Norton 750 Commando & Peter Williams – 1969 Thruxton 500 miles race - photograph

Description

Up for auction is a nice photo of the great
Peter Williams
on his
750cc Norton Commando long distance racer
; photographed during the 1969
Thruxton
500
miles
race which was ridden on
May 11, 1969
.
This machine was one of the predecessors of the later JPN racing Nortons that were campaigned by, amongst others, Williams, Read and Cooper.
The
Norton Commando
was the last twin piston-engined motorcycle produced by the Norton Motorcycle company. Their last production bikes used a twin-rotor Wankel engine. During the ten years it was in production it was popular all over the world. In the
United Kingdom
it won the MCN "Machine of the Year" competition for five successive years from 1968-1972. The origins of the Norton Commando can be traced back to the late 1940s when the 497 cc Norton Model 7 Twin, designed by Bert Hopwood and initially an export only model. The twin cylinder design evolved into the 650 cc Norton Dominator and 750 cc Norton Atlas before being launched as the 750 cc Commando in 1967. The revolutionary part of the Commando, compared to earlier Norton models, was the frame developed by former Rolls Royce engineer Dr. Stefan Bauer. He believed the classic Norton Featherbed frame design went against all engineering principles, so Bauer designed his frame around a single 2.25-inch (
57 mm
) top tube. He tried to free the Commando from classic twin vibration problems, which had severely increased as the volume of the basic engine design expanded from the 500 cc of Edward Turner's 1938 Triumph Speed Twin. Bauer, with Norton Villiers Chief Engineer Bernard Hooper and assistant Bob Trigg, decided that the engine, gearbox and swing-arm assembly were to be bolted together and isolated from the frame by special rubber mountings. This eliminated the extreme vibration problems that were apparent in other models in the range, as it effectively separated the driver from the engine. Named the Isolastic anti-vibration system, the system's patent document listed Hooper as the lead inventor. Although the Isolastic system did reduce vibration, maintaining the required free play in the engine mountings at the correct level was crucial to its success. Too little play brought the vibration back; too much, and the result was "interesting" handling. The Norton Commando was introduced in 1967 at the Earls Court Show. The first production machines completed in April 1968 had bending frame problems, removed with the introduction of a new frame in January 1969. The original model, called the 'Fastback' was joined by the production racer 'S Type' which had a high level left-side exhaust and a 2.5 gallon petrol tank. Production of the machine was initially complex and located across different parts of
England
, with the engines produced in
Wolverhampton
, frames in
Manchester
, while components and final assembly was at Burrage Grove, Plumstead. In late 1968 Plumstead works was subject to a Greater London Council compulsory purchase order, and closed in July 1969. With assistance of a Government subsidy, the assembly line was moved to
North Way
,
Andover
; with the Test Department in an aircraft hangar on Thruxton Airfield. Frame manufacturing was transferred to
Wolverhampton
, where a second production line produced about 80 complete machines each week. Components and complete engines and gearboxes were also shipped overnight, from
Wolverhampton
to the
Andover
assembly line. The production racer, featuring an OHV tuned engine, front disk brake and was finished in bright yellow - known as the 'Yellow Peril'. In March to June 1970 the updated S called the 'Roadster' had the 750 cc OHV engine, low-level exhaust, upward angled silencers with reverse cones. September 1970 saw the introduction of the classic 'Fastback Mk2', which had alloy levers with modified stands and chain guards. The ‘Street Scrambler’ and the ‘Hi Rider’ were launched in May 1971, with the ‘
Fastback
Long
Range
’ with increased petrol tank capacity from July 1971. The ‘Combat’ engine was introduced in January 1972 saw the appearance of the ‘Mk4 Fastback’, updated ‘Roadster’ and the ‘750 Interstate’. The ‘Combat’ delivered 65 brake horsepower (48 kW) at 6500 rpm with a 10:1 compression ratio, but the stressed 750 cc twin proved extremely unreliable, with main bearing failures and broken pistons common. The 'Combat' engine combined with quality control problems gave the company a bad reputation, which was highly covered in the press. By the middle of 1972 BSA Triumph group were in serious financial trouble. The UK Government decided to bail the company out with a financial rescue package, providing it would agree to merge with Norton Villiers. Norton Villiers Triumph was duly formed and the new company got off to a shaky start. The last of the 750 series, the MkV was produced from November 1972 to mid-1973 as a 1973 model and featured improved crank bearings and the standard grind camshaft. Compression was reduced to 9.4:1. The police were showing a lot of interest in the Commando and so Neale Shilton was recruited from Triumph to produce a Commando to police specifications. The end result was the 'Interpol' machine, which sold well to police forces, both at home and abroad. The machine was powered by a 750 cc. O.H.V. engine and included panniers, top box, fairing, and had fittings for a radio and auxiliary equipment. In January 1973 the ‘Mk.5 Fastback’ was launched and the ‘
Long
Range
’ was discontinued, foreshadowing the first 850 cc machines launched in April 1973. The ‘Roadster’, ‘Hi Rider’ and the ‘Interstate’ all began to use a new 828 cc. engine, which had similar power to the 750 cc models but were less stressed. 1973 also saw the start of development on a new machine with a monocoque pressed steel frame, that also included a 500 cc twin, stepped piston engine called the 'Wulf'. However, as the Norton Villiers Triumph company was again in serious financial problems, development of the 'Wulf' was dropped in favour of the rotary Wankel type engine inherited from BSA. In late 1973 redundancy notices were issued at
Andover
