Oh, Man...just the mention of the Norton Commando brings me way back. I had the 1971 (750) which was nearly impossible to kick start after I had 12:1 pistons put in her. Once I got her going, however...what a runner that bike was !..... Nimble as hell and fast as snot!! The "Isolastic" suspension kept it smooth as toast. (Rubber mounted engine/swing-arm combo that Harley did in it's FXR, eventuaully)
I can think of no other bike of the twenty plus I've owned that gave me the exhilaration that that bike did. I saw one recently and it looked like a bicycle to me now but memories be ****ed...it was how to ride! Light, quick and a pain in the ass, mechanically!
It had 'Z" bars and it would wheelie at the touch of the throttle in first AND second!!
Although I had owned other bikes prior to it, that was the bike that hooked me, forever, on motorcycles.