Kenny Dreer, the man who almost brought Norton back from the grave several years ago, got his start restoring motorcycles from the British marque at his shop called Vintage Rebuilds (VR) near Portland, Oregon. As the 1990s came to an end, he started building his own variant of the Commando, which he called the Norton Commando VR880.
Less than 50 were built – I’ve seen people claim that the production run was exactly 48 but I can’t find official confirmation of the number. The VR880, also called the Sprint Special, was released in ’99 with newly cast and manufactured parts, as well as a bored out 880cc twin.
This specific Norton Commando VR880 has 2,838 miles on the odometer, about half of which came from the current owner, who has had it for 5 years. It has two minor issues – if the battery is low, the starter sometimes has some ‘trouble engaging cleanly’, and the speedo jumps a bit once you’re going faster than 70. The seller has included two extras, a one-off alloy chainguard and Ohlins shocks. The original units will be included with the sale. Find it for sale in New Albany, Ohio with bidding up to $13,023 and the reserve not yet met