, followed by a sit-in at the works. The Conservative Government withdrew the subsidy in early 1974, restored by the Labour party post the general election. NVT resultantly decided to concentrate production of the Commando at
Wolverhampton
and Small Heath, causing unrest at
Meriden
which resulted in a workers’ sit in and stopping production at Small Heath. By the end of 1974 NVT had lost over £3 million. However, the company still managed to produce new Commando models, with 1974 seeing the release of the Roadster based ‘JPN Replica’ and the ‘Mk.2a Interstate’. The 850 cc MK3 Commando was launched in March 1975 and for the first time was fitted with an "electric starter" - better described as electric "assister", as it would soon drain the battery. The range of models was reduced to just two machines, the ‘Mk.3 Interstate’ and the ‘Roadster’, both with a left side gear change, right foot brake and rear disk brake to comply with
United States
vehicle regulations. The specification remained unchanged until October 1977 when the last machines were made, although few 'Roadster's were made in the end due to the higher cash sales value of the Interstate. In 1975 the Industry Minister recalled a loan for £4 million and refused to renew the company’s export credits. The company then went into receivership and redundancies were announced for all of the staff at the various sites. At
Wolverhampton
an action committee was formed in an effort to continue production and develop the ‘Wulf’ engine - but the works was closed anyway. NVT was saved when the Small Heath/Meriden part of the company was subsidised by Industry Secretary Tony Benn as Industry Secretary, but this did not include Commando production. Ironically, the new company bought the gates from the now demolished
Wolverhampton
Tong
Castle
works, and erected at the works entrance in
Marston Road
, Small Heath.
Racing
Right from the beginning the Commando took part in racing events. After successes in 1969 by dealer entered machines like Paul Smart's second and Mick Andrew's 4th places in the Isle of Man TT Production class and a win in the Hutchinson 100 Production Class by Mick Andrew on the Gus Kuhn entered Commando and 4th by Peter Williams' Arter Bros machine, the company decided to produce a racing model - hence the developed S and "Yellow Peril" models. In partnership with John Player Special cigarettes from the early 1970s, Norton went factory racing. Early entries were based on the Commando, and in 1973 Peter Williams won the 1973 Formula 750 Isle of Man TT, with Mick Grant second. Racing continued until the collapse of Norton Villiers into BSA Triumph in 1973, and did not return until the Rotary engine Nortons of the 1980s. All in all, the Commando was a very successful model for Norton, names like the S Type, Roadster, Fastback Mk. 2 , Mk. 3 , Mk. 4 and Mk. 5 , but also the Street Scrambler , Hi Rider , Fastback 750 , Fastback Long Range and the Combat , Interstate , Mk. 2a Interstate , 828 Roadster ,  Mk.2 Hi Rider and off course the JPN Replica all became famous names in motorcycling history. In 1973 Peter Williams won the Formula 750 TT and Mick Grant came in second. It showed again the great racing capabilities of the Norton twin! In the early 1970’s, long distance racing was extremely popular in
Europe
. These events were responsible for the quick gaining popularity of the heavier sports motorcycle, like the Norton 750 Commando, the BSA Rocket 3 and BSA Goldstar the Triumph Trident, the Ducati 750 SS, the Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, The Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans and the Benelli 650 Tornado, the BMW R 90 S Daytona and the Laverda SFC 750; but also the Japanese sports motorcycles like the Kawasaki 350, 500 and 750 triples, but also heavy four strokes like the Honda CB 750 Four. Riders that would make world fame, like Franco Uncini and Marco Lucchinelli, all participated in these races before they made the steps to the Grand Prix World Championship racing scene. In light of its "last of the classic British twins" tag, and the fact that many of the trade marks were disputed and patents expired, a number of new Norton companies began to emerge. These were based on production of new parts sourced from various manufacturers, and the legal battle over the Norton name between
Germany
(whose Norton was based on the Rotax 650 cc engine that powers the smaller BMW motorcycles),
Canada
and
North America
. Many used the Commando name for their lead model, or included the prospect of a Commando twin at a later date. However, the most interesting development for original Commando fans was the development of re-manufactured original motorcycles. These mainly came from Norvil in the
UK
and two companies in the
United States
, Colorado Norton Works and Kenny Dreer's Vintage Rebuilds based in
Portland
,
Oregon
. From 1995 onwards Vintage Rebuilds began restoring vintage British and Italian motorcycles, with Dreer showing a "new" Commando based Norton VR880 Sprint Special in 1999 with newly cast and manufactured parts, but using a bored out 880 cc twin engine with some modern developments. Kenny Dreer progressed from restoring and upgrading Norton Commandos to producing whole machines. He modernised the design and in the early 2000s went into series production of the Commando 961 SS, which combined traditional Norton cafe racer styling with new technology including carbon fibre wheels to reduce weight and a chro-moly tubular steel frame. Dreer was forced to suspend production in April 2006 following funding problems. After fifteen years of US ownership the Norton brand has now been secured by Stuart Garner, UK businessman and owner of Norton Racing Ltd. Garner plans to develop a new 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) Norton factory at Donington Park.
It is a very nice photo that reflects the golden era of roadracing in a wonderful way. Therefore it is printed in a nice large format of approx. 8" x 11" (ca. 20 x
28 cm
). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files
and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
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