Sweet jeebers it’s a pretty thing to just look at, but it gets it up and goes too (notice the current license plate). Lance fabricated most everything you see while the 1971 750cc Norton Commando engine is a very, very stout motor on the throttle while having some of the prettiest polished castings of any engine ever in my opinion. If you’re going to fabricate something beautiful yet different, picking the right engine to work around is the key and a Norton Commando engine is a perfect storm of power and pretty.

 

   Now before we get going with a bunch of words, be sure to check out Jack’s photo gallery and see all the bazillion bits and pieces Lance fabbed starting from a one-off frame to possibly the nicest set of tank mounts ever. There are not a lot of catalogue parts on this vehicle other than some necessary stuff that no bright person would try to duplicate or improve upon unless it was totally unavailable. Oh you know, things like the classic high-shouldered 21-inch Akront rims (front and rear) laced up to what looks like a vintage Yamaha racing four-leading shoe brake up front (or is it some copy of that brake which was probably an original Japanese copy of some slightly older European brake?) or the Avon Speedmaster MK II 3.00×21 ribbed front tires mounted front and rear (I admit I wonder how they handle front and rear?). Or the equally classic Moon oil tank usually found on a hot rod or if you’re a biker of the pedal brigade, you recognized the lovely Brooks leather saddle busy creating its own patina right before your eyes. 

 

   Where this bike shines, though, is in the life Lance brought to it with his own vision of what a classy custom could and should be. The frame owes nothing to anybody but Lance with a stance to die for and a place to hang everything else off. The burly vertical twin is obviously a non-unit construction engine that’s connected to the 1968 Norton 4-speed tranny by a smart thin belt and not much else or so it appears. Lance cut away the primary cover until practically nothing was left except an aluminum windfoil up front leaving the engine and tranny seemingly floating in space. Well, until you notice the adjustable heim joints cleverly holding everything in place. A pair of Mikuni flatslides mounted on splayed-out ACK manifolds stirs up the mixture that the Pazon electronic ignition blows up with the remnants of combustion spat out of the snake charmer headers and short fat muffler. Actually the only thing that probably gets muffled is any conversation going on nearby, but that’s okay by me. A Norton has its own sound regardless of any similarities to any other vertical twin design and it’s a symphony of sound that only gets better as the revs climb and climb.  

 

   All of that stuff is absolutely great and cool, but where this bike shines is in the design execution. The gorgeous fuel tank is its own entity in metal while those twin chromed hanging mounts are a shockingly beautiful solution to an often mundane problem. I can’t imagine how wonderful it’s gotta be to ride this bike and try to keep your eyes on the road while those mounts beckon you to take one more look then another and then another before you continue to take another and another. There are lots of other cool delicate rod mountings Lance whipped up like the seat, fender, and engine top mounts. If that doesn’t make you a believer, check out his exquisite clip-on bars tucked in below the top triple tree. They’re all elegant solutions to boring necessities and even though in retrospect they may now seem simple and obvious, Lance obviously has an eye for art and the talent to make it happen.

 

   Lance Dobson’s Norton is an exciting harbinger of things to come from Dodson Machine Company or DoMaCo as it says in gold leaf on the side of the tank. The Brooks saddle is way cool and the clip-ons are killer while I think the tank mounting is a stroke of genius. All in all, I can’t wait to see what he’s up to next.