Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125711
COMMANDO FA.STBACB:~ r- ,. ~ CL. r- Racer styling On an excellent road bike should be a winning combination. In milder weather I tried the Norton on the type of road it was built for: a two-lane, curvey mountain road that went for miles, nowhere in particular. This is the kind of road that road race promo ten try to simulate but never quite succeed. It is both fun and challenging. It is the reason why you buy a machine such as the Norton. For this type of road you need a machine with lots of power, lots of ground clearance, great handling, excellent brakes and, if you're addicted to such riding at night, very good lights. Of power there is no question. The Norton comes close to having the greatest power-tp-weight ratio of any production bike made. The ground clearance is sufficient to let you heel over to where your elbow is in danger. The handling is about as much as one could reasonably ask for. It is absolutely predictable. Pick your line and the Norton will hold it over bumpy surfaces, off-camber surfaces, sandy surfaces, or you name il. The brakes are a little better than are really re'luired for road riding, somewhat short of what is required fQ! out-and-out racing. They would take about half an hour of bra ke ·every-thi r t y -seconds·alld·thenblast·out-of-the-turn treatment. Then they started to fade a bit. The Norton comes quite devoid of any frills and presumably in the category 0 f frills, are included turn signals and a kill bu tton. J can do without the tum signals (though I like them on the freeway) but the kill button I regard as a serious omission. J t has been rectified on tbe 1971 models. The combination tail light-stop ligbt is not big enough or bright enough to instill great confidence when you're on a rainy freeway at night but you have the advantage of being able to keep people off your tail if you want to. Still, I'd rather have a bigger light_ No bike that's as bill; and as powerful as the Norton should be expected to be much of an around-town bike. The Commando is, however, quite a good I>ike for this purpose. It is geared just low enough so that it is rarely n<;cessary to slip the clutch. The steermg IS more neu tra) than on preYious Nortons so it doesn't feel like the machine is going to fall over when you go around a comer \I\brId ~~ MOTO GUZZI 3303 Sunset Blvd. los Angeles, C.lif. 90026 (213) 662-1151 NOW AVAILABLE at your dealer or write Chain, Box 2264, Cypress, Ca. 90630. Dealer inquiries invited. the ground clearance. The center stand is a great convenience if you have a flat and two or three guys around to hdp you llet the bike up on the stand. The Norton is a good cruising bike. J took one trip of 350 miles in a day without feding unduly fatigued. Less than 100 miles of the trip was on Motorcycle Dynamometers • ENABlES ACCURATE DETERMINATION Of TORQUE & HORSEPOWER CURVES • ACCOMPlISH ~GINE fiNE TUNING • CONTROLLED ENGINE BREAK-IN • PERFORMANCE rESTING Of ENGINE MODifiCATIONS INCLUDES: HYDRAULIC WATER BRAKE & FRAME • UN IVERSAL MOTORCYCLE SUPPORT STAND • GAUGING • INSTRUMENTATION S485.~ HANSON ENGINEERING CO. P.O. Bax 2354, Canoga Park,Cal. 91306 (213) 883-4570 . -- ~}~:; j' ~ w Z W ..J U >- U ~- ' . These exhaust headers must safety·wired or they come loose. be opinion the best available on a production road bike. The engine is a long stroke vertical twin. again not a new design, though it has been spruced up a bit. Servicing is a bit more difficult than on the other British vertical twins, but not nearly so difficult as on the other so-<:alled super bikes. One definite plus in my mind is the separate gearbox. Apart from the fact that the Norton gearbox is one of the strongest ever put (Please turn to pg. 19) II's a 10Dg way 10 .1B0Dday DlonliDg. Hodaka, the original trailhike that made off-road riding a national sport, offers the key to weekend excitement. "GetliDlI' it aU" ill wbal Hoclczka trailbike. are aU "bouL Free from weekday wome.. out in the OpeD away from air •.. trailhildDq gi..... you a ··go any- wber.., do anyt!linll''' kind 01 leeIi.DlI' DO other aport can offer. We design