COMMANDO COME BACK
1986 was an eventful year. Halley’s Comet lit up the night sky. Chernobyl went critical. The space shuttle Challenger exploded. And I bought my first Norton…
I’d owned a succession of Triumph T140s from the age of 17, and spotted a Norton Commando in the local paper. The bike was a bit scruffy but mechanically good. The old fella wouldn’t let me ride it but agreed to take me on the back. We went around a few roundabouts and then straight up the A3M at about 90mph…when my jacket zip started to undo. I was frantically trying to hold on to the zip as all my money was tucked down my jacket!
Back at his place – money still intact, thankfully -a deal was done. £625 plus some spares and I had myself a 1972 750 Fastback Commando. It turned out that this old fella was a friend’s dad and an exmotorcycle cop. My friend recently provided some pictures of the bike before I bought it, and
