The Norton Commando name is iconic in Motorcycling history.  Any motorcycle enthusiast that is worth their salt knows this Marque and model of motorcycle.  2013 is a momentous year. MotoFantasy expects delivery late this season, hopefully soon enough to use at least late in our 2013 riding season. MotoFantasy will have one of the first 50 new Norton Commandos coming into the US.  We’ve had a reservation and deposit on it for over 2.5yrs.  On August 29th,2012 it finally passed both EPA and California CARB tests. After 35 years, there really will be a new Norton Commando!  As is appropriate, it is a performance machine, not simply a carrier of a dead name.  Still, it also embodies the spirit of the Norton name in that it is a truly competitive motorcycle in its segment, which is air-cooled sport twins such as the Ducati Monster & 1000GT & the Triumph Bonneville Thruxton. However, it will also likely compete with machines such as the BMW F800 series, and the new 800 Triumph series.  In short, it is a serious motorcycle worthy of the Norton name, and it looks the part as well, while being solidly rooted in modernity.   Oregon has a unique connection to this machine.  Kenny Dreer, Albany, Oregon resident  and long-time lover and re-builder of old Nortons, after many years of rebuilding these classic machines, developed an evolutionary version of the machine which he tried to get funded under the rights he had purchased to use the Norton name in the US.  Unfortunately, he could not bring that into complete reality.  Nevertheless, he produced a prototype machine that was used extensively in the process of creating the new Commando SE.  This motorcycle has Norton DNA laced all the way through it. His name should rightfullly be heralded as a developer of this machine.Cycle World said it quite well recently:  “…a production Norton that feels as good as a Ducati Monster 1100S, a bike I love, is incredible. The new Commando impresses within the first mile. It balances a feeling of modernity with the character and X-Factor a bike like this needs. There are enough vibrations to make you connect with the machinery but not too many to make things uncomfortable. I immediately feel comfortable. Nothing is alien or quirky. No familiarization period is needed.”

Check out this video on the 2011 Norton Commando

View a larger picture here.