I don't remember Thatcher being a big player in the demise of the British bike industry... they did tthat all by themselves...... BSA were gone in, I think 1970( might be a year out) and Triumph made the last T140E in '77...I think...though Les Harris made his own till 1983 or so
I owned all these and though the Norton Commando looked great and went well, it was a pig to start, electrically horrible and the engine self destructed within a few thousand miles from new......though nowadays there's folks in the UK who build them properly sorted...If have one of those, but the 'new' Commando holds no appeal at all for me.
I like my bikes with conventional forks and proper rear suspension.
To me the new Commando looks like it was lashed together in someone's shed...sorry to any fans of it, but there you are.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
Al
