700. My how times have changed.
1974 850 Interstate Comando Kick start only and the last year for the right hand shift. In '75 the DOT put the kabosh on that too.
For the purists: stripped down a bit for some Saturday nite racing. That was a fun bike, but it was NOT A HARLEY !! ws

[Avenger]

That was a fun bike, but it was NOT A HARLEY !! ws

And that Gremlin in the background was AlMost a Car.

[MikeP]

NO, it wasn't even "almost" a car!

"but it was NOT A HARLEY !! ws"

You're right, it wasn't a Harley, it was faster and handled MUCH better!

[yachtsmanbill]

NO, it wasn't even "almost" a car!

"but it was NOT A HARLEY !! ws"

You're right, it wasn't a Harley, it was faster and handled MUCH better!

Yer right Mike... that Limey trash was faster than blazes ! I used to let a pal race it on the street for me; he weighed in at 130 lbs soakin' wet and would literally climb up on the handlebars to keep the front wheel on the ground.
Cornrering was the Nortons' forte... even with street trim, dragging your toes in a turn at 100 mph was a breeze. Really tho, the only drawback was the 500 cc gear box. Went through several before I installed a Harley trans including frame and engine. That solved that problem!
I did sleep on it one nite with 150 miles on it. The GD zener diode had a bad ground and ran the battery down. Around sunrise, a HARLEY guy stopped with a small set of jumper cables and sat there and charged the battery enough to get home. Still no regrets tho... even liked the AMAL carbs with the leaky primers! ws

[MikeP]

Here's my 73 Commando in our front "yard" in Mexico City; pic taken about two months ago...



And the "artsy" pic:

[yachtsmanbill]

BRAVO Mike !! Looks pretty "un-molested" too! Only one question... why did you strategically place that leaf to block off the zener diode? LOL! ws

[yachtsmanbill]

Looks like an electric start model... I used to neglect putting mine up on the center stand to kick start it and ended up breaking off the kick stand. Ever have any problems with yours? Of course, HDs dont have that problem ;-)) ws

[yachtsmanbill]

I also noticed that front fender re-enforcing gusset... Thats why mine was gone. Better slide that lower leg oil seal down ya know?? ws