Help identifying this originally red Commando please?

Right side headlamp mounting bracket appears to be bent near the headlamp. That would indicate that it's been dropped. Replacement is the best cure for that bracket. Hard to tell if the chrome on the shift lever is bad. It might just be some reflections? 8000 miles is probably what it has run up since the last time the speedometer was replaced/rebuilt and likely not original. Try to find out what state in the USA it was last registered in. You can then find out when it was last registered in that state. The title from that state will also show the mileage at time of purchase by the last owner. Why is the lower fork yoke black? I thought the yokes on all 850s were painted silver, like this bike's top yoke.

Schwany said:

Based on the spots on the driveway, it looks like it needs seals here and there if it gets parked in that location frequently.

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That seems to be a common photo location (as it is a dealer) so probably not oil from that bike and there are what looks like cement splashes.

chaztuna said:

Right side headlamp mounting bracket appears to be bent near the headlamp. That would indicate that it's been dropped.

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They're not what might be described as perfectly flat to begin with.

chaztuna said:

Hard to tell if the chrome on the shift lever is bad.

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It is bad.

chaztuna said:

Why is the lower fork yoke black?

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Somebody painted it black as both of mine (upper and lower) were when I bought my Commando.

The rear tyre is a French TT100 still with plenty of tread so if new when fitted the bike couldn't have done many miles in the last 20 years or so.

ILLF8ED said:

Question about NVC CHIC. In 1973 NVC was in Duarte, California as the Western USA distributor. Berliner was the distributor for Eastern USA.

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Ahh so my mistake thinking CHIC meant Chicago

I wonder who here has imported motorcycles from the USA.

What is the history of that bike based on the above.
The history will most likely be, no real maintenance plain to see in its originality and a bike for whatever reason that never got ridden except for maybe in the first few years from new.
Time took the toll from there.
That is a cookie cutter story until someone (perhaps with a partner in the USA) plucked it and off it went to a US port, into a shipping container with other bikes headed for in this case the UK.
It then got the very minimum including the usual it seems black paint, no pin striping, new decals and a almost fits seat cover.

That poor old bike needs a new home but at what cost.
A personal import at half the cost (bravery needed) or from a local scalper (Pardon my French) with a massive mark up, at least it does not have sugar and water on those old hoops.

Good bones for a keeper.
Greg Marsh echoes my thoughts.

Did the Mk1 come with an RH4 or RH10, my vote to some degree would be an un molested mid 1974 (RH10) Mk2 or Mk2A
If you have AU$19000 burning a hole in your pocket there is ample time to increase the search radius unless that bike was negotiable.

Time Warp said:

Did the Mk1 come with an RH4 or RH10,

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RH4.

Do any of you UK members know what it takes to import a bike from the USA (PITA factor and cost)? It seems to me that really good rebuild that sells for around $13k USD here would be a better deal than that bike which at today's exchange rate is about $13,600 USD and a long way from a really good rebuild.

At current conversion rates, a bike selling for BP 9990 equals US$ 13,586
Wow! That would buy a mighty fine example in the USA. This bike is NOT a mighty fine example.
I get it that Commandos in GB, AUS, NZ, etc. sell for higher than in the USA (conversion accounted for),
But, hell, this bike was probably purchased for $6,000 US, cleaned up a bit and being sold for over double that.
Yes there is shipping in a container and various British fees that were paid. But someone is making a serious
profit on a bike that needs going through and probably will require $2,000 US more to get it sorted right.
I simply don't believe that this bike has only 8,000 miles on the odometer. There are better examples on
UK eBay. Keep looking! I hate to see folks get taken advantage of.

I would not suggest a private import not knowing UK protocol but here is the first hit I got and half the cost and still at profit most likely.

Time Warp said:

I would not suggest a private import not knowing UK protocol but here is the first hit I got and half the cost and still at profit most likely.

Norton 850 COMMANDO MK3 1975 USA IMPORT RESTORATION PROJECT

1975 NORTON 850 COMMANDO MK3 ELECTRIC START. RECENT AMERICAN IMPORT. THIS MOTORCYCLE IS UNREGISTERED BUT DOES COME WITH ALL THE NECCESARY PAPERWORK REQUIRED TO - Located in United Kingdom

motorcycles-for-sale.biz

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Some (many?) of those ads are several years old (and some I remember) so the prices are out of date.

