New Member

Thought i would post my first contribution to this forum. I am not used to posting so apologies if I make some obvious mistakes. I am the owner of a 69 Fastback.
My friends and I have just returned from a week long road trip, three Commandos '69 Fastback,'72 Roadster,750's, and an 850 Interstate, two Broughs an SS80 and an SS100 , a Velocette 350 and a very original (read patina)'59 Lambretta rode from Turkey back to the UK. It was a fantastic trip covering 2,200 miles in seven days.
We rode the Greek mountains, Italian and French Alpine passes. I will hope to post some pics if people are interested and i can sort the technology. I have enjoyed visiting this forum and thought it time I contributed. I am pleased to say that all the Nortons ran really strong. I have to say that after 412 miles on a damp Friday I would have swapped the fastback seat for the one on the Interstate.

Sounds like a nice trip. I use photobucket.com for pictures. They make it pretty easy. Also FYI I have an nice original interstate seat for sale.

Thanks for the offer I'm sure that by next wednesday I will have some sort of feeling returned. I am afraid I had to suffer for a great looking bike. All of you who have been lucky enough to have ridden the Alps will know that they are the best roads you can ride a Commando on. The Commando had just been rebuilt after a cam follower failed and so it was a hell of a way to run it in.
Unfortunately the weather in Greece was unreal with hail the size of marbles (ball bearings). The Commandos were very popular everywhere we stopped. I have to admit that the old Lambretta always seems to attract the most attention.
We are lucky to have a group of lads willing to tour on their classic bikes and the only casualty was a Velo with a seized engine, apart from that we all got home.

Welcome aboard p11fan,

Sounds like a great trip. Do post some photos! I don't suppose you have any video footage? Listening to the Broughs storming the Alps would be smashing! I know this is s'posed to be a Commando forum but I've always thought the sound of that OTHER British V Twin at full chat to be among the best in motorcycling.

I love going to Lydden and Brands to hear the Brough engined Morgans battling it out with the Mini powered Berkleys- Vincents and Mogvins careering in their wake....

Any comments on how the 850 ran, compard to the 750s? There is endless debate here over which is the best....

Thanks for the welcome. I have to say an afternoon of great roads with the big v twin to listen to was something very special. Whilst it's a Norton forum I can't imagine anyone failing to appreciate a 1939 bike that still delivers 80+ mph and sounds fantastic. I had a quick ride on the 850, I had forgotten how civilised they are compared to the 750"s. Accepting that I have a soft spot for all Nortons and that i am currently in the process of sorting a P11 I like them best stripped down and raw so it's a 750 for me every time.
We have only just returned there are some video clips and some photos and I will post them if they are worth watching.

p11fan said:

We have only just returned there are some video clips and some photos and I will post them if they are worth watching.

Click to expand...

Post them anyways, I know I would! :mrgreen:

Never mind the Nortons, hail stones or not alps, a Lamberetta running with 2 Broughs has got to be worth seeing :mrgreen:

That's you in the 750 camp then

Welcome to the forum!

What a great trip and what a fantastic sight your group must have been to see and someone on a Lamberetta Wow!!!
McVic

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I am struggling to post pictures from my mac apologies if they don't work I'll persevere

That must have been an awesome-looking parade is all I can say!

p11fan said:

I am struggling to post pictures from my mac apologies if they don't work I'll persevere

Click to expand...

You cannot upload photos directly from your computer (Mac or otherwise). You need to upload them to a hosting site like Photobucket: http://photobucket.com/

Once you have created a Photobucket account, upload the photos to your Photobucket 'album', and then insert (copy & paste) each individual photo's IMG code into your message. Please use the message Preview button first before posting to check if your photos are displayed in your message, then post. If your photos do not show in Preview then the IMG code isn't correct.

However, if you get it wrong it doesn't matter, and we can often identify where the error is, and help you correct it.

Hello P11fan,

Have just found some footage of VMCC at Lydden last year with a JAP powered Morgan dicing with a mini powered Berkley. Will send you the You tube link if your Brough mates are interested (uploading as we speak).

