1974 Norton Commando 850 Interstate Motorcycle

Description

The Norton Commando is regarded by many pundits as the finest British twin of the era, having been introduced in 1967 and remained in production for the next decade. The key to the success of the Commando was the Isolastic frame designed by Dr. Stefan Brauer, with rubber damping eliminating the vibrations that plagued so many other designs. By the early 1970s, Norton-Villiers merged with BSA to become the Norton-Villiers-Triumph Company in 1973 and the first product of this new conglomerate was the 850, using an 828cc engine. In 1974, this power unit was found in the Interstate Mark 2A model. By the late 1970s, the Japanese had made such inroads into the European and American markets that the Norton name disappeared altogether.