When it absolutely must be done right and with integrity, you need Greg Marsh Enterprises. Our motto, promise, mission, and ethic is: Satisfaction Guaranteed!

Home

Motorcycle Home

Triumph Home

Norton Home

Export Home

Contact Us!

Norton Commando
Identification
Updated 08/11/24

Norton Commando
Survey
Updated 10/05/24

Norton Commando
Gearing
Updated 09/21/24

Norton Commando
Torque
Updated 08/30/24

Norton Commando
Colors
Updated 09/21/24

Norton Commando
Weights
Updated 04/29/24

Norton Commando
Head Stud Study
Updated 05/04/24

Norton Commando
Service Releases
Quick View
Updated 06/13/22

Norton Commando
Service Release List
Updated 10/08/24

Norton Rear
Wheel Lacing
Updated 04/03/24

Norton Front
Wheel Lacing
Updated 09/21/24

Norton Front
Forks Helper
Updated 09/21/24

Saturday, November 23, 2024

This page is an attempt to identify the Norton Commando models and major changes. Very little of this is from my personal knowledge. Most of it comes from various public records and has been checked by some members of the Access Norton forum. If you see something wrong or have more to add, please write me! I would like to add any missing models and the colors available for the various models/years - actually I just did! See: Commando Colors.

The first table has the general starting serial numbers and the two right-hand columns list the approximate 750 Commando engine build dates as listed in Mick Duckworth's Norton Commando book that is available from Andover Norton. Note that he lists very specific starting serial numbers that often do not match what others have published - who knows what is correct!
The second table has more details related to the first
The third attempts to give dates for the various models based on many things - the apparent conflicts are unavoidable - each row should be considered alone! The table came from the Access Norton forum and the majority of that appears to have come from Roy Bacon's book Norton Commando All Models, 1995 edition ISBN 185648310X.
The fourth table provides factory documents information.
The fifth table provides carb information.
There was fifth table that listed the results of an ongoing survey. That has been moved to its own page since some phones couldn't handle the length of this page. It's here now.

Some of this info comes from Peter Henshaw's book The Norton Commando Bible, but it is not included in the first table because there are several apparent errors in his book related to the first table. The second table used some of his information. Also, some of it comes from Steve Wilson's book Norton Motorcycles from 1950 to 1986, and quite a bit of it comes from Roy Bacon's various books.

Unlike BSA, Triumph, etc. who upgraded their models each year and in later years included a "model year" code on their machines, confusion often arises with the Commando because "mark" changes didn't always occur at a particular time of the calendar year or model season. Some marks (Fastback Mk 2, for instance) only lasted a few months which makes it doubly difficult when attempting to apply the usual "model year" designations to Commando mark numbers. Generally, the years here are model years but a lot is open to interpretation. Also, probably obvious. there was no MK1 until there was a MK2.

Keep in mind that factory records were hand written at least through 1972 and contrary to what some will lead you to believe, no one has all of them. In theory the VMCC has them but I know that Andover Norton has at least part of the records and neither has the records for my 1974 850 MK2A. Also, my 1972 750 was the 25th built on 4 Jan 1972 according to the factory records from Andover Norton, but the frame certification label tag lists Dec 1971 so I assume the final assembly date was 4 Jan 1972 but the frame was finished in Dec 1971.

August 18, 2020 New information. The AJS & Matchless Owners Club holds the records for Nortons produced at Plumstead from 1963 till 1969 - information from the former club machine dating officer who keep interesting notes. The Matchless factory did not produce bikes in frame/engine number and the early Commandos are the same.