Keep persevering with the video upload - we're all waiting to see the Brough and the Lambretta, not to mention Nortons in the Alps.

Best,

I want to know how the Lambretta kept up with the others, as I remember, they only do maybe 50mph flat out on the straight, much less in the Alps? I'd love to see the Brough in action.

Dave
69S

would love to see the photos too....FWIW if you have a google/gmail account Picasa works well for photo hosting too https://picasaweb.google.com

GDay p11fan,

We hope you're not missing in action- or that you've found something unpleasant in your sump after such an epic ride :mrgreen: Hope you're reading if not posting.

Thought you and your Brough mates might enjoy this. Tis the VMCC race for Chairs at Lydden last year, showing the J.A.P. engined Morgan dicing with the Mini powered Berkley, with the Hillman Imp a distant third.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsFB02M8X8Y[/video]

Thinking about it, I don't recall if the Morgan was J.A.P. or Matchless powered, but am sure your mates could tell. That's me and my dad offerring our thoughts. Dad had a Domminator in the 60s and was often at Brands- and I blame him for my Norton habit. He now has a Royal Enfield Crusader Sports with a Daytona engine force fitted in there.

I didn't really cotton on to the Berkley/Morgan dice till about half way through the race. The Morgan sounds smashing whatever it is and I'm looking forward to seeing them again this year.

Hope we hear from you soon. If you're having trouble uploading your video, you can post it to U Tube first, then paste the link in here. Thanks to LAB for the tip- this is the first video I've managed to upload

All the best,

Guys

I will sort the pics. The Lambretta is fantastic and keeps a constant 60mph all day long, it did let us down with a holed piston two years ago as we crossed Serbia again returning from Istanbul but this time via Bulgaria, Serbia,Bosnia,Croatia.

Next year looks like Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Denmark and home. The SS100 was very impressive and sounded fantastic, but the Nortons were in a class of their own on the Alpine passes, any of you who have ridden the French and Swiss Alps know how perfectly those eternal curves suit the Nortons power delivery. The mountains in Greece were a challenge as the road surface was poor.


The fastback has cleaned up a treat and is ready for a summer of fun. I have just sourced a P11 so am excited about getting that sorted in original and used condition. I wondered whether any of you on the forum would know where I can source the knobby off road tyres seen on so many desert racers in the 60's?

Thanks for the help you can now enjoy the sight of the three commandos at the top of the Col de Madelaine, the sccoter arriving in Italy having crossed Greece in two days and the Brough's also at the top of the Col the best 60 miles of road with great views.

Hurrah, thanks mate, the photos make all the difference. I especially like the two Broughs- those chaps look like a couple of fighter pilots, fresh from downing a few Messerschmitts! But some breath taking scenery, no doubt about it. Great to see the Broughs being used considering their combined value is probably greater than my house...

The Interstate looks like a MKIII, judging by the rear disc and bean can silencers. Does it boast a functioning starter motor?

With such a variety of machinery over such distance, I've got to enquire about the fuel consumption?? My money would be on the Lambretta, even though it must have had to work hard. My Roadster did 33mpg on worn Amals when I got it. A single Mikuni raised that to 55-60 mpg, meaning I can live with the slight loss of top end oomph. But how did you chaps fare?

I won't enquire about drum brakes on alpine passes, Brough or Lambretta! As you say, the roads suited the power characteristics of the Nortons- designed as they were when it wasn't all about sustained high speed but usable midrange in the days before motorways.

Thanks mate and Good luck with the restoration.

I don't know about fighter pilots, they had certainly downed a considerable amount of vino. The drum brakes were perfect and much nicer to ride than the wooden AP caliper on the front of the Mk111.
As far as fuel consumption I have no idea, we alway stop between 100 and 120 miles which as all of us know is about the right time to get off and have break. My guess is that the commandos did about 50mph and didn't suffer when the air got a bit thin.
The scenery is fantastic and that's the beauty of riding in Europe, every country is so different and the mountain roads are spectacular. The pass had only been open a week, its always great riding when the snow is still on the ground.