Determining Original Paint Color

Is there records available to determine the color of a Norton motorcycle when it left the factory.

I'm debating whether to repaint my 1974 Norton Commando Roadster that I restored last winter back to it's factory original color. However, I don't know the color of this motorcycle when it left the factory. I've been able to determine from original 1974 Norton brochures that Norton never used the color British Racing Green on a roadster. I've always wanted a black roadster and would probably return the bike back to black if its the original color.

No factory records of either colour or if it left as a roadster or interstate. You are left with detective work using the registration record.

Where do you find the registration records? Does anyone maintain them?

By the way, nice BSA 441 Avatar Kommando. I restored this 1969 BSA 441 VS in 2013. I still have it.

Does your state vehicle title indicate a color?
Some do.

Is the bike from the local Kansas area? Do you know the original selling dealer?

Very nice looking Norton by the way. Good job on the re-build.

The color on the title is whatever color I told them when I had it titled. I purchased the bike from Baxters in Marne, Iowa as a project bike. The previous owner was from Arkansas. I called him and he told me he purchased the bike from an auction for a flip. He has no other knowledge of the bike.

What I'm looking for is anyone that has records by serial number when the bikes arrived here in the states. Maybe the original color is listed.

The NOC has records. Contact <twinrecords@nortonownersclub.org> There is a fee for this service, the amount depends on whether you are a NOC menber.

Slick

Many '73 - '74 850 records are missing.

http://www.nortonmotors.de/ANIL/News.htm

Norton Commando Factory Despatch Records

Andover Norton hold the original despatch records for late Norton Commando 750 and many 850s. These records show production batch number, despatch date and sometimes colour and dealer destination.

We can supply a photocopy of the entry of your machine for £20.00 including VAT.

Original Despatch Records held by Andover Norton:-

221545 to 221644
230536 to 230677
235510 to 235515
300000 to 305549
317848 to 321126
320000 to 329999
330000 to 336537

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Look in the tank tunnel... scrape away paint. Insides of side covers as well. No guarantee all the tin wasn't changed, but gives an indication. It's under there.

That bike looks good in BRG.

If you like it, do it !!
And just tell folks its an undocumented option.... !

Any future owners can paint over it if they don't like it.

Ken K said:

I'm debating whether to repaint my 1974 Norton Commando Roadster that I restored last winter back to it's factory original color. However, I don't know the color of this motorcycle when it left the factory. I've been able to determine from original 1974 Norton brochures that Norton never used the color British Racing Green on a roadster.

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Rohan said:

That bike looks good in BRG.

If you like it, do it !!
And just tell folks its an undocumented option.... !

Any future owners can paint over it if they don't like it.

Ken K said:

I'm debating whether to repaint my 1974 Norton Commando Roadster that I restored last winter back to it's factory original color. However, I don't know the color of this motorcycle when it left the factory. I've been able to determine from original 1974 Norton brochures that Norton never used the color British Racing Green on a roadster.

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Click to expand...

Agree that the colour looks good

The factory options were candy apple red, Metalflake Royal Blue (called Pacific Blue in the brochure, but I'm fairly confident it's the same colour), Metalflake Golden Bronze, black and plain deep blue.
It seems that the black and dark blue were predominantly Interstate colours, the flakes exclusively for Roadsters. There are lots of black Roadsters out there nowadays, but it's anybody's guess how many left the factory like this prior to the MkIII coming out.

Lots of choices

Thanks for the good information.

B+Bogus said:

The factory options were candy apple red, Metalflake Royal Blue (called Pacific Blue in the brochure, but I'm fairly confident it's the same colour), Metalflake Golden Bronze, black and plain deep blue.
It seems that the black and dark blue were predominantly Interstate colours, the flakes exclusively for Roadsters. There are lots of black Roadsters out there nowadays, but it's anybody's guess how many left the factory like this prior to the MkIII coming out.

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I thought that that plain blue was entirely an Interstate color ?
Not ever seen a (factory done) Roadster in blue that wasn't a fireflake blue.

I've got a black-&-gold pinstripe Roadster sidecover that was taken off a bike in the 1970s
(slightly marked, so it was replaced.).
Thin wash of paint, no undercoat, so fairly sure it is factory paint.
I'll find the link to the pic I posted before.

But I have told the story here previously that I visited the Norton importers warehouse at the end of 1973,
and they had a line of Commandos, all in a state of partial undress (no tanks or sidecovers).
When I asked, he said they were having "the difficult to sell colors repainted".
This apparently meant fireflake purple and bronze redone to black, and blue, and candyapple red.
Some of them were 750's, I'd think (didn't really take note)(but he did mention purple).

Agree that the dark blue was Interstate only.
Black seems to be the 'best seller' colour, but I'd never bring myself to overpaint a metal flake job.

The local bike painter here claimed that he had painted more Commando's than the factory had. !
He had in mind that the painting was done outside the factory, of course.

Anyone know who was contracted to do the painting ?
Or was it in house. ?
You never see it mentioned.