When I'm not painting signs I'm often out riding my restored 1972 Norton Combat Commando motorcycle. Norton was a British company founded in 1898, and was famed in racing circles from the twenties through the sixties. This beast has a high compression 750 cc vertical-twin engine with no electric starter - it's a man's motorcycle, designed, built and ridden by enthusiasts who loved bikes, loved riding and understood that a motorcycle isn't just a machine, it's a soul-satisfying, life-affirming experience. While it doesn't compete with modern Japanese repli-racers, a Commando was the dangerously fast sportbike of its day, and it doesn't really wake up and pay attention at speeds under 50 0r 60 mph. On the open road, give it a handful of throttle and it will grab you by the ass and go, and it isn't hard to find yourself at a buck ten or more passing semis and slow-poke Subarus on the interstate, and realize you are still accelerating. That's about as fast as I need to go on just about anything, not to mention a thirty-four year old motorcycle.