March ride on Norton Commandos

[@christianbooth4145]

Nice to be out and riding and not always being in traffic just enjoying the ride the bikes the company and view's

[@donculp9094]

Love that orange Norton!

[@pipersall6761]

Great ride! Bike sounded so good. Thank you very much!!

[@dgordon130]

Pure heaven. The sights and sounds. Two Nortons - a choir for the angels.

[@Kevin-cy9cv]

Bikes sound great, and the yellow and orange real 70's

[@stevecolwill9761]

Hi Mike, great to see you and Geoff out and stretching the Nortons’ legs! I was out this morning in the UK on my ‘73 BMW on a rare sunny dry day. By the way, your roads look great. In the US you ride on the right of the road; in the UK we ride on what’s left of the road 😢. All the best 👍🏻

[@Norton731]

Hi Mike, hello again from Australia, another great ride on the Nortons , going out the shed now after watching this to put a new O-ring and gasket on the tacho drive of my 73 850 to hopefully reduce or eliminate an oil leak. I had a 1952 AJS model 18 which I partly (mostly) restored when I was about 20 yrs. old, never finished it as i started to travel around Australia. Eventually sold it as it was taken up room inside my parents' home so hopefully you can give us updates on Geoff's restoration on his, Cheers Bazza Australia.

[@roberthocking9138]

Wonderful video. Ime in AUS and I had a 71 commando 750, it was beautiful and I wish every day I still had it. If I got the tune right it would do 112 mph. It felt like it would do that in first gear when I first got on it, it felt like it only fired 3 times and I was at the end of the street. Great memories .👍😁

[@daintree2455]

Any vid with that orange Norton in it is all right by me. Thanks Mike.

[@ruahinesrider]

What a beauty magnificent.Commando one of my favorite bikes.

[@ianaristotlethompson4186]

Lovely colour metallic Bronze,lovely sounding bikes.

[@lucapallino2063]

Amazing ride.... amazing sound... great roads..... thank .... for vision

[@mldiode]

Mike, I’m starting to think your favorite bike in your stable is your Orange Norton. Remember your other bikes need love too! ;-) Such a great feeling when your bikes just purr along. Today, (Sunday 3/19/23) it was relatively cold (for Central Florida) this morning so I took my Ural for a spin. The Ural just runs so well when it’s cold out. Later if,” The one who must be obeyed” doesn’t have plans for me, I’ll take my Yamaha 1976 XS650C out for a spin. Life is good. Thanks for sharing your rides. Peace… Miles of smiles….

[@juliebackhouse2443]

Have just recently retired and took on a Norton project it had been stood for a number of years your videos have been very helpful and informative .Weather permitting (good old UK) hoping to have my first run this week .Nice to see you enjoying the bike.Thanks Graham

[@freemenofengland2880]

Every time you get on one of your Nortons you're riding my teenage dream. Paint and bars, everything looks perfect!

[@elmerfudd1086]

Welcome back Mike. You are quite fortunate to have so many great roads to ride in the portland or. Area . I love watching your videos as where I live here in Onterrable Chinada near Toronto we seem to have this fascination with flattening and straightening every road we find. Someday I will get one of my bikes out your way. Maybe even a Norton...who knows. Be safe🇨🇦😎

[@geneahart5607]

You have such beautiful roads to ride on, lucky you.

[@damianconway9949]

When starting any of my Commando's ( I've had 3 over the years.) after an oil change or draining the sump, I would check that oil was retuning into the oil tank once started. Such great sounds these Commandos make.

[@jeffkeni]

Thanks for taking us along, Mike. It felt good for me too - from my recliner! Your mighty Norton sounds great. I most enjoyed the section when you had her wicked up.

[@martiniv8924]

I’m glad I’m not the only one to use the empty quality street tubs as a drain pan 😂

[@tadpoles10]

Good morning from a mild & sunny morning here in south UK 42 degrees in old money. The bike both sounding sweet & I can just imagine the joy on those 'open roads'. Thanks for sharing Mike, have a great week. atvb t .. 👍 .. 🏍

[@markpoling7917]

Hello Mike, My 71 Norton will wet sump as well in no time at all. One thing I have done was to switch over to the magnetic plug kit (Andover Norton P/N 06-7281). This allows me to remove a plug in a plug and not "work" the threads in the crank case. Bike sounds great by the way.....