For 1969 the first Commando listed is 129898 built 1 Jan 1969 and dispatched to Norton Villiers Corp, LA on 7 Jan 1969. But 129904 dispatched to Chariot Cycles, Winnipeg 18 Dec 1968 . 130000 (Western Bars) went into stock on 20 Dec 1968 and 130001 dispatched 17 Dec 1968 to Maritime M/C Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Final Plumstead/Woolwich Bikes: 134093 looks to be the last Woolwich built bike, which was dispatched to Berliner, NY on 28 August 1969. Numbers 134094 to 134191 are written in ledger S10, but no details filled in. Which suggested they were build at Andover. However, 2 entries are completed. 134192 was dispatched to G Garneau, Paris with the note red, made Andover, dispatched Woolwich on 1 Oct 1969 and 134344 Milan Show dispatched 28 Oct 1969, made Andover dispatched Woolwich. I presume the last 2 were made in Andover, but prepared for the Paris & Milan motorcycle shows back at Woolwich.

September 9, 2020 New Information. The first Commandos did not have the red Certification Label riveted to the headstock. They had the serial number stamped into the left side of the headstock vertically. Apparently the Certification Label was added to comply with new US Regulations which probably took effect Jan 1, 1969. Norton probably started adding them in 1968. Hopefully, we'll get more early bikes in the Norton Survey to figure this out.

Important Note: The MK2/MK2A row below makes it seem like they were introduce in 1974. That might have been some sort of marketing introduction but a survey I've been conducting says that it is wrong. Also, you'll see 307311 as the beginning of the MK2/MK2A in many places which is probably true, but that number comes from the front of a parts supplement that was copyrighted in 1974 which says that is covers bikes after 307311. Many have apparently thought that meant that the MK2/MK2A started in Jan 1974. The certification label on the steering head of most Commandos lists the serial number and a date. That date is listed as "Date of Manufacture" on most forms of the labels. That also appears to not be true for 850s. 307241 has a date of May 73. My 310311 has a date of Nov 73 and it is definitely a MK2A.

Year	CCs	Marks	Starting Serial	MD Serial	MD Date
1968	750	First Commando	126125	126125	Feb 1968
1969	750		Either 129500 or 130000 depending on where you look	131180 133668	Mar 1969 Sept 1969
1970	750		134700	135140 139571	Mar 1970 Sept 1970
1971	750	MK II/III	141700	141717 145234 146074 150723	Jan 1971 Mar 1971 May 1971 Oct 1971
1972	750	MK IV	200001 (Last around 212550)	200001	Jan 1972
1973	750	MK V	212278 or 220000, see below.	219999 230935	Mar 1973 Oct 1973
1973	850	MK1/1A	300000
1974	850	MK 2/2A	307311 See the important note above!
1975	850	MK III	325000 Engine 125001 Frame

Engine Prefixes: Early Commando engines had a prefix to their serial number:

Initially 20M3, these engines had the points at the rear of the timing chest where the magneto was mounted in the earlier Nortons and they were chain driven. Also, the tach drive was external.
The second prefix, 20M3S, denoted that the points were moved to the front of the timing chest and driven directly from the cam and the cam also drives the tach.

Both prefixes and the serial number, up to a point between 147xxx and 149xxx, were in the front left curve of the crankcase. Later serial numbers with the 20M3S prefix was stamped into the crankcase on the drive side but there was no flat spot for the purpose. The prefix was completely removed from all models when the jump to serial number 200000 was made and a flat spot was made in the drive-side crankcase for the serial number.

