New Norton Commando Book

http://www.veloce.co.uk/shop/products/p ... 20Scooters

Have you read it? Review?

Looks like the book was only released a few weeks ago. It would be great to read some reviews, or hear from anybody who has read it. I am reluctant to buy it cold. You would think at some point it has all been said before. But perhaps this will be the definitive work?

Stephen Hill

JimNH said:

Have you read it?

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Not yet, I just received the newsletter from Veloce Publishing that it's now available.

If it help you can preview it on Amazon uk. Undecided myself as its quite expensive but does have some of the latest incarnations of the Commando so might go on my Christmas list!

From the sample PDF on the Veloce site

Section on Combat

Instead of using high compression pistons,
Norton used standard items and skimmed the
head to increase compression. This, along
with the high-lift cam, gave minimal clearance
between valves and pistons

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If they had used hi comp pistons instead of skimming the head then same minimal clearance issues would have occurred anyway. Thats a problem with the piston valve pockets needing a bigger recess not with the head being skimmed.

As if that weren’t
enough, the crankshaft was weakened because
a fillet radius on the drive side was being
incorrectly ground (no minimum radius was
specified) which caused a stress raiser.

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Isn't this a problem not solely for the 72's

I cannot imagine the book being as in depth and as fully researched as what has gone on this list over the years.
One wonders, that for most of us here, there would either be no new news or a furrowed brow as we ticked
the errors , misstatements and poor considered suppositions. With a blue pencil, of course.

If each of us tossed in a quid we could buy a copy for Jerry in thanks for the list and then he'd be
obligated to post a review...

What sayest all?

I couldn't resist. I'm a sucker for anything about Commandos. I just pre-ordered it from Amazon. They don't yet have an expected delivery date, but with free shipping, it will be a lot cheaper than ordering from Britain.

I'll post a review when I get it, unless others get to it before me.

Ken

Onder said:

I cannot imagine the book being as in depth and as fully researched as what has gone on this list over the years.
One wonders, that for most of us here, there would either be no new news or a furrowed brow as we ticked
the errors , misstatements and poor considered suppositions. With a blue pencil, of course.

Click to expand...

https://www.amazon.com/Norton-Commando- ... 1787110060
It looks as if he copied the serial number data from Steve Wilson's book, along with the errors ('Oct. 72 'Combat engine as standard' :roll: and the 212278 'Interstate' duplicate entry ).

Onder said:

If each of us tossed in a quid we could buy a copy for Jerry in thanks for the list and then he'd be
obligated to post a review...

What sayest all?

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I'd sling a quid in. :wink:

I'd be more interested in Jim Schmidt's book. I think the way he gets a Norton wheel-standing is pretty good. I would have thought the rear tyre would break loose first.

acotrel said:

I'd be more interested in Jim Schmidt's book. I think the way he gets a Norton wheel-standing is pretty good. I would have thought the rear tyre would break loose first.

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Not the same deal. JIm's book is all about how to do mods to improve performance. Doesn't have a lot of info on historical development, different models, yearly changes, etc.

Best to have both :lol:

Ken

acotrel said:

I'd be more interested in Jim Schmidt's book. I think the way he gets a Norton wheel-standing is pretty good. I would have thought the rear tyre would break loose first.

Click to expand...

Alan a well set up Commando motor in a Featherbed frame and you will have no problems doing some great wheel stands, my problem is keeping the front wheel on the road :roll:

I like reading any books on Nortons and Commandos and have a few in my book collection so this book would make a good present for any motorcyclest, hope my wife reads this wink wink.

Ashley

Hello All

Well I bought the book direct from Veloce Publishing last week and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I must first declare an interest in that I did review a text-only draft of the book at short notice early this year, but the book is all Pete Henshaw's work and I have no financial or commercial interest in the book or in writing what follows.

I'm not quite sure how to place the book in comparison with others since I have not read Matthew Vale's book (I plan to) or Mick Duckworth's (out-of-print and a bit expensive for me now). Henshaw's book is a big improvement over Roy Bacon's book (Norton Commando, All Models) but that's a shorter tome and costs less. For me the book's strengths are in the anecdotes and information about the Commando's development provided by ex-employees of Norton. There are frequent new additions and insights in the book from, e.g. Mike Jackson, Mick Ofield, Bob Trigg, Robin Clews, Dave Rawlins, Norman White and John McLaren, among others.

The book also draws on contemporary photographs and Norton marketing material. The various issues with Commando build quality are not glossed over and I believe represent on honest interpretation of events.

On a lighter note there was a 'laugh out load' moment for me as a result of the paragraph describing Japanese race teams copying Norton pumping the rear shockers up and down on the monocoque racer (see first paragraph on page 118). Norton were actually priming the mechanical fuel pump which was powered by the action of the swinging arm (rear fork). The Japanese teams thought they were priming the rear shocks.

Overall I'd recommend it. The preview on Amazon (especially if logged-in) gives a useful introduction to the book, the writing style, layout and content.

All imho of course.

Andy

I agree it's a good read if a bit short (144 pages) to be considered an actual 'bible' and it does contain some obvious errors, wrong spelling of names and one or two perhaps questionable things, unfortunately.

I realize it's not a "COMMANDO" book but Bert Hopwood's "Whatever Happened to the British Motorcycle Industry" should, IMO, be required reading for all of us Britt-bikers!

Amazon is listing it at $33. I think I'll get one.

Hello All
There are some recommendations in this earlier thread http://www.accessnorton.com/book-recommendations-t20822.html
Also reviews here:
Broken link removed

I enjoyed Bert Hopwood's book he certainly had some good ideas. Does go on a bit about Edward Turner though.

For me the best most recent book is 'Designed to Race' by Peter Williams. The first edition sold out quickly although a Kindle edition is available.
However, a second edition hardcopy is available from Peter Williams's own site http://www.peterwilliamsmotorcycles.com/shop.html#!/BOOKS/c/18186767/offset=0&sort=normal and also from Andover Norton and the UK National Motor Museum http://www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/product/peter-williams-designed-to-race-revised-edition/.

Andy