1974 Norton John Player Special

I've owned this motorcycle since 1990 (3rd owner) and it is one of the very few unrestored original John Player Norton examples left. The fiberglass is still in the original factory gel coat, while most you'll find have been repainted. Back in the early 90's it was my only motorcycle and I rode it everywhere, so I made a few modifications to make it work better which were popular at the time:

Boyer-Bransden electronic ignition

Solid state voltage regulator

Tapered steering head bearings

Braided stainless front brake line

K&N pod air filter (replaces original airbox, which I still have and will include in the sale)

A redesigned custom wiring harness with molex connectors instead of the old Lucas bullet connectors, which also splits the original single circuit into two separately fused circuits

If you're familiar with John Player Nortons you might be saying to yourself "hey, that doesn't look at all like the original decal scheme". I've included a scan from the original 8 page sales flyer showing this livery. Mine is the only example I've ever seen with the black & red horizontal striping as shown in that flyer (which is actually much closer to the famed Peter Williams IoM TT winner on which the JPN is based). I don't know the explanation as to why this is. Was it an option, or is this possibly a very early example and they later switched to the more commonly seen red & blue swooping stripes? You can also see in the pictures that mine has holes in the tank cover to access the spark plugs, as does the one in the sales flyer. I've never seen another example with those either. I would love to know why my bike looks like the one in the flyer and not like any other I've seen, but I've never found anyone with the answer. Maybe the next owner will have better luck. There are a few "fake" JPN's out there because replica bodywork was available and could be mounted to a standard Commando Roadster. But there are a variety of small parts unique to the JPN, such as the rearset footpeg mounts, which were not used on any other Commando models. That's a good way to tell this is an original factory JPN. The fake ones will have aftermarket rearsets. Another small item is that there are zener diodes mounted on both sides rather than just one. This was another JPN-only factory modification in 1974, done to handle the extra power from the special high-output alternator. That alternator was added to the Mk III Commando in 1975 along with electric start, but the only Mk II (no e-start) model to have it was the JPN, due to the extra current draw of the dual headlights. Also the black exhaust was unique to the JPN. As you can see in the pictures, this bike still has the black header pipes but not the black silencers. The original black silencers cracked at a weld point, so I put them in a box and mounted these chrome imitation Dunstalls. I found and bought another pair of the rare original black items, but they are also cracked at the same point (one has been rewelded). All four black silencers will be included with the bike so the buyer can decide how to proceed. This motorcycle is in great condition for its age, but it does have some minor cosmetic issues. The original seat vinyl has cracked & torn in a few places. I couldn't bring myself to get it reupholstered though, so I just tolerate it. The bike also has a couple decals that I believe aren't original (presumably added by one of the two previous owners) but I haven't tried to remove them because they look reasonably appropriate and I was afraid removing them might damage the gel coat. Overall though, it really is amazing for being nearly 50 years old. The chrome rims are in unbelievable condition as you can see in the close-up shots, and all the aluminum and chrome gleams. It starts easily and rides great. A variety of literature will go along with the bike, including service manuals, parts manuals, owners manuals, period magazine, etc. See pictures.
Update: I've received a couple requests for pictures of the tank under the fiberglass cowl, because that's another way to differentiate between a factory original JPN and a fake. The factory JPN has a special (and quite ugly) gas tank constructed by cutting the back off of a standard Commando Roadster tank and adding an extension. Then they glued foam onto the tank to fill the space between it and the fiberglass cowl.