[@dano196568]

My favorite and I think, your most beautiful bike!

[@thakery5720]

Ref. the syncing of carbs, when young I found it a really boring thing having to do it almost every week but now being a little older and more experienced I realise that the condition of the cables and splitter box has a lot to do with it. The inner surface of the outer cables wear with use as does the splitter box and I now know why it was a constant chore - they were worn out, simple as that !

[@johnb5519]

That was very nice to watch. The snow is still flying where I am, so an armchair ride is the next best thing. The bikes sound great too.

[@jimh.5286]

Nice to see some riding. Here in central California, it keeps raining and flooding, many roads have been closed. A fallen tree blocked access to our neighborhood for a day.

[@grahamtricker4103]

Really enjoyed this... 👍

[@martiniv8924]

I took my 850 roadster out Friday (Warwickshire) really nice to get out @14.c 👌🏻😎

[@mitchburk5112]

I agree with not using any kind of anti-sump valve in the feed line. Always just drain and refill. They make the large sump plug with a smaller drain plug in it. That way you don't risk damaging the large threads in the cases. Also, the small bolt is magnetic.

[@motohomeless9168]

Nothing like a Norton! Keep em coming, Mike!

[@johndeere1951a]

My first MC, 1971 Black roadster. The only bike that sounds better than peashooter's on song is a Trident triple and or a '72 Ducati 750. Loved the original AVON GP tires. Soft and controlable rear wheel drift. Lousy milage. Then I discovered the king of tyres. The Dunlop K81. Commando memories from New Hampshire ✌️☮️

[@back2life503]

I got my eye on a 62 Norton atlas. I want to ride with you guys when I get it😊 Eugenian here.

[@raypusey8037]

Many thanks as always Mike 👍. Ray 🇬🇧

[@mvd944l]

I know that feeling to get the commando out for the first run of the year, Our club meeting is on the 2nd April (Scotland) getting my metalflake blue fastback ready !

[@gordonhenderson1708]

It's sooo good. And that Commando SOUNDS sooo good! Here in Kelowna I'm back on the bike, finally. It's wonderful. The Okanagan Chapter of the British Motorcycle Owners Club has our annual Frozen Snot Ride on March 26. The name may be appropriate this year. Cheers Mike!

[@rwayne3243]

Great ride, Mike, thanks for taking us along. We've had unseasonably warm weather here, countless days in the 60s and 70s, even mid 80s. But, back to winter today, low near 20F and highs only in the 30s.

[@garycb8592]

Thanks for posting. The ethanol free fuel is all I use in my motorcycles and lawn equipment and my old Monte Carlo. It's almost $2.00 a gallon more than the ethanol gas, but worth it to me for less problems.

[@hotwheel6663]

You ever see a purple metalflake paint like your orange Norton? That would be sweet.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Hi Donnie, I don't think we have a single purple metalflake Commando in the club. There are a few blue ones but I'm sure I haven't seen a purple one here. It would be great to see a lineup of all the different metal flakes from the 70's! 😎 Cheers, Mike

[@duckysan]

Interesting to hear about wet-sumping again. Not something that I ever heard about back in the 70's when I started riding. what do you believe the root-cause of the issue is - poor seating of the ball valve(s) in the pump (or poor manufacture of generic replacements)? Or perhaps, it's just the extended periods our pride n joys are left standing over the winter. I can imagine installing a inline valve would have issues if the rider fails to turn it on every time. Maybe there's a valve with an electrical warning circuit built in. Anyway, the Norton is sounding absolutely lovely Mike. Quite envious.

[@henryhawk978]

Enjoyed the video Mike. Norton runs like a charm. RIDE SAFE OUT THERE!

