Retiring from Norton ownership

When we ride with the mates we all ride our own style and at our own pace, yes some like to be up front and some just cruise to a slower pace but we always wait for the slow ones to catch up at the next turn off or intersection, we haven't lost anyone yet in 50 years of riding together, our normal Sunday ride covers brekkie somewhere and we clock up around 450km, but some drop out before that.
We usually meet up the coast as where some of the riders live but usually in-between the coast and the city folks, so a 7am meet I have to leave home at 6am to get to the 7am meet up.
Round about 3pm we all split up to go our own way home after a short stop to say our goodbyes, sometimes there might only be a few of us and other times could be up too 20 bikes, our major ride is once a month on Sundays but sometime might be sooner.
Myself now retired so I get to do a lot of riding mid-week when there is not as many bikes of car on our favorite roads/ranges, but these days seems a lot more of us retired bikers have the same idea, the biker friendly cafes seem to be getting busier midweek lol.
I have no troubles traveling 70 miles just to meet up before our main ride, in fact I enjoy all my time on the bikes and getting away from normal life as we know it, I also have no problems packing the bike up and hit the roads for a few days at short notice, when things get bad, I just tell the wife I am off for a few days, she knows when I need to do that, better than being trapped at home week on week, not me I am not a trapped animal lol and have my freedom to do what I feel like at short notice and what better way to do it on two wheels and my state of Queensland has some great out of the way places to get lost, it's great therapee and a good way to get rid of the dole-drums.
I don't mine riding with my group of mates as most of us have been riding together from the start on 50 years ago when we all left school and working we all got into bikes the same time at 15 some even earlier.
Ashley

ILLF8ED said:

Many of the club members are selling off their Nortons. I understand and am thinking it’s time for me to do the same.

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David,

I enjoy your contributions here and appreciate your presence on the forum, and I would prefer you reconsider your decision to sell your bike and skip town, so to speak. I'm sure there are many others here who feel the same.


Sincerely,



-Robert



.

trappnman said:

Not trying to bust anyone's balls- but go 100 miles to ride with friends is a deal breaker?

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My 'usual team' all come from different parts of the UK and meet up at a central location; the last one was 200 miles away


They have an 'original' Commando PR - allegedly. My Originality Nazi instincts were giving me some severe problems!

B+Bogus said:

My 'usual team' all come from different parts of the UK and meet up at a central location; the last one was 200 miles away

Baffle Haus-1 | Baffle Haus

www.baffleculture.com

They have an 'original' Commando PR - allegedly. My Originality Nazi instincts were giving me some severe problems!

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I struggle to understand UK 'Biker' culture. all riding the same roads to the same venues. My 'local' venue for years was Rykers on the A24 near Dorking.....

Some of the riding I encountered frightened the shit out of me, even as a track day rider and racer.

Lack of imagination in many areas, that and the fact that they all got up early Sunday to have a ride before breakfast, to avoid.....well nobody really because the roads were full of them!

SteveA said:

I struggle to understand UK 'Biker' culture. all riding the same roads to the same venues. My 'local' venue for years was Rykers on the A24 near Dorking.....

Some of the riding I encountered frightened the shit out of me, even as a track day rider and racer.

Lack of imagination in many areas, that and the fact that they all got up early Sunday to have a ride before breakfast, to avoid.....well nobody really because the roads were full of them!

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'On any Sunday' now means hoards of retirees trying to re-live the '70s
Not long before I can qualify on all counts!
To be fair, I see very little reckless riding. My local haunts are Cockerham, Devil's Bridge (Kirkby Lonsdale) and the Wray bike nights.
Like North Wales, average speed cameras are now appearing everywhere, which definitely takes the shine off.
My companions all have track experience, and have nothing to prove on the road.

