The Norton Commando project nears its goal

Here is the first picture of the almost finished bike. All is now in place, and she is running, according to Frank Chatokhine (who should know), just fine. She just needs a little polishing and I will be able to collect her. The picture is courtesy of Frank, who kindly took it in the yard in front of his workshop and sent it to me. I will do some more detailed and, ah, more artistic ones soon, once I get my hands on the thing. 

According to Frank the new front brake makes the forks twist a bit when used in anger, so we are probably looking at a fork brace in the near future. Vincent has urged me to fit a single carburettor, for improved flexibility and, I imagine, to avoid having to balance the Amals all the time. We shall see. For the moment, my finances will need to recuperate!

The man who did the paintwork looks to have done a very good job. All the striping and lettering are under paint and varnish, with no stick-on stuff involved. The Corbin seat from the US looks good and far more comfortable than the original. It necessitated the fitting of the smaller Roadster tank in place of the Interstate one that I had fitted in the previous rebuild. This will mean less mileage between fuel stops when on the road, but then taking a break can be good too! The rear light comes from a Triumph and looks much neater than the bulky Norton original. This bike never had indicators fitted, although it has the switches for them. I like it like that, although Luc will think I am crazy to ride it down to Agen from Chartres that way. I promise I won't be riding in the dark much.

Tell you more after the ride, and with some pics to go.