Classic Bike Guide - Real rides, real riders

Clarky's Corner - Norton Special

For example, how could we possibly pass up on the classic exclusive ride on the first genuine road going 961 Norton Commando? Or the equally exclusive peek into Peter Williams’ forthcoming autobiography? Or the Sam Wheeler streamliner, the fastest Commando in the world, which may well be in Blighty by the time you read this? Include the Commando super profile – which was actually planned – and it all adds up to a Commando special, albeit a little inadvertently.

According to what Chris Walker, Norton’s sales manager, told me at Race Retro, the first 961 Commandos should be with their owners by now and will be causing a stir at bike nights all around the country. According to our learned scribe Cathcart, it’s worth the wait – and the money.

Of course, the 961 is bound to be squared up to Triumph’s Bonneville, which I reckon is a little unfair on them both. The Bonnie, in all its forms, is a brilliant bike and as a mass produced machine, marketed at a very reasonable price, it ticks the boxes for thousands worldwide. The Norton is essentially a hand built limited edition special, which by the very nature of the small factory, presently at least, cannot be turned out in the numbers required to match the Triumph. As such, it’s marketed on its exclusivity – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

They’re both fantastic bikes in their own right and will have their own fans. What’s more, they’re about as British as we’re going to get these days and that in itself is something to be proud of.

Finally, you’ll read elsewhere an obituary for Titch Allen. Titch and a gang of like-minded pals got together just after the war and decided old bikes were worth keeping and started a club to bring them together. The rest, as is said, is history. Without the VMCC much of our motorcycling heritage would have been lost. We owe Titch and his mates a big thank you.

Nigel Clark