My frame, a new one from AN, as my original ended up pretzel like due to a prang, has none of the fancy mods that a lot of you guys have. However, it handles extremely well, to the point where I would call it the best handling bike I have ever owned. With a carefully chosen list of additions, it is, I would call, outstanding. Prod racer front end with Lansdowne conversion, with the basic Ikons fitted at the rear, and, importantly, a Jim Comstock/CNW head steady which pulls it all together well. I did these mods one at a time so the impact could be assessed in isolation. Jim's head steady is outstanding, tightening the whole deal up considerably. My Norton has none of the Commando vices that owners have found over the years. The handling tells me that Norton got the geometry exactly right for a road bike and it was only cost cutting that was it's downfall. The icing on the cake is definitely the 2.5 inch Morad rims (19 inch) at both ends with 100/90 Avon Roadriders. The steering is light and precise, but, importantly, it is still light and precise at even higher speeds. There is a certain series of curves that I attack at nearly 60mph and I cannot believe the speed and precision with which it can be flicked from side to side. As you go harder, it is astounding how well it responds. I'm no racer, but I like to move along on the road (with the speeding tickets to show for it). This is to the point where the guy who built it, is finally building a bike for himself with the same set up as mine. He loves the way it handles. In fact, while road testing a T150, he ended up sideways in a driveway trying to take a corner at the same speed as my Commando.
I see so many posts on wheels and tyres, asking what rim/tyre combination works best, and then they end up going for a compromised combo. I simply looked at Avon's recommended rim size for the tyres and went with that. It was the rim size used to give the tyres the profile that they were designed for. To me it was a no brainer. Everybody else thought I was mad. The builder questioned my choice, as did the wheel builder. I insisted. The proof was in the pudding. Generally, people tend to make a compromised choice in rims and tyres and then make mods to make their choices handle better. I laugh when I see steering dampers fitted to Commandos and shake my head (unlike my Norton, which doesn't). It's like putting a Band-Aid on a fractured leg! Owners do all sorts of frame mods which they think will make it handle better when their basic choices are flawed. Form over function wins again.
I have a Commando that really handles, with no compromises. Call me an idiot. That's fine. But, like I say to people, "Being an idiot is like masturbation, it's cheap and satisfying" !