[@havok531]

Excellent video. The Norton is cool but I'd like to another video or two about the Vincent Comet. Love the videos about the project bikes.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thanks very much. Coming soon! I need to get mine back on the road after cannibalizing it for the Rapide project! 😉

[@positiveground2995]

Nice! Thanks for sharing! I've started to keep a 5 Qt standard oil jug with a circle cut out of the side underneath my '74 Commando for sump draining. Makes pouring it back in a little easier. (I know, ride more!...) If you make the cut toward the center of the side you can pour it fairly normally back in. Just finished my Spring polish on the Aluminum. Experimenting with coating the rear aluminum center hub with a clear coat (Protectaclear). While I don't like the idea of doing that everywhere I thought it might buy some time between polishing on the hub where oil tends to blur it quickly. Wondering where you stand on coating the aluminum. Cheers!

[@bananabrooks3836]

Can't see the point of tickling the carbs *after* its started! just let it warm through with a hand on the throttle. Agreed about the anti sump valves. Loved the Quality St. Oil pan that made me chuckle. How do you find those barrel shaped handgrips, couldn't get on with 'em, l used Dochertys.

[@mickgerard6696]

Hello Mike. Thanks for the ride! Always a pleasure to ride pillion! Not quite there, here in Wisconsin! Warm up this week and some rain to wash away the road salt. Won’t be long!

[@alanstockley391]

Happy days👍🇬🇧

[@jerrytritz]

That was beautiful. Thanks Mike.

[@sf940477]

Bike sounding great Mike 👍

[@citydude59]

Thanks for the ride Mike great bike

[@nicolasdolley3882]

Congrats for the bike. Would love to live in your country for the endless roads 👍

[@zerozeroisland]

Thanks for the ride-along! I love this time of year, it's always exciting when the first signs of spring show up and i can take a ride without needing a zillion layers of cold weather gear :)

[@danwalkowski992]

Wonderful day for a ride!

[@pandoralechat780]

Such a pleasant ride Mike! It felt like I was there! Thanks a lot Sir! 😁😁

[@keithgarland3404]

Nice scenery, nice bikes, great sounds from the Norton's, reminds me of my youth.

[@martindavies8326]

The Nortons sound and look great, hoping to get out riding this week weather permitting for the first time this year, my Triumph used to wet sump, a brand new Morgo oil pump has fixed the problem. Cheers Mike for the video.🇬🇧🏍👍

[@richardtucker9827]

You're so fortunate with those lovely empty roads!!

[@zepelin-on-road]

Nice ride and perfect editing, thanks !👍

[@TheDavey333]

My word that was a lot of chips, now I’m hungry 😂 Take care Mike ☕️

[@etiennedelcomminette8520]

Bonjour Mike . The Norton is really a modern motorcycle it has a.b.s traction control rain mode sport mode air conditioning concentrated on the right hand and the on-board computer in the helmet a motorcycle ahead of its time

[@manfredmatzdorf4728]

Hey,Mike so nice see you riding the disco-ball…. Greetings from northern Germany Manfred

[@wdhewson]

My 1970 Commando wet sumped when standing for about a month. As a youth I had no knowledge of the fear of blowing seals due to crankcase pressure, or over-oiling the rings, but nothing untoward happened. So when I did learn learn about such possible ill-events, I just carried on starting her with a full sump. What was the price to fuel the Monte Carlo, $150 ??

[@micpotato8158]

Love your videos and content 👍

[@gillestrombetta3019]

Hello Mike tu as une très belle Norton

[@chriscraft4236]

Bike looks nice , I like the orange flake paint 👍🏼. Question is kick starting on the center stand a recommended method?

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thank you Chris! I'm pretty sure that the most recommended method to starting the bike is to be sat on it with the bike off the main stand and definitely not on the side stand. I'm a short guy with short legs(!) and so it can be tough and unsteady trying to start the bike while I'm sat on it. I can definitely kick it while sat on the bike once the bike is warmed up, for example in an emergency if the bike stalls at a traffic light, but I mostly always start my bikes on the main stand.

[@ridingonabudget]

A Fekked microswitch oil line valve will solve that sumping problem.

