Video clip

[MrB]

Might be of interest to those who haven't seen it.Johnnyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpBEAewUwEo

[Richard Negus]

I recall that Show well !The Commander was the first mock-up produced from Seymour Powell's clay model, converted into glass fibre by Mitchenall's and delivered to the NEC straight from final titivating at SP's. As a mock-up, there was nothing much under the bodywork, a fact noted by a group of West Midlands Police riders who'd looked up under the 'panniers' to see no backs to them and were quite forthright, and loud, in their comments.It was very satisfying, six months later, to take the first completed bike to the Fleet Managers' Conferance at Devizes and, when asked by the same officers if it actually worked this time, to press the button, turn on all the blue lights and siren, and invite them to ride it around the car park.That was a tribute to all those at Norton and Mitchenall who had worked almost non-stop to achieve that target. The night before Devizes was an 'all-nighter' at Shenstone to sort all the little snags, including a fish 'n chip supper from the shop in John William's village.At the same Show was the first display of the Classic ; priced at £5,950, I think there were 60 orders/deposits taken, something unheard of previously. The bike was displayed with a slab-sided fuel tank made by a company in London, and rather disappointing for the Project Engineer Adam who had spent weeks crafting a rounded model in polyurethane foam. Subsequent production tanks were made by another company who operated out of a shed behind a scrap yard in East Tilbury. This guy made simple resin tooling and gas-welded them together from six separate pressings.An unexpected outcome of the NEC Show was that the delightful young lady from Midland Bank, who was there to offer finance to those buying a Classic, was so attractive to the Norton employee taking orders for the Classic, that they (allegedly) went off to Brighton in Le Roux's Range Rover for a fun weekend. Termination of employment quickly followed.R.