update
Funny, reading this story now, to realize that all the details of the trip are as accurate as memory could make them, except for the main one, which is the real identity of our motorcycle.
Truth be told, the bike Barb and I rode West was not a “venerable” British Twin as described, but a brand-new 1975 Norton 850 Interstate with only 3000 miles on the odometer.
At the time I freelanced this story, the British motorcycle industry was right on the verge of extinction, overwhelmed by Japanese engineering and quality control, and I was such a total British bike nut I didn’t want to drive another nail into the coffin by suggesting that a shiny new Norton (lovingly brokenin and well maintained) could not be successfully ridden across the U.S.
I also reasoned that since the 850 was a kind of living antique
anyway, with its mechanical roots in the Forties, it was kinder to “age” the bike a bit. And I believed that our valve problem was probably a freak failure, not typical of 850 engines.
Much later, a friend who’d worked in Norton’s service department told me they had hundreds of warranty claims when they switched to new (and cheaper) cast-iron valve guides. These expanded more than the old bronze ones, causing valves to seize and hit the pistons. Just as ours did.
I installed bronze guides and new valves after the trip (myself-the dealer wouldn’t cover it, claiming “owner abuse”), but had many more problems after that and eventually sold the bike.
But I’ve had two Commandos since then, and am looking at another to buy right now. Some of us never learn, and don’t really want to.
Peter Egan
