Should gearbox number match with frame and engine?

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Huffer

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I have a '74 Roadster MkIIA. The frame and engine numbers match. The gearbox doesn't. Should it?
 
It would've matched once. Neither of mine have kept the original shell although I do have one of them.

Layshaft bearing failure or cracking between the bearings is the usual reason for replacement and at one time it was cheaper to find a good second-hand shell than to repair. A new shell nowadays would have no number stamped.
 
Mine has always annoyed me because my numbers match apart from the gear box ending with 67 and the frame and engine with 69. maybe its a friday evening our monday morning bike. who knows.

Cheers Blaise
 
Some bizzarre things happen on production lines. I had a GTO with the number from another GTO that shipped with a different color. Pontiac said don't worry about it.
I had three busses shipped whith the wrong chassis. (different engine, fuel type etc.)
Every year one of my contractors seems to get a bus with the numbers different than the paperwork. This makes a mess at DMV.
It makes life interesting.
 
Up until it was necessary for War Department contracts in October 1939, no Norton had matching numbers on anything. Frame, engine, forks, gear box and petrol tank numbers were all over the place.

Faced with the choice between a 1938 Inter with odd numbers and a Jubilee with a matching set, I know which I would choose :)
 
Now I'm jealous. I guess I can never claim a "matching numbers" bike (if that really matters for our bikes the way it does for, say, 60's muscle cars).
 
Mine is a pair!! 8)

Nothing matches on my Trident though !! Frame ~ motor ~ gearbox !

But who cares ~ ( depends on your agenda eh ! ) :)
 
I guess I can never claim a "matching numbers" bike (if that really matters for our bikes the way it does for, say, 60's muscle cars).
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If it really bothers you, grind the numbers off, beadblast the case and stamp your engine number. It's not like someone else holds the paper for it!
 
:D :D :D :D 8)

Good call Ron.. like it really matters ~

(BUT then ~ I mean like I have never been one for concours.. !)

Cheers
S
 
I'm having trouble enough getting my Norton registered as a Norton much less worry about gearbox numbers.
Since a clerk in Maine used Triumph to register this bike years ago I now have a temporaily CA registered Triumph that looks a lot like a Norton.
 
Cookie said:
I'm having trouble enough getting my Norton registered as a Norton much less worry about gearbox numbers.
Since a clerk in Maine used Triumph to register this bike years ago I now have a temporaily CA registered Triumph that looks a lot like a Norton.
Click to expand...

If the bike is a '73 or older, there's a title service in Nevada that will get you a clear title to the bike. I think its called ITS.
 
I wouldn't start grinding and re-stamping numbers. It always looks like a bodge. Accept it for what it is - an old machine with some history and miles behind it.
 
Thanks for the title advice, I've heard from others who have used ITS.
I'm going to try logic first as I have about 15 years and three owners back of paperwork.
ITS would probably be easier to use but I can look up the cites at work and I usually send a case in to Sacramento. This will probably take me months and be pointless. I did import a Chinese motorcycle and get it registered in the end so I hope a Norton will be easier.
 
Believe me, I'm not going to grind and restamp squat. And though I must admit that it would be "neat-o" to have all three numbers match, it's definitely not a deal breaker for me. As you can tell by my posts, I'm new to the Commando community and was just wondering if matching numbers is prized for our bikes the way it is in classic car collecting.
 
There isn't too much pressure with Commandos. Possibly because many (most ?) aren't stamped with a frame number but simply have the removable red plate. They are probably the ultimate mix and match machine.

Some models will attract a premium if matching, perhaps early Plumstead bikes and Norvils and JPNs.

As far as I'm concerned, a well put together Commando is a desirable one and if the sound and feel are authentic, that's what counts.

There are enough surviving to let those who want factory numbers find one and the rest of us can get on with wearing them out and replacing worn out parts :)
 
All 3 match on my Mk III, but the engine has the next to last number clearly overstamped from a 5 to a 6. Clearly the bloke doing the stamping picked up the wrong stamp, quickly realized his mistake and corrected it. I suppose an extra pint at lunch or the early morning hangover may have been the cause. "say wot, is that a bloody five or a six mate"?
A case with the number off by 2 isn't inconceivable.
 
Forgot to add this;

The clowns that are into "collecting" something because it has matching numbers give me a laugh. The effete class use this type of thing to artificially drive up the value and to reinforce their "knowledge" of the esoteric as they sip their mocha soy lattes.
Give me a break; drive or ride the emming effing thing til it breaks, fix it and start over. We've got enough junk in museums already.

BTW did I say this touched a nerve. :p
 
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