"The MoT is valid until December 21st. and the tax is to the end of November 2013."

"Supplied with MOT and TAX (tax exempt shortly) upon sale"

Would now have been road Tax (and MoT) exempt for several years.

"On 13-Mar-15 at 07:44:25 GMT.: :"

Current UK ebay:

L.A.B. said:

Current UK ebay:

Norton Commando for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for Norton Commando. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.co.uk

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Near all over priced US imports.
A Mk3 as imported not registered for £12,000.00, yikes.
That or imported and only cosmetic work done.

I am sure the OP potential buyer can find something that is reasonable was my point.

I appreciated my own 850 known and mechanically addressed down to the last square mm before, even more so now.

If it was imported from the USA it probably wasn't ridden much. We use them for pleasure, not at all like GB and Europe. Little things can be upgraded and or improved at your leisure. You may look a long time before another for that price and quality comes along. I have sellers and buyer's remorse everytime and only regretted selling!

Time Warp said:

I am sure the OP potential buyer can find something that is reasonable was my point.

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It doesn't look too bad. A bit overpriced perhaps but that could probably be haggled down especially at this time of year in the UK.

I saw a few in the £7k - £9k bracket, last year, when I was searching. Only one was close in condition to the one I bought. That one sold within a day of me seeing it, 2 days after it was advertised ( to a guy in Sweden, who hadn't seen it). The rest had plenty of cosmetic / mechanical issues, including some strange mods. The oddest was a mk2 with a mk3 primary and a steel blanking plate "ready for a starter motor conversion". Not sure how they bolted the inner primary up to the engine case.

Photos can really deceive, but from the photos, it looks ok, but unused. If you can run it and give it a few miles test ride, then do the usual checks (wheel, steering head bearings, swing arm play etc.) and negotiate hard, you may get it for nearer £9k than £10k. But walk away if you don't have 20% on top to get it ready for Spring (or the desire to work on it). Walk away if you have any doubts.

Join the NOC. There's usually one Commando a month for sale. But, don't expect that to be a guarantee. Usual checks.

As Simon is listed as being in Ireland he has no consumer protection as he is outside UK jurisdiction unless he is in NI, so paying a dealer a premium is wasted money.

kommando said:

As Simon is listed as being in Ireland

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The location flag is Italy.

mean gene said:

If it was imported from the USA it probably wasn't ridden much. We use them for pleasure, not at all like GB and Europe. Little things can be upgraded and or improved at your leisure. You may look a long time before another for that price and quality comes along. I have sellers and buyer's remorse everytime and only regretted selling!

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They were ridden in California in the '70's. Different group of "we" in California.

I take back the negativity and the dumb $19000US price I quoted. I picked the number up from another response and didn't check what that number represented. $13,500US is still steep to me, but it's your money.

Buy it and start living the dream.

concours said:

What are your expectations? Change the oil & ride? Or tinker, inspect, update, ride as you are allowed? Mechanical skillset? Time/desire to tinker?

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Inspect, tinker. Maybe a few upgrades, Andover master cylinder. Ride, more tinkering and lots of big smiles. Def don’t want to do a massive restoration…knowing me I’d end up doing everything - once you make one bit look like new the rest looks bad

Schwany said:

I take back the negativity and the dumb $19000US price I quoted. I picked the number up from another response and didn't check what that number represented. $13,500US is still steep to me, but it's your money.

Buy it and start living the dream.

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Did it

Simonohoh7 said:

Inspect, tinker. Maybe a few upgrades, Andover master cylinder. Ride, more tinkering and lots of big smiles. Def don’t want to do a massive restoration…knowing me I’d end up doing everything - once you make one bit look like new the rest looks bad

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Maybe research the braking upgrade? Mine came with the revised 13mm master cylinder. Can't imagine how poor it must have been stock, they're definitely 'poor to mediocre' now. Thankfully, the rear helps a great deal. It will stop the bike, with a bit of effort, but feel is lacking.