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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1534384
VOLUME ISSUE APRIL , P143 self—the evil Prince of Darkness. In the March 12th, 1974, issue of Cycle News, we tested two street motorcycles that, though they existed at two very different ends of the motorcycle spec - trum, were in many ways quite similar to one another. The Nor- ton 850 Commando Interstate and the Harley-Davidson XL 1000 (better known, of course, as the Sportster), two motorcycles that no longer exist, at least not in the spirit with which they roamed the roads of 1974. Both the Norton and the Har - ley-Davidson were considered large-displacement superbikes in the '70s. Should they be viewed from the eyes of the reflective nostalgic—remembered for what they were in the time in which they existed? Or, given the chance, would you go back to the days when, as CN's John Ulrich stated, "bikers were hoods and bad asses, when exhausts were loud…and motorcyclists adapted to machines, machines were not adapted to motorcyclists." The 1974 Sportster appeared to be one such machine. It swapped out low-rpm torque for high-rpm speed and sported a tiny peanut of a fuel tank that would take its rider about 90 miles before it needed a refill. Sitting on a thin seat that was "too hard for anything but around- town riding," the H-D pilot would leisurely click through the four- speed transmission with their right foot (Uncle Sam would mandate that all motorcycles have left-side shifting beginning in 1975) until the Sporty topped out at about 110 miles per hour. It was a noisy machine that leaked gasoline and oil right onto the rider's pants. The XL was an elec - tric-start model. A Harley owner could save $130 and opt for the kickstart-only XLCH. New for '74 was a throttle return spring! The Norton, meanwhile, was like a panther in a kennel, with CN's John Huetter stating that riding the Commando in law- abiding fashion "…was incredibly frustrating. It's a sexy bike with no socially acceptable outlets right now. In fourth gear, 55 mph is only about 3500 rpm… it isn't until about 4500 rpm that everything smooths out and the engine starts to come alive." Like the Harley, the Norton shifted on the right side, but in a reverse pattern: down for high, up for low. If that shift pattern wasn't enough to confuse the rider, the Norton also had an odd layout for its electrical switches, many of which were difficult to reach, at least for pilots with shorter fingers. The Interstate model was fitted with a voluminous six-gallon fuel tank, which meant the rider could go for nearly 250 miles before needing to stop at a Standard station for gasoline. The British bikes of those days had a reputation for stellar handling, and the Norton did not disappoint. "You lean it over into a corner," wrote Heutter, "and it goes as far as you push it…the handling is unsurpassed, a stan - dard for superbikes to aim for." In the old days of print, column inches were measured with a special ruler. It should be noted that more picas were devoted to the task of merely starting this motorcycle than in any describing of power or handling character - istics. Bringing this Norton to life required the combined services of a shaman, a Navajo code talker, and a circus fat lady: Tickle the Amal carbs—but not too much. Switch on, choke all the way on, "and come tromping down something fierce on the right-side kickstarter." You have three kicks to pull this off, after which you turn the petcock back to the off posi - tion and start over. It took several days for the test crew to master the process, "during which every - body who tried to start it soaked the starch right out of their shirt." Neither motorcycle was going to win a kewpie doll from the CN staff. "There are details about the Norton that make it harder to live with than its competition… it vibrates…it shudders…it has a sidestand that is difficult to use… instrumentation is only so-so." The Sportster, they wrote, "is not especially quick or fast, as current-day superbikes go. In fact, an old four-speed hump - back tank Honda 450 wrung out to the limit gave the Sportster a good run up to around 60 mph." Such summations would likely condemn a 2025 motorcycle, dooming it to an extended life on a showroom floor. But the Norton and the Sportster aren't from these times, and in 1974, motorcyclists accepted niggling faults and shortcomings in their machines. They adapted, if only because they had no choice. CN Subscribe to nearly 60 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives