Norton Commando vs BMW R90S

[Major Softie]

Isn't the Norton quite a bit lighter, too?

Hmmmm. I can't find dry weight numbers on the R90S.

Commando 420 lbs. dry. "Dry" means no oil and sometimes no battery.

R90S 474 lbs. with a full tank of gas (6.3 gallons). Just gasoline is 40 lbs.

Sounds pretty close.

[enigmaT120]

Wow, I had no idea Commandos are so heavy.

I wonder why the article pointed out the differences in acceleration. I could see a slide carburetor like my Amals maybe being slightly quicker than my Bings (but more likely you'll just bog the motor if you flick the throttle that fast) but the R90S had those fancy pumper Del Ortos. I thought those were for fast throttle response.

[Zombie Master]

Commandos blow up when pushed hard. IMO there is no comparison to be made. Just fodder for an article.

[Major Softie]

Commandos blow up when pushed hard. IMO there is no comparison to be made. Just fodder for an article.

And, you know this because you've blown them up, as opposed to the Norton owners involved in the article?

I only ask because your position is, of course, absurd. Nortons do not "blow up when pushed hard."
Are they far less reliable than BMW's? I believe they are.
Do they all blow up if pushed hard? Of course not.
Can a BMW blow up if pushed hard? Of course it can.

If you push an R90S AND a Commando hard, is the Commando more likely to blow up? I'm pretty sure it is, but they don't just "blow up when pushed hard."

[Zombie Master]

Commandos blow up when pushed hard. IMO there is no comparison to be made. Just fodder for an article.

And, you know this because you've blown them up, as opposed to the Norton owners involved in the article?

I only ask because your position is, of course, absurd. Nortons do not "blow up when pushed hard."
Are they far less reliable than BMW's? I believe they are.
Do they all blow up if pushed hard? Of course not.
Can a BMW blow up if pushed hard? Of course it can.

If you push an R90S AND a Commando hard, is the Commando more likely to blow up? I'm pretty sure it is, but they don't just "blow up when pushed hard."

I've ridden with many Norton riders. They suffer from unreliable machines from what I've seen. The BMW is much more reliable in my experience.

[malcom]

Jag, Mustang, Bolwell, Bm,& Norton in Braidwood NSW Sunday Brekky run


A club mate of mine, Jeff has had this Commando since new and never had a problem with it, some others did. He swears by it and its gets ridden hard regularly. Front number plates went out of use here years ago he's hung onto his as an indicator of the bikes longevity.
The against argument is, and I have no current proof, but anecdotal in the early 70s the warranty period in Australia for Commandos was halved.

cheers Mal, sitting firmly if precariously on the fence

[Zombie Master]

Major Softie

And, you know this because you've blown them up, as opposed to the Norton owners involved in the article?
I would never have bought one, because of their terrible reliability.

I only ask because your position is, of course, absurd. Nortons do not "blow up when pushed hard."

I did not state that all Nortons blow up if pushed hard. But I have witnessed a few personally. So IMO they can.

MS

Are they far less reliable than BMW's? I believe they are.
Do they all blow up if pushed hard? Of course not.
Can a BMW blow up if pushed hard? Of course it can.

You state that BMW's can blow up if pushed hard.
You state that Nortons are far less reliable than BMWs.
You make my point.
I read the article, and even there, the potential of engine failure was alluded to.
IMO the Norton is beautiful, not as beautiful as a Triumph twin, elegant even, but poorly engineered. Original Commando frames would bend from the pressure of the bikes weight of the side stand. Crap! Brakes were marginal, I remember seeing chrome plated brake rotors, crap! Isolastic vibration control is a perfect example of a band aid solution. IMO....a crap bike. I grew up riding Triumphs. Not good, but more reliable than the Norton.

MS

Are they far less reliable than BMW's? I believe they are.
Do they all blow up if pushed hard? Of course not.
Can a BMW blow up if pushed hard? Of course it can.


If you push an R90S AND a Commando hard, is the Commando more likely to blow up? I'm pretty sure it is, but they don't just "blow up when pushed hard."

IMO the BMW is superior in so many ways, that the comparison is just, as I stated before, fodder to create an article to fill pages in a motorcycle magazine, to entertain Baby Boomers who never actually rode British bikes in their heyday. I rode and lived it, and I have opinions derived empirically.

[Major Softie]

ZM, you have problems with English.

[Zombie Master]

ZM, you have problems with English.

English motorcycles, yes. I had many problems.

As far as expressing myself in English, you would need to be specific.

[Major Softie]

Well, you are a hopeless waste of time, but I'll just give you the most painfully obvious one, and then I'm done.

You said "Nortons blow up when pushed hard."

You now have modified it, while claiming you're not, to "they can."

You did not argue with the statement that "BMW's can blow up when pushed hard."

"Nortons blow up when pushed hard" either meant something or it didn't. If it didn't mean they always do, then it means (as you now claim) that they just "can." So can BMW's. So can any bike. So now you're claiming that your sentence meant nothing.

And, that was pretty much what I was saying in the first place.