Engine	CCs	Marks	Year(s)	Models	For	Notes
126125	750		1968	Commando	All	Engine Prefix 20M3. First production Commando. External Tach (Rev Counter) drive. Points in old magneto position. Later known as MK I or Fastback after other Marks and Models were introduced. Tires: 3.00x19 Front, 3.50x19 Rear Black Barrels Note that the Earl's Court display model had silver barrels and possibly some other per-production models as well, but otherwise they were black.
129500 or 130000	750		1969	Fastback, S Type, and R Type	All	All S Type (First=131257): Engine Prefix 20M3S. Points in timing cover. Integral Tach(Rev Counter) drive. Fastback/R Type: Continue as 20M3 with the points housing behind the cylinders. R Type basically a Fastback but with what later became known as the Roadster style fuel tank and no tail piece. Fastback converted to 20M3S spec. later in the year. 'R' Type discontinued after only a few months. Tires: 3.00x19 Front, 3.50x19 Rear Silver Barrels, but the cut-over from black to silver is not known.
134400	750		1969 or 70	Fastback, S Type, and Roadster	All	All Roadster introduced, S Type discontinued in June (Last=135088), Fastback MK II, Sept. 1970 (139571) to Jan. '71 (141717). According to Peter Henshaw, 135140 was the first Roadster and he says it happened in 1970 at 135140. 20M3 Fastback Black Barrels, other Silver Barrels Tires: 3.00x19 Front, 3.50x19 Rear
141783	750	MK II/III	1971	Fastback, Roadster, SS, Hi-Rider, Fastback LR (steel tank).	All	All models were MK II except that the Fastback was MK III with new style fork yokes - non adjustable type. Lucas handlebar switches. Center (center) stand on engine/gearbox mount (was on frame before). Side stand in new location and mounting lug welded to the frame. SS were in the range 145234-150723 Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Barrels (work in progress) Probably all Silver
200000	750	MK IV	1972	Fastback, Roadster, Hi-Rider, and Interstate	All	Breather moved between gearbox plates behind engine (was on left hand end of camshaft before). Engine number prefix discontinued. Optional front disc brake and Combat engine. The first Combat was 200976 but all were not Combat after that. Based on service release N3/23, the last Combat was 211110. According to Steve Wilson, the first Interstate Combat was 212278 but that is surely a typo - should be a much lower serial number considering that he also says the 211110 was the first RH5 head replacing the Combat RH3 head which more or less agrees with the service bulletin. Hard to tell because he says that 211110 was Sept 72 and starting in Oct 72, all bikes got Combat engines and that makes no sense! There were four service bulletins in 1971-1973 concerning the main bearings: N68, N2/06, N2/09 which introduced the "Superblend" bearing at engine number 211891, and N2/10 which finalized the "Superblend" bearings - they were all due to problems with the Combat engines and although the fourth change finally fixed the problem; by then, the Combat engine had a bad reputation so they were no longer sold. In truth, the high performance engines were still sold even into 1973, but they were not called Combat and they did not use the Combat (2S) camshaft. See: N3/23 for the various compression ratios available. Peter Henshaw note for 1972: "Engine numbers jump to 200000 and are no longer consecutive." Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Combat Black Barrels, others Silver Barrels
220000	750	MK V	1973	Roadster, Interstate, and Hi-Rider	All	All black instrument cases. "Square" rear light (really rectangular). Disc brakes on all but Hi-Rider. Superblend bearings standard. A few MK V had 230xxx and 235xxx serial numbers Breather remains in 1972 location, Note: According to the 750/850 parts book (06.5034), serial number 212278 and later were built to MK V spec. However, 220000 appears to be the official beginning of MkV production so either could be considered correct. Also, the tall black instrument cases where the only ones listed. Peter Henshaw says: "230935 Probably last Commando 750" Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Silver Barrels
300000	850	MK 1	1973	Roadster, Interstate, and Hi-Rider	All	Balanced exhaust pipes, Peashooter mufflers (silencers). Front disc brake standard. RH4 head. Tall black instrument cases. Breather moved to the rear of the timing chest. From Joe at Andover Norton (paraphrased): Numbers 300000 through 300021 (except 300014 which went to Berliner/USA) were booked to Experimental, starting Oct 25, 1972, next to some it says "No Date". The next date is Feb 4, 1973, but 300020 went to Bob Trigg on Jan 23, 1973. The regular dispatches start with 300022 produced on Jan 22, 1973 which was shipped to Berliner. Real production then started on Jan 24, 1973. The bikes from the experimental Dept. were partly sold later - 300007 to NV Canada, 300009 to NV Sydney, 300010 through 300013 to NVC California, 300014 to Berliner, 300015 to NVC California, 300018 through 300020 to Berliner, 300021 to NVC California. Most of the early production went to NVC California and Berliner. Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Silver barrels
306591	850	MK IA	1973	Roadster and Interstate	Europe	Balanced exhaust pipes, large black plastic air box. Peripheral discharge mufflers (silencers). The point of the A version was reduced noise. RH4 head. Note: According to service release N3/55, the chain guard extension became standard on all Commandos subsequent to engine number 307091, Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Silver Barrels
307311	850	MK 2	1974	Roadster, Interstate, and Hi-Rider	USA	Balanced exhaust pipes, Peashooter mufflers (silencers) and "hamcan" air filter. RH10 head. See Important Note above! Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Black barrels
307311	850	MK2A	1974	Roadster, Interstate, JPN	Europe	Balanced exhaust pipes, large black plastic air box. Peripheral discharge mufflers (silencers). Some MK 2A were eventually sold in the US and some were imported to the US used (Mine Was). The JPNs sold in the US were essentially MK2As. The point of the A version was reduced noise. RH10 head. See Important Note above! Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Black barrels
325001	850	MK III	1975	Roadster, Interstate, and Hi-Rider	All	Electric start. Left shift. Rear disc brake. New handlebar switches and central ignition console. Peter Henshaw says that the last production bike was 336539. RH4 head. Starting in May 1975, the number stamped into the frame matched the engine and certification plate serial number in most cases Tires: 4.10x19 Front, 4.10x19 Rear Black barrels