and build Hodaka trailbikes to promate this feeling of freedom. Take performance, for instance, Hodaka is the world's most popular 100cc Irailbike because it out performs other trailbikes. Consistently. Tbe technical reasons why are complex. The results are simple. More comp~titive events in the 100 class have been won on Hodaka's than any other make. We're experts when it comes to building trailbikes and seven years of study and design have taken the guess work ouf of the 'go'. But just 'go' isn't good enough in a trcilbike. A breakdown ten miles from the nearest road can be dangerous as well as irritating. This is where Hodaka really shines. Every single component " ways better than the first Hodaka introduced seven years ago. And this testing continues, right down to the tiniest nut or bolt. Cycle Magazine affirmed Hodaka's reliability when they reported on a Cali· fornia Scrambles event with the words; "While the othe'r makes of motorcycles, larll'e and aman. dropped 'like llies from the pounding the Hodaka's went OD and on and onl" So now you know what Hodaka trailbikes are basically all about (We've won National Trailbike Champ tbree years in a MOfORCYCLI SlIliS-SIRVltI South 01 :\onloll in s,'puhpd... (".. IiI. 9000 SEPULVEDA BLVD. to prove it). Learn how it all started H@DAKA MOTORCYCLES ...........................................•........ For a copy of "The Hodaka Story." send tM coupon aDd 2,c to PABATCO's address below. that goes into building Ibe Hodaka has we improve it until it is (llaws should be discovered in the factory by engineers, not in the field by cuslomers). To date. our 1970 Hodaka has been improved 174 TOW seven years ago by sending 25e and the completed coupon to: Public Relations Dept., PABATCO. Box 327. Athena, Oregon 97813, been time tested . . . some up to seven years. When something isn't up to snuff (213) 89....9218 WARREN WILSON MOTORS ;1r,. This rather complete tool kit is standard equ ipment. Fortu nately the only time I had it out was to photograph it! A COMPLETE SYSTEM ~,,'e:. &.~.~l,~ "" • slowly. The bike will idle for quite a long time at ridiculously low engine speed, going kaplunk, ... kaplunk ... kaplunk. There are a couple of inconveniences when you stop. The side stand cannot be reached with your foot, either to put it down or up. That's how you get that great ground clearance, by burying the stands. For 1971 I understand they have wdded an extension on the side stand. I hope they have managed to do it without reducing freeways, too. The lack of vibration helps cut fatigue immensely. The seat is quite comfortable but the mandatory strap across it isn't. It's righ t where you sit. I'd cut it off. If you're going to go touring at aU, the bike would have to be fit with a seat rail or saddle bags or something. As it is, it's impossible to carry anything that you can't stuff in your pockets. The gas tank is just abou t the right size, like about 4 gallons. J. kept track of the mileage for about 600 miles of man y types of riding. The average was 37.5 miles to the gallon. Many people buy Nortons for their performance potential, intending to either use them in road racing or drag racing. In both of these endeavors, the record speaks for itself and there's linle J can add. Stock Nortons continuously win their class in the road races and turn times in the neighborhood of 12.5 seconds at the dra1:s. Part of the reason for this is its low weight. It is an honest 435 Ibs. with a half tank of gas, the normal amount of oil and the tool kit. We weighed it. Mechanically the Norton is a fairly straightforward design with some innovdtions. The front wheel, 19 inch diameter, has a twin leading shoe front brake with an air duct. othing fancy. The front forks are the same as Norton has been using for years. They are in my '" Name __ _ _._.__.__._.__ Street City __ _ _ _.. • Stat._.._ _ _._ , : Phone : : _ _ _ .._ _ _ _ : _ __.__._ _ __.__.__._ __ : : : _......•. ~ _ _ _ . _ .zip...........•......_•.... : _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _: : : .............................................._AMCGWS 11·70 PABATCO."'" 327. AlIo..... 0 . _ mI3