Why are all Nortons Black?

79x100 said:

Hmm...nice yellow crash helmet Bob !

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I've got this theory that since most drivers don't see motorcycles that you need a bright helmet to stick out in the crowd while in traffic.

79x100 said:

Hmm...nice yellow crash helmet Bob !

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Yeah, I did it on the advice of an attorney friend of mine. She was making the prospective civil case we would be bringing against the brain-dead dope that would pull out in front of me some day. "Do you mean to say that you didn't see that
OSHA Yellow helmet??" Black bike and a black Aerostich is as invisible as you can get. Besides, when you're wearing it, you don't have to see it. 8)

It's funny how Nortons and Buells make a great combination. Here's my '99 X1. Sorry guys, it's only black because I bought it second hand in that colour. Chuck and Paul have the best colour combo going on any Buell.

I've worn a yellow helmet for years. Yellow jacket, too. Why is it most Harley riders are dressed like Ninja warriors? Of course, when I think about it, I wouldn't want to be seen on a Harley either.

Not all Nortons are black.







(wait for it....)



Just the good ones! :lol:


PS completely agree re the bright yellow helmet. I wear one now, and it needs replacing (ten years old) but I can't seem to find another they make these days (I prefer Arai) in yellow without being (i) just piss yellow with NO graphics whatsoever or (ii) in graphics of dragons and wizards and crack dealers and suitable only for one quite a bit younger than my biological age....

Brian, you could start out with a plain yellow and add graphics to suit yourself, then have someone shoot it with clearcoat. Google helmet graphics. Some are reflective, nice.
P.S. My helmet happens to be OSHA Yellow. The Piss Yellow has amber/straw hues, except when one is really packing in the cyanocobalamin.

79 x100 wrote 'Black Nortons aimed at poseurs and Burt Reynolds wannabees'?
So seeing as if you line up 50 Nortons, and 40 of them are Black, then that is what you think of 80% of Norton owners? :shock:
I dont think I look cool on my black Norton, I am too old to look cool on anything...I just think the bike does.

I noticed that several members list Buells in their signature line. I, personally, think Norton and Triumph are a good match.



Nice Crown Vic, BTW :wink:

I like '50s Fords, but I think the best-looking full-size is the '61 Galaxie, especially the Starliner

My 69"S" was originally fireflake blue. But I lost my mind and painted it black. Big mistake, although it did need paint, and there was no way I could afford to have it repainted fireflake blue. Recently I found some Duplicolor Ocean Blue MetalSpecks. The flakes are very small and don't show up except in the sun, but then, at least the blue is the right blue. The old fireflake had black in the paint as well as rather large silver flakes. Rustoleum has a Cobalt Blue Metallic, but I have not been able to find it yet. I found some Krylon metal blue, but there were not flakes in it, just a metallic color. Anyway, the paint is rather dull on the f/g panel, but I am going to experiment with some decals and several clearcoats hopefully to bring some depth and shine.



Dave

American car makers in the 50's did like to use color . as for black Norton's check out these 2 that I built. the stock appearing is mine and the custom is for a friend.

http://www.bikernet.com/Features-METRIC ... ageID=2792

The custom took 2 years to build as a spare time project when I was running my transmission shop. I did the autometer instruments before CNW :mrgreen:. I have over 23.000 since the restoration and the other has close to 30.000 both trouble free.