CCs	Model	Marks	Start	End
750	Original Commando		Apr-68	Mar-69
750	Fastback		Mar-69	Aug-70
750	R		Mar-69	Sept-69
750	S		Mar-69	Jun-70
750	Roadster		Mar-70	Dec-70
750	Fastback	II	Sept-70	Dec-70
750	Roadster	II	Jan-71	Dec-71
750	Fastback	III	Jan-71	Dec-71
750	SS		Mar-71	Oct-71
750	Fastback	III Long Range	Apr-71	Dec-71
750	PR		Apr-71	Oct-73
750	Hi-Rider		May-71	Dec-71
750	Fastback	IV	Jan-72	Mar-73
750	Hi-Rider	IV	Jan-72	Feb-73
750	Roadster	IV	Jan-72	Feb-73
750	Fastback	IV Long Range	Jan-72	Feb-73
750	Interstate		Jan-72	Feb-73
750	Hi-Rider	V	Mar-73	Oct-73
750	Interstate	V	Mar-73	Oct-73
750	Roadster	V	Mar-73	Oct-73
850	Hi-Rider	1	Apr-73	Dec-73
850	Interstate	1	Apr-73	Dec-73
850	Roadster	1	Apr-73	Dec-73
850	Interstate	1A	Sept-73	Feb-74
850	Roadster	1A	Sept-73	Feb-74
850	JPN	*	Nov-73	Feb-75
850	Hi-Rider	2	Jan-74	Feb-75
850	Interstate	2/2A	Jan-74	Feb-75
850	Roadster	2/2A	Jan-74	Feb-75
850	Interstate	3	Feb-75	Sept-77
850	Roadster	3	Feb-75	Sept-77
850	Hi-Rider	3	Mar-75	**
*	The JPNs were based on the MK2A, but were a separate model.
**	Not sure when production ended.

This table attempts to list all known Norton Commando Factory documents. For service releases look here.

Year	Part	Description	Notes
1968		Norton Commando 750 Riders Handbook	Not dated but probably early 1968
1968	Second Edition	Norton Commando 750 Riders Handbook	Printed Aug 1968
1968		Commando Spares List	Not dated but probably 1968 Includes Supplements for 69 & 70
1969		Commando Workshop Manual	Not dated but probably 1969
1969		Norton Commando "S" Type and Roadster Models Handbook	Not dated but probably 1969
1970		Norton Parts Catalog for 68-70	Not dated but probably 1970
1971	101/71	Commando 750 Parts List	Not dated but probably 1971
1972	062864	750 Commando Riders Manual	Not dated but probably 1972
1972	063402	750 Commando Parts List	Not dated but probably 1972
1973	063852	Norton Riders Manual 850 and 750 Models	Not dated but probably 1973
1973	064135	750 Commando Riders Manual	Not dated but probably 1973 From serial 220000
1973	065034	850 Commando Parts List	Not dated but probably 1973 Also includes 750s from serial 212278
1973	065146	Workshop Manual for Norton Commando	From 1970
1973		John Player Parts List Supplement	Not dated but probably 1973
1975	066240	Norton Riders Manual 850 MK. III Models
1975	00-4224	Workshop Manual for 850 Commando Electric Start Mark 3 Motorcycles
1975	00-5756	Replacement Parts Catalog for 1975

