That's not a good argument because you are saying that the flaws of a vintage bike are more enjoyable than the corrections of those flaws on that same enjoyable bike... That doesn't make sense...
The only valid argument that improvements are "not good" would be that it changes the character of the bike so it's lost it's distinctive qualities. There's nothing distinctive about fiddling with points and condensers relative to only Commandos.
Lots of people have the landsdowne fork cartridges now. Would better handling be ruining the commando experience for you? Is a commando that handles better not a valid commando experience? I have Showa dampers in my commando forks and Ikon shocks on the rear.
One of my commando design elements was the single bolt swingarm tube that the early bikes had. My commando rode down the road like a snake weaving back and forth.. Did the Kegler clamps that correct the wallowed out swingarm tube ruin my commando experience or just allow my commando to operate as it was intended??
I have cast alloy wheels on my commando. Lots of racing nortons use the allow wheels. WTBS, If I don't look down I really don't know the difference between spokes or no spokes..... Is the spoke experience completely different? I still have the same tires as spoke wheeled nortons except they are tubeless alloy wheels..
I could go on and on but my point is that none of the things I have modified have changed the basic character of my commando. It just handles better, runs better, and is better in many other ways.....
As I said above, It just isn't the "G.I. Joe wrapped in the Original packaging" that collectors feel is "most valuable". That unaltered stock bike is what I call the "time capsule bike" and it's valuable because it's a historical bike as it came from the factory. We look at it and it brings us back to the old days when the only loud canary yellow bike roaring past you as you walked down the street was a Norton Commando. You remember those days the same way you look at the pictures in your high school yearbook...
Also as I said above, if I was a collector type looking to buy my first Norton Commando, I would want the "time capsule bike". But as someone who has owned my commando since 1978 and kept it running much of that time, my commando experience is different than most of the bikes that had 8,000 miles put on them and then found a home buried in some garage for 40 years. Most of those owners couldn't handle the mechanical challenge of the commando.... I would argue that you can't buy that experience wrapped in the original plastic packaging... and That is the real commando owner experience and that is a lived experience and buying someone elses time capsule bike is something completely different...
with all due respects...
