Commando vs Trident - long term reliability (2016)

splatt · Feb 26, 2016

I bought a t160 in 88, steped off a twin cam 750 Honda, the trident out handle out braked and was easier to ride due to way better engine torque, good low center of gravity heaps of fun, un fortunately it was a pig, head bolts all rounded off stripped threads ect and I rode it like an idiot. It would rev to 9000 so why not , no wonder it was bloody unreliable, oil leaks slipping clutch, worn camshafts, biffed a rod at full noise and that destroyed a whole engine, conrod cap was opened out round all of front case bolts. I was also broke so that didn't help. One day soon I plan too pull it out off its cardboard boxes and have another go and treat it a bit more civilezed, I don't feel my commando would have handle the abuse I gave the trident any better, the Honda did though 30000ks of redline thrashing and never died but what an evil handling pig.
Trident was definetly more sure footed than my commando

wot · Feb 29, 2016

Had several Commando, all reliable, trip to Maine on my 850 years ago, and a trip to Brainerd on the same bike to see the World Superbike races, also long ago. Never a problem other than running out of gas a few times. My Trident on the other hand has been trouble free, mainly because it has never been started. Never.

trident sam · Feb 29, 2016

[quote="

My Trident on the other hand has been trouble free, mainly because it has never been started. Never.[/quote]

Well that would be like being married to Michelle Pfeiffer and sleeping in the spare room :roll:

t130rv · Feb 29, 2016

In 1969 I bought a BSA Rocket 3 for my regular transport and mid week bracket drag racing. The BSA would turn about 14.0 in the quarter with me (225lbs) on board. Perhaps the abuse was a part of it but I became very familiar with the internals and was known by first name at most the BSA dealers in the area. Not very encouraging. I bought a new 1970 Commando to replace the BSA. The Commando didn't make it home from the dealer on 2 tries and at the end of the 4 month guarantee period had only 26 miles showing! The BSA made 10,000 miles before I traded it in but the Norton struggled to make 9000, using oil at the rate of 1 quart per 600 miles from the start and through 2 dealer attempts to stem the flow (now know about shallow oil rings/split piston issues with early Commandos). 1n 1973 I bought a H2 Kawasaki and raced it every Wednesday and rode it everywhere. At 36,500 miles in 1.5 years it was dead reliable. I read that Norton was going to close so sold the Kaw and bought a new 1974 Commando left over at the Jam Buster Sale NVT put on. Alas that bike dropped a valve through the piston in the first week and the dealer refused to work on it. That launched me into a lifetime in the British motorcycle business but I was able to repair that bike on my own and still have it. It has 135,000 miles on now and here is what has been done: 800 miles-replaced head, pistons, valves 35,000 miles- honed cylinder to fit "high range" pistons to replace OE "low range" . 55,000 miles Bored +.020 and new exhaust valves. 78,000 miles- new rings and replace burned out tail lamp bulb. 100,000 miles- replaced rod bearing( copper just showing) and exhaust valves again. 125,000 miles- rings again and Mk3 engine mounts. Bike still has original electrics throughout, including headlamp bulb. No one has ever ridden that bike but me and it has never been raced but treated with respect. I have owned a number of both bikes and have 3 Tridents now and all have less than 10,000 miles. A well set up Commando will cover huge miles whereas a Trident is not likely to. Tridents are great fun to ride but for the long hall make mine a Norton. I have owned mine for 41 years.

concours · Feb 29, 2016

t130rv said:
In 1969 I bought a BSA Rocket 3 for my regular transport and mid week bracket drag racing. The BSA would turn about 14.0 in the quarter with me (225lbs) on board. Perhaps the abuse was a part of it but I became very familiar with the internals and was known by first name at most the BSA dealers in the area. Not very encouraging. I bought a new 1970 Commando to replace the BSA. The Commando didn't make it home from the dealer on 2 tries and at the end of the 4 month guarantee period had only 26 miles showing! The BSA made 10,000 miles before I traded it in but the Norton struggled to make 9000, using oil at the rate of 1 quart per 600 miles from the start and through 2 dealer attempts to stem the flow (now know about shallow oil rings/split piston issues with early Commandos). 1n 1973 I bought a H2 Kawasaki and raced it every Wednesday and rode it everywhere. At 36,500 miles in 1.5 years it was dead reliable. I read that Norton was going to close so sold the Kaw and bought a new 1974 Commando left over at the Jam Buster Sale NVT put on. Alas that bike dropped a valve through the piston in the first week and the dealer refused to work on it. That launched me into a lifetime in the British motorcycle business but I was able to repair that bike on my own and still have it. It has 135,000 miles on now and here is what has been done: 800 miles-replaced head, pistons, valves 35,000 miles- honed cylinder to fit "high range" pistons to replace OE "low range" . 55,000 miles Bored +.020 and new exhaust valves. 78,000 miles- new rings and replace burned out tail lamp bulb. 100,000 miles- replaced rod bearing( copper just showing) and exhaust valves again. 125,000 miles- rings again and Mk3 engine mounts. Bike still has original electrics throughout, including headlamp bulb. No one has ever ridden that bike but me and it has never been raced but treated with respect. I have owned a number of both bikes and have 3 Tridents now and all have less than 10,000 miles. A well set up Commando will cover huge miles whereas a Trident is not likely to. Tridents are great fun to ride but for the long hall make mine a Norton. I have owned mine for 41 years.

