Nortons....

surffly

Over 1,000 Posts
I needed another project bike like I needed a hole in my head, but this bike was just to good to pass up.
While I have messed with vintage bikes and British cars for a while, I have never owned a British bike until now.

Made a deal for it a bit ago and picked it up last night.
If any of you get a chance to leave work at 5pm in Albany and drive to Boston to pick a Norton up....knowing full well you have to be back at the office at 8am......just pass.

Today is brought to you buy coffee and redbull.

Okay so now that I have seen the bike and had a brief chance to look it over I am thrilled with the base.
Bike seems to be in the standard "barn find" condition.

Engine turns over, nothing is frozen, cant see anything hacked or cut.
I don't feel that it will need much more then the standard servicing to breath some life back into her.

All her glory.
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But I am not without some questions.

Seems that the side stand broke and tipped the bike over at some point.
Damaged the side engine cover (I have a replacement) and the speedo.
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Is there a place to order the external engine gaskets from?
What are my options for the speedo?

Right now the bike has a single Mikuni on it. Also cam with atleast one pair of Amals.
Any place I can read up on the Pros and Cons of either set up? My goal is to have a good useable bike, but part of me likes the "idea" of running the original carbs. I also have in my head that going from two carbs to one is a performance downgrade. I am keen to improve the function and performance of the bike where I can.
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Tank is fiberglass, but doesn't seem to have fuel in it now. I assume it is a good time to seal it. Options?

What is a good "one stop shopping" type place to get all the service parts I need?
Looking to do the fork seals, drums, ignition, ect ect
Figure order all the parts and then spend a long weekend working my way through the bike.

I want to upgrade the isolastics, but for the life of me I can not understand what "kit" I need and what is involved.
Also plan to order a "head steady" and one or two small bits like that.

Thanks for the help.

The Norton is hiding behind my Seeley.
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Don't have any exhaust past the headers, so that will need to be addressed.
Also need to find and download any manuals and parts diagrams that I can find. Anyone got a link?

Checklist of parts I need to get ordered.
-Ignition service items
-Battery
-Fork Seals
-Drum shoes front and rear (If needed)
-Tires

Things I am thinking about
-Alloy wheels
-Disc front end
-Head Steady

This bike will still remain one spot down from the Seeley in terms of focus to get done. But I can help but want to play with my new toy just a bit.
 
Re: Norton 750

Welcome to the club. I have too many projects yet I picked up my Atlas not long ago.

As far as the carbs go, I like Amal carbs a lot. You can get pretty much everything for them - Burlen Fuel Systems now owns the Amal brand (along with SU and Zenith). Plus, they're original to the bike.

I don't know that there's a one-stop shop for everything. I have about a dozen sites bookmarked depending on what I need, but then again, my Atlas is a bit harder to find proper parts for than a Commando. I can send you a PM tonight with the list of stuff I have if you're interested.

For the speedo, I'd recommend Nisonger Instruments in Mamaroneck, NY. We've dealt with them for years for all the British car stuff we have and they do a phenomenal job. That being said, they aren't cheap. Call them first. :) They're my first call for Smiths/Jaeger stuff.
 
Re: Norton 750

Nice score surffly. The 2-1 manifold with a mikuni was a fairly common mod on these. My dad is a geek on these and has a similar setup on his 850 Commando. He like the more modern mikuni for riding/tuning better than the old amals. Your carb looks a bit older/different. Domi racer used to be the one stop shop but they closed out a few years ago and whomever bought them seems to be hoarding. Dig around and you'll find what you need, just not on the big sites. If you are running out of luck, let me know and I'll ask Dad and his other britbike buddies.
 
Re: Norton 750

I talked to Domi a bit at MidO this year.
Bad part was that since I had not picked up the bike I had zero clue what to keep my eyes out for.
Oh well.
 
Re: Norton 750

Congrats on what looks like a great find! Had mine for 26 years now and wouldn't trade it for anything. Lots of good suppliers. Brit Cycle Supply has a New Jersey warehouse. Steadfast Cycle, Walridge Motors good also...tons of other places to get your stuff and YES go with a new set of Amals. I did that and it was like someone had stolen the bike and left a new one in it's place. If the std ignition is not worn out, I would stick with that...15- 20 minutes of maintenance a year will never hurt anybody, my machine starts first kick every time and has never kicked me back. Please keep us posted on your progress.
 
Re: Norton 750

Well things have gotten interesting. I now own three Nortons.

The 750 Commando in the OP.
A 650 Featherbed Manxman I bought locally a few weeks after the 750
And then a 850 that was literally to cheap not to buy.

Well I need a daily mount for the spring so it is time to wrench on one of the Nortons.
The 850 is closes to the road so it wins.

Last owner had the bike for many years and used it fairly hard.
While it has not run in a few years the bike does seem like it weathered storage fairly well.
-Engine turns over and feels like it has good compression.
-Nothing major looks missing, damaged or broken.
-Everything moves freely as it should.

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Bike has a few interesting parts.
-Dunstall mufflers
-Dunstall fairing
-Dunstall (maybe tickle) rearsets
-Dunstall clip ons.

All and all I think this will make a nice vintage performance rider.

Started to clean things up a bit.
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Went to clean the carbs, but found this.
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So I ordered some Amal Premieres to replace them.
Gunna make lamps out of the old ones!
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Have ordered a tone of parts.
Was going to do some work on the bike today, but I stayed up to late to watch and Irishman knock out a dude WAY to fast....
$60 for 13 seconds of fight?