[@jimmarshall807]

Love the Quality Street box - is the brand sold in the States or is it a memento from home? Never ridden one, but no bike looks or sounds better than a good Commando Roadster

[@TheMightyGarage]

Hehe, thanks Jim! We get "care packages" delivered regularly from www.britishcornershop.co.uk 😉 🇬🇧

[@soldtobediers]

Sump Service ✔ Non Ethanol Fuel ✔ Chakra Realignment Vitality ✔

[@aaronbehindbars]

Is there a reason to recirculate the oil like you did? Are there some additives that settle out over a winter's time? That non-ethanol fuel is spendy! 90 octane non-ethanol is currently $3.78 per gallon here in my area of central Texas. We have some of the cheapest fuel in the US.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Hi Aaron, the engine oil had drained out of the oil tank reservoir into the sump of the engine crank cases. I could have replaced it with fresh oil, but I only changed it a few months ago, so it's still pretty fresh. Yes, the non-ethanol fuel is expensive, but I like to use it whenever I can. Best wishes, Mike

[@michaelcase8574]

Another greatday Mike. Question. Was the Cycle Hub always on Sandy? I seem to remember in the 70s there was a place on Lombard I think in St. John's that had all sorts of mostly British bikes and parts that I lost track of in the 80s I think. I love St Paul's. Have you ever been to the Rodeo in July? A great time. Cheers!

[@swooshdave]

There was another dealership on Lombard out towards St. John’s. Cliff did buy that location at some point and stored bikes in there. He gave me a tour once and the roof was collapsing and brand new bikes were getting destroyed. There were crates of AJS Stormers. I have a picture of that dealership somewhere.

[@michaelcase8574]

@swooshdave Thanks very much my friend. I'm glad I didn't imagine it. I remember it as a British bike riders Wonderland. It was a very rickety building as I remember it.

[@glennturnbull8568]

I’ve had this conundrum when visiting the States - how do you get a full tank when you have to pay first? Some things in Blightly are better, at least we can fill, then pay! Great video as ever Mike, off out myself today, we too finally have spring weather.

[@rwayne3243]

Almost everywhere in the US you fill and pay yourself at the pump. As he said, only OR and NJ forbid you from filling yourself.

[@swooshdave]

If you’re paying cash you’ll give them, for example, $20 and either it will stop at $20 or you’ll go back in and get change.

[@jeffkeni]

And if paying by plastic card in advance, you are automatically refunded the difference - so I am told.

[@donparker1823]

Hi Mike, another great video per usual. I just had a shoulder replacement surgery so it will be awhile before I can ride again. Your Commando sounds so good. Two questions: 1) is your gopro helmet mounted or chest mounted? 2) what microphone are you using and how do you have it mounted in the helmet?

[@TheMightyGarage]

Thank you Don! I’m using GoPro that is mounted on a chin piece that is attached to my helmet with strong velcro. It's a separate microphone that plugs into the back of the GoPro “media mod“ and it’s taped inside my helmet behind the chin piece. It also has what they call a windshield or “dead cat“ wrapped around the microphone end to cut down the noise levels and my voice popping. I’m hoping to do a video one of these days of the equipment that I use. I’ve spent a lot of time trying different equipment and it’s actually quite simple. Best wishes, Mike

[@jeffkeni]

@@TheMightyGarage Both your video and audio quality were top notch. As soon as you got on the open road I was immersed in the ride. I truly felt like I was on the bike. It was perfect.

[@marklaity5436]

Bean oil ?

[@stephenwilliams926]

What we call Castrol R - I think ?

[@Spartansrule118]

what do you do for work?

[@hdevo80]

What bean oil?????

[@garypatrick7817]

Fired after ONE kick….?

[@kramrollin69]

A Pom in the US, wow. What are you doing there? Haven't you heard about the usurpers and the 4th of July?. You could have come to Oz like all us other Poms since the 1700s.....why the USA?, they don't even drive on the correct side of the road! Let alone speak English or write English properly. 😄

[@martiniv8924]

I’m glad I’m not the only one to use the empty quality street tubs as a drain pan 😂