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Trafalgar Day

...today, as Facebook has reminded me.

Did anyone else have their photo taken alongside HMS Victory when the NOC national rally visited in '89' or '90 and then find their photo splashed across the local paper ?

Portsmouth

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... that picture said it all Richard.

All shiney, trendy and new.... And the bike looking pretty smart too...

 

J

Yes, Jonathan...I was a twenty-something and the Commando thirteen or fourteen. Where did those years go ?

In reply to by jonathan_newton

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I remember seeing a picture of Nick Medlin, the then secretary of Plymouth Branch having his Rotary Commander taken by the very ship.  His Rotary was the first red one the factory did. I believe it was in a NOC calendar. 

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Those were the days.

Sunglasses instead of bifocals, ear plugs instead of hearing aids, real hair, real teeth and no pot belly. Plus an original looking 850 Commando that has not been sprayed Black.

I think this was the year when the NOC camping weekend or International was held at Fort  Purbrook on Portsdown Hill. Living fairly locally, at the time, I turned up on my 99 Cafe Race Dommi to see what was going on but wasn't allowed in because I was not a Club member.  Which did not exactly encourage me to want to join the NOC. However, two years later I met some Solent Branch members who talked me into joining the Club and going to a Goodwood Track session. 

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Nothing wrong with a black Commando.  Mine left the factory in June 75 as candy apple red.

Pic

Background Peel Castle IOM. MGP 1992. No ethanol, no lockdowns...

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Richard, you look so young there, the hairstyle remains the same though. As always your bike looks immaculate 

 

Gino

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Gino, Pretty sure that the hair was gelled back into a pony tail at that time...I had my mid-life crisis early. The bike has been written off and rebuilt since that photo...Rear wheel is the same, cylinder head too...Crankcases might be, depending on what was out for rebuild at the time.

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Richard,

At a quick glance, always looking for the starter bulge first, I thought Mk2A, and then, hang on, no it’s not!  Did you amputate the electric start?

Andy

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Ian, Yes, Nick chose the red as a one-off for his Commander. I think it may have been a Rover colour...he paid extra for non-standard and Norton then offered it as a no-cost option ...His was on the cover of the club calendar...Pretty much everyone who was there had their photo taken by the dockyard publicity people.

Andrew...Yes, it's a Mk3 that used to say "Electric Tart" on the side panel...In pre-internet days, I fitted a Boyer and the low volts destroyed the anti-backfire device...I was fed up enough to take a hacksaw and a MIG to the chaincase.

I have a spare inner case and all the gubbins. If old age catches up with me before infernal combustion engines are banned (and it's looking to be a close-run thing) then I can re-fit.

 



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