Hi, welcome. Thanks for sharing your story :mrgreen:

mschmitz57 · Feb 29, 2016

t130rv said:
In 1969 I bought a BSA Rocket 3 for my regular transport and mid week bracket drag racing. The BSA would turn about 14.0 in the quarter with me (225lbs) on board. Perhaps the abuse was a part of it but I became very familiar with the internals and was known by first name at most the BSA dealers in the area. Not very encouraging. I bought a new 1970 Commando ..............................................................SNIP....................................................................................... I have owned a number of both bikes and have 3 Tridents now and all have less than 10,000 miles. A well set up Commando will cover huge miles whereas a Trident is not likely to. Tridents are great fun to ride but for the long hall make mine a Norton. I have owned mine for 41 years.

A great story. Thanks for sharing.

I find it sad that lots of old Norton's on Ebay have fairly low mileage which seems to point to some major malfunction, leading to the bike being parked in the shed for 25 years. But many that are later restored and "sorted out" go on to rack-up big miles. It's a shame Norton couldn't get them sorted-out at the factory instead of sending the bikes out the door with poor quality control.

B+Bogus · Mar 1, 2016

I've owned two T150s, one '74 model and a Rickman Metisse which apparently was one of a batch of around 40 which had engines supplied direct from Triumph.
Both required bottom end rebuilds due to low oil pressure.
The '74 did quite a few rally weekends around the UK after I fitted a brand new crank but ultimately it nipped a big-end (momentary 'hesitation' on acceleration about 5 miles into a ride), followed a week later by the LH rod knocking a hole in the crankcase. It had probably done around 3K since the rebuild.
I repaired it and sold it, glad to be rid.
The Rickman had done very few miles but the crank needed a re-grind. The mains were worse than the big-ends.
Although I enjoyed riding the Rickman I could never be fully relaxed on it, and it ultimately found its way to France:
http://www.motos-anglaises.com/motos/bitzas/rickman/trident.html

The Trident felt better at motorway speeds than my Bonneville, but the 850 Commando feels much more long-legged, which is where it really scores.
I'd still like to get a T160, but I'd expect it to be an expensive experience compared to running a Commando.

oldmikew · Apr 5, 2018

An interesting question.. I was very torn -there were three choices. An Egli Vincent , or previous year models Commando and Rocket 3. The Egli was ruled out because it clearly had been used and abused, between the Rocket Three and the Commando , I felt the Fast back was one of the most beautiful looking bikesd of all time (sadly ethnol ate the original tank.. but it seemed to me that the Rocket might be a mechanically superior option, however it was overweight and only does about 30mpg and probably much less when cruised at 90 plus mph. I felt that back in the 20th Century one should be able to have a run down the coast from London and still have change from a tenner. Probably not a consideration for those in the US where petrol has always been cheap..
And I had no sooner bought it than the shit hit the fan over mechanical reliability. The press in the UK were happy to keep stum over a whole range of issues such as premature bearing failure and so.

I kitted mine out with oil and temp gauges and an oil cooler and todate the cases have never been split . Its done 47,000 with regular oil changes on monograde straight 50 , the head has been off twice! the last time was in the early 90s when I opened up the ports changed guides and valves . It will just about pull over 120 and has been so ridden . Fast but not maniacally so . I had a sleeve gear bearing fail - probably because I change down at silly speeds. It has been very very reliable . It let me down once when a carbon fibre pushrod snapped- but that is hardly the fault of the original design.

I have a set of FAG superblends , never fitted and bought from a Dealers closing down sale .So I might split the casesd and put them in.. As against that I find it satisfying to think that on a bike built in 1971 there are still bolts and fastners untouched since assembly.

Final vanity point - it has always turned a lot of heads - both looks and sounds . So all these years down the line - for me its no contest

oldmikew · Apr 5, 2018

Apoogies only just realised its an old albeit interesting thread

Onder · Apr 5, 2018

Well I posted to it back then and I still have the 3x and the Norton and I spend most of my time and money on my two
Enfield Interceptors so you can see biking has nothing to do with common sense or hard learned lessons.
:-(

Commando vs Trident - long term reliability (2016)

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