1971 Norton Commando
1971 Norton Commando Background & History
The 1971 Norton Commando line grew from one model in 1968 (Fastback only), to two in 1969 (Fastback & Model S), to four models at the beginning of the 1970 model year (Fastback, S, Roadster and Production Racer), then dropped back down to three models by the end of 1970 (Fastback, Roadster and PR). Now two more new models were added to the Norton Commando family. Of course, (other than the full-race PR) all the variants were virtually identical mechanically, any differences being mostly cosmetic. For the 1971 model year, the new line up was as follows:
Norton Commando Fastback MkIII
Norton Commando Roadster MkII
Norton Commando Street Scrambler
Norton Commando Fastback LR (Long Range)
Norton Commando Production Racer
Norton Commando Hi-Rider
The 1971 Norton Commando Roadster became the symbol of Norton.
1971 Norton Commando Roadster
The Roadster continued on unchanged, other than new available colors, and quickly became Norton’s best seller. It was also the one you saw in the ads and usually saw most often on the street. The 1971 Norton Commando Roadster was becoming the banner for Norton brand, and its biggest ‘halo’ bike ever. They were gorgeous, comfortable, fast, handled great, and above all were very smooth, thanks to the Isolastic Suspension.
The 1971 Norton Commando Fastback now gained the gorgeous upswept exhaust from the Roadster.
1971 Norton Commando Fastback LR
The 1971 Norton Commando Fastback LR was bascially a Long Range version of the Commando Fastback, hence the LR. A new larger-capacity fuel tank was fitted and a new seat to accommodate the bigger tank. Gone was that wraparound seat of the standard Fastback in favor of a more conventional look, all to the good.
The 1971 Norton Commando S became more dirt bike-like than ever before.
1971 Norton Commando S
With the demise of the Type S street scrambler the previous year, this new Street Scrambler took another swing at the burgeoning street scrambler market in the US. This time, instead of 2 high pipes on the left side (as on the S), this time there were two separate high pipes, one running waist length along each side. But this time, Norton’s take on the ‘street scrambler’-theme stretched more toward the off-road with it’s high front, fixed front fender and universal (knobby) tires. It certainly looked like a dirt bike, more so than ever before, but who was going to take their 750 Norton Commando onto the dirt? Apparently some did, in desert races all across the American Southwest.
The 1971 Norton Commando Production Racer was a street-legal factory race bike.
1971 Norton Commando Production Racer
The Norton Commando Production Racer, now in its second year, was a descendant of prototypes built in 1969 and 1970. It was basically a street legal factory road racer, slightly detuned for road use. It had an aggressive half fairing, long large capacity fuel tank, a short cafe-style seat, rear fenders with round number plates built into each side, clip-on handlebars rear-set footpegs and controls. At the time, it had to be the most aggressive factory bike you could buy. It was truly a bike that could be ridden to the races, raced for the day, then driven home again. The PR got a front disc brake for 1971, a year ahead of its Commando brethren.
The garish 1971 Norton Commando Hi-Rider was Norton's attempt at a factory chopper.
1971 Norton Commando Hi-Rider
The Norton Commando Hi-Rider was the hideous offshoot of the early 70’s chopper craze. It was the same as the other garden-variety Commandos except that it had ridiculously high “ape-hanger” handlebars & a silly “banana seat” with integrated sissy bar. The look was right out of a “Scooby Doo” cartoon. It hit 2 years before Triumph introduced its radical & beautiful, if not successful financially, Triumph X-75 Hurricane. Developed by American fairing pioneer Craig Vetter the Hurricane was later touted as the world’s first factory custom. In fact, the Hi-Rider beat it to market by 2 years, so perhaps a more correct label would be “the world’s first factory custom that actually looked good”. Perhaps the world just wasn’t ready. The handsome X-75 Hurricane sold just over 1,000 units. It’s unclear just how many Hi-Riders were sold, but they are rarely seen in shows or auctions, so probably not many. And many were converted back to conventional bodywork, either by the dealer (who couldn’t sell them as Hi-Riders) or the new owners. If anyone has production figures for these bikes, please contact us. We would love to credit you for that info.
ABOVE & BELOW: The evergreen Norton Commando engine remained unchanged for 1971.
This was the last year for the TLS front brake, which was excellent, but soon to be replaced with a disc brake.
1971 Norton Commando gauges and switches.
1971 Norton Commando Specifications
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Model designations:
Engine type Displacement Bore & Stroke Compression Carburetors Ignition Engine output Oil system Oil capacity Primary drive Clutch Gearbox Ratios, overall: 1st, bottom 2nd 3rd 4th, top Final drive Frame type Suspension, front Suspension, rear Brake, front Brake, rear Wheelbase Seat height Weight |
Fastback MkIII Fastback LR (Long Range) Roadster MkII Street Scrambler Production Racer Hi-Rider Air-cooled OHV parallel twin 746cc / 45 ci 73mm X 89mm / 2.875″ X 3.503″ 9.0:1 2- Amal Concentric, 30mm Battery & coil, Lucas 58 bhp @ 6500 rpm Dry sump 6 pts Triplex chain Multi-plate diaphragm, wet 4-speed constant-mesh, right-foot shift
12.40:1 8.25:1 5.90:1 4.84:1 Chain Double cradle, Isolastic Suspension Telescopic fork, hydraulic damping Swing Arm, 2 dampers, Isolastic mounts 8″ TLS drum, full width 7″ SLS drum, full width 57.1″ 31.3″ 431 lbs |
1971 Norton Commando Books
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