The coolest of Commandos, the Norton Commando Production Racer (affectionately known as the Yellow Peril) was a street-legal factory racer made available to privateers for a princely sum. How princely? It would set you back $1,900 at a time when $1,500 would buy you an Austin Mini.
Norton didn’t care about making money – this bike was all about homologation under FIM and AMA. So for your $1,900, you got higher compression pistons, a racing camshaft, shortened pushrods, and options including 32mm carbs and electronic ignition. Thanks to some careful tuning, Norton was able to eke out nearly 12 more ponies from the 745cc twin, yielding a bike that could hit 131 miles per hour. For more information, head on over to Motorcycle Classics for an in-depth writeup on the Production Racer.
This example (VIN: 138068) is street legal and is claimed to run great. It has some goodies, including a Quaife close ratio gearbox, longer kick start, Lockheed brakes, new electronic ignition, Doherty throttle/clutch levers, vented rear brake plate…there’s quite a list that the seller includes in the listing. Find this Production Racer for sale in Prescott Valley, Arizona with bidding up to $7,500 and the reserve not yet met