BIKE OF THE MONTH


July 2009 Bike of the Month
Bike of the Month Chuck Horton and his 1972 Norton Combat

Make: Norton
Model: Commando 750
Country of Origin: England
Engine: 750cc Twin
Transmission: 4 speed
Year: 1972
Owner: Chuck Horton, Long Beach


1972 Norton Commando 750 Combat Model

Chuck usually rides his black Norton Commando, but it's stock and although it's a nice bike, rarely gets noticed in our group. Today Chuck's bike got noticed.

Chuck recently completed this very cool Combat Model. He has owned it for a year and a half. It was bought as a basket case and completely brought back. He still has some finishing touches to add such as the Norton emblems.

Powder Coat
The tank was painted traditionally, but the satin green sheet metal was powder coated with a satin clearcoat. Chuck has kept the flat look throughout with very few shiney bits on this bike. The primary drive was changed from a chain drive to a custom belt drive and the Werkes exhaust system is also custom.

As I mentioned earlier Chuck also has another Norton Commando and a Buell at home.

According to Wikipedia, "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." After that the compression ratio was reduced to make the engine more reliable.

Check out all the pictures in the July Gallery. Thanks Chuck for bringing this very cool bike for all of us to see.

The Bike of the Month contest is held monthly at the Vintage Bike OC meet. Qualifying motorcycles must be 30 years old or older. Former Bike of the Month winning bikes are not eligible to win again. Anyone attending the meet is eligible to enter a qualifying bike in the contest and vote for their favorite bike. The winning bike is chosen by a popular vote and is featured on the Home page for one month and in this feature article. The Bike of the Month articles are permanent content on the site.

Bike of the Month Gallery
Photo gallery of all the Bike of the Month winners.
previous Archive next
July 2009
1972 Norton Combat
June 2009
1970 Triumph TR6
May 2009
1961 Ducati 175 Sport
March 2009
1963 Triumph Tiger 100
February 2009
1977 Yamaha XS400
January 2009
1935 Harley Davidson VL
December 2008
1967 Harley Sportster 900
November 2008
1970 Norton Commando 750ss
October 2008
1923 Harley Davidson WF
September 2008
1983 Moto Guzzi SP1000
August 2008
1968 Gilera 125
July 2008
1939 Indian Sport Scout
June 2008
1925 Harley Davidson JDL
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