Time to chime in I suppose;
While the '75 MK III that I purchased was painted a very poor rendition of the white red and blue (JPS ?) scheme, subsequent paint removal indicated the original color may have been the fire flake red. The side panels and tank did both have the traces of a metallic red under several coats of other colors. Anyway my inspiration for getting a Norton in the first place was seeing Jerry's bike on this forum, damn, it looked good. So I sold my Trident and was lucky enough to find the Commando for a reasonable price. Anyway I told the painter to paint the side panels plain black with a clear coat (i think a 1940 Buick color is about the blackest you can get). So when I get everything back whoa! the painter had gotten creative on me and mixed in some tiny blue metal flake with the black. At first i was mad but after I calmed down realized it was really a beautiful thing. In the shade the flakes don't show at all and the color is just black but in the sun the little bit of sparkle looks fantastic. Now if I could just get this project finished so I could ride it!
As for the philosophy of color on the Commando here's my take; As an Architect I've spent 40+ years working with colors, shapes, textures and space and in my opinion the Commando looks best when the side panels and tank are painted in strong colors. The reasoning behind this is that the Commando has a lot of polished alloy on the engine, primary case and Z plates as well as the polished stainless fenders. The strong paint colors clearly offset the bright metal to emphasize the classic shape of the tank and side panels and add interest for the eye. Oh yeah and besides that, black looks really bad This isn't to say that the light colors won't work or look good it's just that the stronger the contrast with the bright metal the clearer the message. The older fastback models look really good in the colors they came in and I don't think they were available in black (somebody correct me here if I'm wrong) as the basic shapes were different as well as the era.The beauty of this all is that paint color is a very subjective thing and in my years of practice (eventually I'll get it right) I have even determined that almost all people see colors different than other people (not quite sure what the color blind see) and therefore are affected differently. And to muddy the water a bit more technically "black" is not a color; it is the absence of color. Oh and by the way the colorists and color psychologists are usually full of it, so paint or choose colors that make you happy and that you like since just having a Commando puts us a step ahead of the Harley guys.

Scooter

BTW; those Orange and Blue Buells sure look good and they're Gator colors to boot!

In my opinion black is the best color for these bikes, That's why they sold more of them than any. It has a much more classy look with the gold than any of the other colors no matter what they used for the logo and lettering. As you say everyone sees color in a different way and they also have reasons for what they like, As for me the black makes the bike look vintage. Well I guess the bold metal flake also dose the same for the period, I don't think you would see much else painted with those types of paint today unless it was a vintage car or bike. Once again just my opinion of course!

bigstu said:

79 x100 wrote 'Black Nortons aimed at poseurs and Burt Reynolds wannabees'?
So seeing as if you line up 50 Nortons, and 40 of them are Black, then that is what you think of 80% of Norton owners? :shock:
I dont think I look cool on my black Norton, I am too old to look cool on anything...I just think the bike does.

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Stu, do you have any statistical evidence to support a figure as low as 80% ?

I posed on Nortons when I was younger. Not on black ones though because I had red / white / blue leathers 8)

HI Scooter62
Do you have any pictures of that black blue metalflake thing going on? I was burbling to my painter to do a black with silver or gold metalflake but he put me off, telling me it would look grey...I like the sound of what you have there!

79 x100
Oh bugger....even my leathers are black

They sold a lot of black ones did they? I never saw one until the last few years.

This is the original paint on the inside of my sidepanel, and the flakes...



Just need to find a 1/4" drill bit for my spraygun nozzle

Way back when I did it for a living, I did a couple of black bikes (and my pickup truck) with blue pearlcoat in the lacquer - doesn't show until the sun catches it, and it looked spectacular...though I say so myself

It's easy enough to do; spray a solid base colour, and add 5-10% of the desired pearl colour to the first clear lacquer coat, and go over again wiith a final coat of clear lacquer.

Bigstu;
i'll try to post a photo for you but the effect is so subtle that it may not show up in a photo. I would gladly tell you the exact formula for the paint except that the guy that did the painting was shot and killed by his wife shortly after he finished my job (Another reason for not changing it). I suspect he used very little metalflake and the flake is very tiny, maybe .25 mm. Forget ever touching it up.

Ludwig;
Conforming isn't a big problem here in the US, except for the Harley guys who all seem to be following the fashion advice of the 1% guys. Nope over here everybody seems to have an opinion on everything and don't confuse them with the facts, please

Scooter

Scooter not just now but how about the late 60's and early 70's LOL LOL :roll:

I'm with you Ludwig. One could say that there are far more little Korean cars around than Nortons.

Therefore, little Korean cars MUST be better than Nortons.

Scooter62-

Did his wife shoot him for messing up your paint?

...sorry, I couldn't avoid the graveyard humor.