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The Commando was more than a fairly decent road bike before Peter Williams came on the Norton factory scene. I don't doubt his contribution to the race effort. It was the only British parallel twin which could be ridden comfortably over anything like long distances at anything like high speeds.The G50 with road equipment could never have been sold in the UK in any sort of significant numbers. Production processes didn't allow it to be mass-produced. It would simply have been too expensive to build. From the 1950s onwards, UK factories pandered to the demands of the powerful US importers and gave them what they wanted as loss-leaders. No UK dealers who had to deal directly with the factories could have demanded the same treatment. With very few exceptions, the UK motorcycle market in the early 1960s was one of practical transport and not the leisure industry that it has now become.Those with purchasing power wanted bathtubs and deLuxe rear ends so that they could arrive clean in blazer, flannels and brown brogues, they didn't want to be soaked to the waist in Castrol R.
The Commando was more than a fairly decent road bike before Peter Williams came on the Norton factory scene. I don't doubt his contribution to the race effort. It was the only British parallel twin which could be ridden comfortably over anything like long distances at anything like high speeds.
The G50 with road equipment could never have been sold in the UK in any sort of significant numbers. Production processes didn't allow it to be mass-produced. It would simply have been too expensive to build. From the 1950s onwards, UK factories pandered to the demands of the powerful US importers and gave them what they wanted as loss-leaders. No UK dealers who had to deal directly with the factories could have demanded the same treatment. With very few exceptions, the UK motorcycle market in the early 1960s was one of practical transport and not the leisure industry that it has now become.
Those with purchasing power wanted bathtubs and deLuxe rear ends so that they could arrive clean in blazer, flannels and brown brogues, they didn't want to be soaked to the waist in Castrol R.