Here is what is currently sitting on the bench waiting to be installed.
-AGM battery
-Main harness
-Headlight harness
-points
-condensers
-plug wires
-plugs
-carbs
-carb to airbox boots
-fork seals
-fork bushings
-all new cables
-Front isolastics
-Rear isolastics
-Axle rebuild parts

Im sure I am missing a few more things.
Suffice to say I think I have everything in house to get the motor up and runnings and do the basics that any bike will need from sitting.
 
Re: Norton 750

Nice ride mate. I think one of these will be my next purchase. Following along!
 
Re: Norton 750

The Dunstal parts are what they are.
Are there better "quality" options out there?
Sure, there always are.

Plan to thrash on the bike this weekend and hope to install most of the new parts I have.
Figure the harness will take the most time to get put on correctly.

I do what to do some meaningful upgrades along the way to the bike. I don't think that the wheels will clean up all that well. Seems like the chrome is peeling a bit, so I want to think about upgrading to some alloy wheels. Still unsure if I should keep the wheels 19/19 or go 19/18 or even 18/18. Unsure if there is any benefit on the street. Plan to run Avon tires on it either way.

I stumbled into some parts to upgrade the front brake. Will have to do more research to see what direction I end up going though.
First I ended up with an AP Lockheed caliper bracket. Was told that it works with the stock rotor. My idea was that this would be relatively simple and effective for both cost and performance. Don't have caliper for this yet. Do the Lockheed calipers from the stock triumphs bolt on the same way the AP race one does?
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But then someone on eBay failed to spell brake and Commando correctly and a Norvil 14 inch full floating kit was listed "cheap".
I failed to resist the temptation and bought it.
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Few questions.
-What brake line should I use and where can I find it?
-What pads doe these calipers use and are there different options for compounds?
-How overkill on the street is the 14 inch set up?
 
Re: Norton 750

Got the new carbs ready for install by putting the cable pulls in.
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Then I found this.
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I assume I have to shave a bit down on the new carbs?
Any trick to this?
Anything to know or watch out for?

Have new boots for the air box as well as a recharge kit for the filter.
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Original harness was in really bad shape.
Started removing it for the new replacement.
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Re: Norton 750

That knub is for a different application of the carb and would be drilled for another pipe or fitting. Chances are it is solid and not drilled and of no concern if you have to sand it down.
 
Re: Norton 750

Thinking about an electronic ignition.

I know the topic has been beaten to death, but I just HAVE to ask again......


Power Arc or Tri Spark?
What would/do you guys run and why?

I like that they both fit under the points cover with no external module.
Like the idea that the Power Arc is programmable, but don't know how it works....and cant really see me needing that on a semi stock bike.

http://www.trispark.com.au/home/products/

http://www.oldbritts.com/51_150101.html

After the conversion to USA the two are about the same price with coils.

Thanks for the help.
 
Re: Norton 750

Few questions.
-What brake line should I use and where can I find it?
-What pads doe these calipers use and are there different options for compounds?
-How overkill on the street is the 14 inch set up?

You scored! I I have heard good things about the Ferodo PLatinum brake pads in these lockheed/AP calipers on stainless rotors. In fact, that is what I am planning on running myself. I like the goodridge universal brake lines. they are slimmer than other brake lines I have had custom made in the past, Z1enterprises has a good selection. You may need a new MC to get a good ratio with the caliper. I think the caliper pistons are 41mm but i recall seeing some of these same calipers listed with 44mm pistons

http://www.vintagebrake.com/mastercylinder.htm
 
Re: Norton 750

The Norton guys were talking about EBC Green Stuff pads from a Mini Cooper!
Something about not making up the rotor as bad.
 
Re: Norton 750

surffly said:
The Norton guys were talking about EBC Green Stuff pads from a Mini Cooper!
Something about not making up the rotor as bad.

Interesting. never heard of the "greenstuff" The Ferodo platinum pads are organic so they shouldnt wear the rotors too bad. Any sintered pad will slowly grind them away for sure though.
 
Re: Norton 750

I am leaning TriSpark, but still reading up on things.

HATED the idea of filing/grinding on brand new carbs, but I guess it just needs to be done.
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Not a lot of material needed to be removed. I used a hand file.
After that they fit perfect.
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Kinda make the rest of the bike look bad now!

Picture is not the best, but I noticed that the motor does not seem "centered" in the frame.
Is this likely due to the shot isolastics, or a sign of something else?
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Didn't "recharge" the filter yet, just installing things to make sure they fit.
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Seems that the front fender is pinched a bit and rubbing on the 4.10x19 tire.
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I do need to do some work on the Dunstal rearsets.
They are slightly tweaked, but I still like them!
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Also I do not have the rear tank mount.
Will have to dig through the boxes to see if I have it or not. If not I am sure it can not be that hard to find one used.
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Re: Norton 750

That's fantastic. Great looking bikes. I'll be after a Brit bike once my GS750 project is done.
 
Re: Norton 750

Don't worry about the engine 'offset' they are supposed to be like that. If you can't find the rear tank mount, they are easily fabricated from flat bar stock.
 
Re: Norton 750

Weasel said:
That's fantastic. Great looking bikes. I'll be after a Brit bike once my GS750 project is done.
They are a tone of fun. And at this point I think they are cheaper then most of the jap bikes!



goldy said:
Don't worry about the engine 'offset' they are supposed to be like that. If you can't find the rear tank mount, they are easily fabricated from flat bar stock.

After looking at things closer I can see it is a very simple bracket.
Or a $15 part online.
Have not dug into the boxes to see if I have it.
 
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