All good things come to an end.
I am selling off my classic cars, but not the bikes.
I only have 2 bikes: a Commando and an N15.
Getting older, I tend to prefer the N15 for traveling.( I don't do ' club rides')
Motorcycle traveling is too much fun to give up any time soon:

Robert_Norton said:

David,

I enjoy your contributions here and appreciate your presence on the forum, and I would prefer you reconsider your decision to sell your bike and skip town, so to speak. I'm sure there are many others here who feel the same.


Sincerely,



-Robert



.

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Appreciate that…..20 years on this forum, 26 years on this Commando.
The late Richard Paradowski was the original owner. This thing will probably out live me as well.

Just to note how our attitudes change day to day: not too unusually I have had issues with the current clutch in my Trident. Gave a spare to a friend of mine to have a go on his lathe. Installed it and snuck out for a very quick in-between-the-rain-showers blast
yesterday. Well hardly a proper test but certainly a great ride. When a Trident runs correctly it can be a very fine machine. So see how NOT ready I am to sell it today?

B+Bogus said:

My 'usual team' all come from different parts of the UK and meet up at a central location; the last one was 200 miles away

Baffle Haus-1 | Baffle Haus

www.baffleculture.com

They have an 'original' Commando PR - allegedly. My Originality Nazi instincts were giving me some severe problems!

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Need to try that place, its not far from home (for me). The Owls Nest near Llandovery is also meant to be good, another place to check out.

Doms bike stop at Leominster is good, entrance just off the A44.

Gone off Rykas at Box Hill, OK midweek when its not too busy but a couple of times recently I have met my mate there then ridden off to Newlands Corner cafe near Clandon - thats a nice place.

Not to be outdone by members of our forefathers homeland across the pond …
Lucille’s in Warren Grove NJ - dining with a statue of the Jersey Devil ( since stolen by some miscreant )


or Mott’s Creek Inn out on the salt marshes just around the corner from Leeds’ Point ( the birthplace of Mrs Leeds thirteenth child - the Jersey Devil)

or Hot Diggety Dog in downtown Chatsworth NJ ..

All great rides through the South Jersey Pinelands .

Went by Lucille's on our way back from Cape May 2 weeks ago. Love the old Breyers ice cream sign. There are a lot of places in South Jersey that time forgot - also just generally strange places.
Russ

One of the club members I referred to selling his Commando on BAT only got $6600 at auction. Think I will reconsider selling. My insurance has an agreed value of $10,100.

ILLF8ED said:

One of the club members I referred to selling his Commando on BAT only got $6600 at auction. Think I will reconsider selling. My insurance has an agreed value of $10,100.

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Money comes and money goes .
My wife has a saying " Never marry a monkey for his money , money go , monkey stay ."
Don't much know if that's relevant , but with your Norton , once it's gone , it's gone .
Bought my Norty for 10,000 Cdn. and then put at least another 20 into her to get things the way they are today . Most of the money would never be recovered should I sell . The enjoyment of riding a well sorted Norton is worth a reversed decision . Enjoy .

My renegade investment strategy seems to have always been
” buy high -sell low “ . My Commando is not an investment but fits that ideal …

A friend of mine, with an unhealthy number of bikes, used to say:

“What’s the point of selling a bike? You sell the bike, spend the money, and are left with neither the bike or the money”!

I bought this Commando in 1997 for $1200. No idea how much I’ve spent on it restoring and maintaining. It wasn’t about investment, but then I don’t want to give it away either. Something in the garage has to go…..

ILLF8ED said:

I bought this Commando in 1997 for $1200. No idea how much I’ve spent on it restoring and maintaining. It wasn’t about investment, but then I don’t want to give it away either. Something in the garage has to go…..

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Are you keeping the XL1200R? I have an 08 Roadster and love it five years on...after some suspension, lighting, and seating improvements.

bluto said:

Are you keeping the XL1200R? I have an 08 Roadster and love it five years on...after some suspension, lighting, and seating improvements.

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Actually the ‘07 Sportster is what I’m now thinking of offing next spring.