1968 Norton Commando Fastback Dunstall 810 Kit, Frame no. 128013 Engine no. 20M3/128013

1968 Norton Commando Fastback Dunstall 810 Kit
Frame no. 128013
Engine no. 20M3/128013
• Wonderful Commando Roadster in factory Candy Apple Red
• Dealer installed in period Dunstall 810 kit
• Now recognized as the seminal early Commando
• Low miles and matching numbers

Few would disagree that Norton's Commando ranks as Britain's most enduring vertical twin, despite being produced over a far shorter period than the Bonneville, and there are many thousand fewer Commandos than Triumph twins. Precise figures were never published but during a lifespan extending from the 1967 Earls Court launch thru to post Receivership cessation in 1977 a total of around 50,000 Commandos, it is believed, rolled off respective production lines.

The futuristic, boldly styled 750 Commando Fastback was announced at that Earls Court London Show in 1967, followed within 18 months by the conventional and (then) far more popular Roadster model. These two were joined in the 1972 range by the Interstate. There were other lower volume variants as well, including the Production Racer, the 750SS, and the short lived/awkward looking Hi Rider. But by late 1975, notwithstanding a full order book, NVT's Wolverhampton plant was in Receivership. Norton's former management team, who'd meanwhile re-grouped at Shenstone, eventually negotiated a continuation of Commando manufacture in respect of several hundred Mk III Interstates scheduled for production prior to the factory's closure. Some 1,500 models were then produced by a skeleton NVT workforce and released through conventional trade outlets. And then Norton's production life was over.

Norton's free-spinning 750 motor acted as a magnet for UK performance specialists, amongst whom Vince Davey of the Gus Kuhn shop and Paul Dunstall – both in South London - were the most highly regarded. Both shops were soon offering a huge variety of hop-up equipment in what had become a rapidly expanding aftermarket. In their test of a 1971 Norton Dunstall 810, Cycle World measured the top speed at 125 mph with a 0 to 60 mph time of only 4.7 seconds and a 11.9 seconds quarter mile – the magazine's first under 12 second run - at 107.88 mph.

Given the above, this high spec. early 'recessed tank badge' 1968 750 Commando ticks a great many boxes. Few are as handsome and performance oriented as this one. This Roadster still carries its original Candy Apple Red paint – the minimal fading only enhances its overall patina – and its dealer-installed Dunstall 810 kit and Dunstall exhaust system. With but 2,661 miles on the odometer – believed accurate – it has much life in it yet. There are 'Dunstall 810 kit' detractors but the reality is that a well set-up 810 – barrel, pistons and other components - has the reliability of a 'sorted' 750 and a performance the equal of a strong 850, or better. The 810 exhaust has both aesthetic and noisy beauty unique to itself. This rare bike warrants a very close inspection.