Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos.

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Rohan

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Details of AMC factory at Woolwich's Burrage Grove, home of all the early Norton Fastbacks.

http://www.workingatamc.london/index.html

Fabulous effort by those guys.
Not much specific Commando content though.
When will someone do someting similar for Bracebridge St, or Wolverhampton or Andover ....
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

It says there someplace that early Commando frames came down from MANCHESTER.

Is this correct ?

Reynolds Tubes was based in Birmingham, and in WW2.
The old works are still there in part,
in between being redeveloped for housing ?
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Rohan said:
It says there someplace that early Commando frames came down from MANCHESTER.

Is this correct ?
Click to expand...

This has cropped up before but there's no evidence of any Manchester connection.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Lots of familiar names on the employee rosters;
Nobby Clarke, Bob Trigg, Bernard Hooper, Mike Duff, Frank Perris, Peter Williams, Joe Craig, Jack Williams, Phil Irving and Brian Slark.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

You'd wonder what time period this must be covering then ?
Phil Irving was there in WW2. (?).
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Rohan, thanks very much for posting this. As I was born & lived a few hundred yards from the factory, it is a real fascination for me. My mother has always said that, as we used to walk past the factory to the shops, the sight & sound of all the bikes started my obsession. Bill Cakebreads book Motorcycle Apprentice is well worth buying.
Martyn.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Excellent find, and very well put together too :)

Interesting to note that they'd dropped the round tank badges as early as July '68
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

I think it should read July 1969, as the round tank badge was still being used at least until the spring of '69. At the same time the points were moved to the place shown in the photo.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Thanks Rohan. That's a great read.

Ken
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Hindsight is a beautiful thing, so to read the then evaluation by the AMC management of the new Honda's was totally arrogant and saddening at the same time.

Long serving employee John Rourke, referring to one of the directors, D. G. Golding, remembers overhearing him say that "as long as he got his Rolls Royce each year with his AMC number plate on it, he didn't care much what happened (to the company)."


John also recalls when one of the first Hondas came to Plumstead via Comerfords of Acton. "Although some £35 cheaper than our cheapest bare model, the Honda had as standard, electric starting, traffic indicators, a streamline wind visor, front and rear carriers, all round suspension, white wall tyres, toe and heel rocking foot change, steering head locking, a slightly better top speed and better petrol consumption."

What was the AMC management's verdict? "It was too flashy, built on a bowl of rice a day, too cheap to be any good and will never sell. It will never take off and be a serious
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting Rohan, I've enjoyed looking around on this link.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

That was a really good read. Thank you.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Matchless said:
I think it should read July 1969, as the round tank badge was still being used at least until the spring of '69. At the same time the points were moved to the place shown in the photo.
Click to expand...

You could be right on the date. However, I think the round badges may have been dropped prior to the engine changes;

http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/Fastback69.htm
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

B+Bogus said:
Matchless said:
I think it should read July 1969, as the round tank badge was still being used at least until the spring of '69. At the same time the points were moved to the place shown in the photo.
Click to expand...

You could be right on the date. However, I think the round badges may have been dropped prior to the engine changes;

http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/Fastback69.htm
Click to expand...

According to the caption in Mick Duckworth's Norton Commando book, (p.10), the photo (p.11) was taken in May 1969, at The Greenwich Maritime Museum "to mark the winning of the MCN Machine of the Year trophy" (in photo).

Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

L.A.B. said:
According to the caption in Mick Duckworth's Norton Commando book, (p.10), the photo (p.11) was taken in May 1969, at The Greenwich Maritime Museum "to mark the winning of the MCN Machine of the Year trophy" (in photo).

Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos.
Click to expand...

Good work :)

I hadn't noticed the points cover first time around - definitely not a '68 bike :roll:
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

B+Bogus said:
I hadn't noticed the points cover first time around - definitely not a '68 bike :roll:
Click to expand...

According to Bacon, Fastbacks got the 'camshaft' points from 133668 in "Sept 1969".
As usual, we have no way of knowing what "Sept" actually refers to, presumably, date of dispatch otherwise the Fastback in the photo wouldn't have been built in May or July 1969 unless it was some kind of pre-production prototype etc.? :)
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Thank you Rohan,
That was a good find.
Cheers,
Thomas
CNN
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

Sadly as LAB says the changes were actually dated, but this does not accurately indicate or relate to when the items were actually fitted to a bike and dispatched, though the common changes are known by engine number, other cycle parts that were changed and fitted is anyones guess. I believe there is also an additional list / register somewhere of all the changes, all numbered and dated which correspond to the change entries on the drawings. This is not the same as the service releases which are totally different, and a bit hit or miss in the real background reason to why they were introduced.

The AMC website is cool though, and shame a follow on from the start of the AN days is not available.
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

As I recall, the original molds for the fiberglass tanks didn't have the depression for the older-style Norton badges, as the "green blob" was supposed to be the symbol of the resurrected Norton name. It was attached with epoxy.

After the demise of the green blob, a black decal of the Norton logo was used on the tanks of the early bikes until the molds were modified
 
Re: Factory details and tour of AMC, home of early Commandos

frankdamp said:
After the demise of the green blob, a black decal of the Norton logo was used on the tanks of the early bikes until the molds were modified
Click to expand...

Anyone got a pic of such a bike ?
That doesn't ring any bells in pics of bikes in the photo archives

There was quite a gap between the prototypes with green blobs, and when the bikes went into production.
 
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