This table attempts to list the carbs that were used for each Commando version. Click the Details link for specifics on the carbs. See the notes at the bottom. Much of this info comes from modern-day Amal and it's likely that some of the weird years are because that's when they received orders from Norton. If you have original carbs, look at the numbers on the sides to match what you need. Also, changing exhaust, air cleaners, and modern gas may require jetting changes. Feel free to call to discuss!

Note: Traditionally, all AMAL carbs have been made of a Zinc alloy. They have discontinued that and are producing them in aluminum. Aluminum is quite a bit lighter, and more wear resistant. For Norton, AMAL supplied #17 Pilot Jets for Premier carbs deigned for 750s and #19 for 850s. They are now suppling #19 for all.

Years	Model	Engine	Right	Left	ACK/PACK
1968	Commando	750cc	R930/26	L930/27	133	Details
1969	Commando	750cc	R930/30	L930/31	134	Details
1970	Commando	750cc	R930/46	L930/47	135	Details
1970-1971	Commando	750cc	R930/63	R930/64	(7)	Details
1971-1972	Commando	750cc	R930/68	L930/69	111	Details
1972-1973	Commando	750cc	R930/82	L930/83	139	Details
1972	Commando Combat	750cc	R932/19	L932/20	140	Details
1973 (5)	Commando	750cc	R932/26	L932/27	112	Details
1973-1974	Commando Mk 1/Mk 2	850cc	R932/29	L932/30	136	Details
1973 (1)	Commando Roadster	850cc	R932/29	L932/30	136	Details
1973-1974 (3)	Commando MK1A/MK2A	850cc	R932/31	L932/32	137	Details
1973 (1)(3)	Commando Interstate	850cc	R932/31	L932/32	137	Details
1974 (2)	Commando MK2A	850cc	R932/33	L932/34	113	Details
1975 (2)	Commando MK2A (MK3?)	850cc	R932/33	L932/34	113	Details
1974 (1)	Commando Mk 2	850cc	R932/35	L932/36	138	Details
1974 and later (2)(4)(6)	Commando Roadster MK3	850cc	R932/42	L932/43	114	Details

(1) The Roadster and Interstate had different pipes in 1973/1974 for both the MK2 & MK2A
(2) The Amal catalog is wrong because 33/34 cannot be 220 and 230 main jets. When ordered by ACK or PACK number, they have 220 main jets.
      It is likely that all MK2A and MK3 used 33/34 with 220 main jets.
      MK3 was not a 1974 model, it was a 1975 model and there was no MK2A in 1975.
      So, the 1974 MK2A version seems correct but the second (MK3?) is not - see more extensive notes in Details.
(3) Note that several models used this for 1973/1974
(4) This is most likely wrong. Amal lists this set as 1974 MK3 - no such thing and MK3 should be 33/34.
(5) There were two heads for 1973 750. RH5 (standard compression) and RH6 (high compression). Apparently, they used the same carbs.
(6) There is no evidence that this pair was ever actually used by Norton. There was an order to Amal, but nothing says that the carbs were delivered or used.
(7) There is no ACK or PACK Number for these but they are available individually. It's not clear if they were ever actually used by Norton

When ordering carbs from Amal (or me), you can order by "ACK" or "PACK" number. "ACK" is standard carbs and "PACK" is premier. As best I can tell, AMAL is no longer producing non-premier carbs.

Burlen, the parent of the AMAL Carb Company

Tri-Spark, inovative electrical products for the Vintage British Motorcycle

Wassell, the 70+ year old suppliers of British Motorcycle parts

cNw has become a leader in bringing new parts and improvements to the Norton motorcycle market.