Settling an argument

The MK3 interstate was available in

• silver with red and black striping
• black with gold striping
• candy apple red with silver striping

Here is an excerpt from the MK3 brochure:

As long as you like it don't worry. It's a nice looking Commando.

Dave.

It's your bike paint it how you like. It's not a museum piece, and it's not as if original Commandos are exactly thin on the ground.

Definitely not factory , but a really nice paint job all the same.

'Go boil your head' is the answer to that. Time and again people say 'it is all original'. Are they then saying they enjoy/love all the mistakes the factory built in, all the oil leaks all the bad paint, all the electrics that have stopped working as they were made very cheap. The points ignition system on the Commando is renowned for its unreliability, Electronic ignition we know cures all the problems. So have your tank in whatever colour pattern you want. This Red on White is fantastic.

• The polished Z plates
• polished callipers
• header pipes
• braided brake hose 
• not for aircraft use float bowl
• polished hubs.  At a glance, maybe  they not referring to the beautiful paint job…

It's superb looking as it is. As for originality, as Al Oz states, some things are better now than they were when the factory was churning them out. If the bike is for using rather than sitting gathering dust in a museum it will be all the better for some sensible updating.

My Norton (a 99 Deluxe) is so far away from factory spec as to be unrecognisable but it's how I want it. 

I agree with the comments above. The bike looks excellent and it's yours so you can do what you want with it. I'm currently working on a 1948 ES2 that has a 19S engine in it. I'm adding things like indicators and better lights and have decided on a paint scheme that will be my own personal taste. I'm looking forward to having a unique bike when it is finished, based on a model and style of bike I admire from the past but more usable in modern conditions.

Wandering off the paint scheme subject a bit but definitely disagree about electronic ignition curing points related problems. Fitted a well known and popular electronic kit to my Mk 3 850 which worked fine for a thousand odd miles , then one day when out and about it just went phut bringing me to a halt whilst steaming up a dual carriageway. Sealed solid state electronic box of tricks needed replacing to resume normal service. Had considered replacing my other Mk 1a 850 still on points with electronic kit but forget that now - very happy to check and adjust good old contact points every couple of thousand miles or so - never let me down since I got the bike in 1977.

Continuing the diversion from the paint finish (which is very neatly applied and distinctive), in the early 1980s, my Mk3 ran faultlessly with completely standard points ignition, routinely clocking up 250-300 miles a week.  I did later convert to RITA, but not because of poor reliability; rather to just eliminate one aspect of routine maintenance.  As my present Mk3 gets closer to completion, I am tempted to initially start off with points. I still have all the parts I removed in 1982 to fit the RITA!

If you must have points that is fine BUT as you say checked every few miles, but there again you can easily clock up a 400 mile weekend hence need to stop and check points and ignition timing etc. The RITA is still a good reliable system despite its age, (nearly as old as these old bikes!) The idea to remove unnecessary servicing strikes me as worthwhile. If you did miss an ignition timing check you could easily end up with serious engine damage!

I've just replaced a 40 year old Boyer Electronic ignition with a Mk 4 version as the new one is less prone to problems with slightly lower voltage. Never had any problems with the old one apart from a few kickbacks when the battery voltage was a bit low. I also agree with Al Osborn about it not having to be like it left the factory. I've fitted electronic components, a bigger and better front brake, belt drive, Electric starter and Lansdowne adjustable front fork inserts. All of these things make it a safer and nicer bike to ride. I can understand it needing to be original if its sat in a museum showing how it was when it left the factory but if you just ride it and show at competitions something similar will be fine.