Norton / Harley Ironhead Cafe Project.. Build thread

Done a bit more work on the new slave cylinder, took some weight of it and made a bronze sleeve to help keep the new longer pushrod aligned. It should be fitted, bled and tested by now, but unfortunately I put my back out the other day.. incredibly painful, so no more bending down working on or riding bikes for me for a week or two :(
 

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Sorry to hear about the back, hope you get well soon. It's been really cool watching this whole thing come together. It's a great looking bike! I believe we need a video with some engine sound though!
 
The intention was to borrow a Go Pro or similar and make a short video on the move, but haven't found anyone who has one yet, next plan was to film it on the dyno, which in turn hasn't happened yet.

Well, at least my Mark 2 slave is almost done, shaped the mount to match the Honda slave cylinder and lose some weight. Unfortunately the angled fitment on the existing hose wont fit the new banjo bolt location, so I've had to order a new hose for the clutch. I just hope it works after all this effort !
 

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The new clutch line arrived today, so once fitted I spent ages bleeding the system until the lever firmed up and it all seems to work well. The lever effort is now much lighter as expected, while there is enough movement in the slave cylinder to disengage the clutch. It'll be awhile before I can try it out on the road, but I'm happy with the change so far.
 

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The next job to do on the Norley is to finally mount the front alloy mudguard. My first attempt, using an alloy fork brace didn't work, so this time I'm making it in stainless steel, similar to the Ultimate Source fork braces that were popular on BMWs back in the 80's.

The Honda forks on the bike don't make things easy, as their fender mounts are offset both vertically and horizontally.

I took two pieces of 5mm stainless rod to Jeff the welder, where he let me use his rollers (a giant mangle looking thing) to curve the rods to follow the profile of the alloy fender. Each pass through the rollers curved the rod a little more. That done, Jeff welded on a pair of mounting tabs to each rod, which I'll use to bolt the fender to the underside. I need to take careful measurements before these rods are cut down to the correct length.

Next I used a couple of off cuts of 3mm stainless plate which need to be drilled and shaped to bolt to the inside of the fork sliders, which the curved rods will then be welded to. Before I can go any further with that tedious job, I needed a couple of 12mm spacers which makeup for the offset in the fork mounts..

That's as far as I've got so far..
 

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Bevelheadmhr said:
Last update for this year anyway, a couple more pics
index.php

This has to be the nicest looking Feather-Davidson I've ever seen.

Well done.
 
How did ya make out with the mud guard mod? hope the back still isn't an issue............
 
o1marc said:
Triton frames are almost always nickle plated.
I don't think so, Tim...

Going back the first ones, in the 50s, there are probably 59% black, 20% silver, 10% red, 10% chrome/nickle, and 1% other colors.
 
Best Featherbed HD I've seen built, after looking closely. Some really nice work and well documented.

I wonder how the intervening year went for this bike?
 
grandpaul said:
Best Featherbed HD I've seen built, after looking closely. Some really nice work and well documented.

I wonder how the intervening year went for this bike?

Its still in my garage, still got a few updates I want to make, and its still a keeper.
 
SF said:
How did ya make out with the mud guard mod? hope the back still isn't an issue............

I didn't like the mudguard when it was on the bike, its too narrow, and not yet found a wider, more suitable alloy guard to replace it. Think I'll end up having a one off made someday. My back is ok, about 95% better, which means I 'm riding again which is what matters.
 
I'd like to build a second engine for it, but with alloy barrels and other go faster stuff, but it seems all the old Ironheads have been snapped up by the hipsters who have pushed prices way high. Oh well, always other projects to play with..
 

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One of my new year resolutions is to update my Norley, sort out a few problems and improve it here and there. Since I built it, I haven't used it much, and its spend most of its time sitting forlorn in the corner of my cold damp garage, which hasn't done the polished alloy much good.

So a few weeks ago I dragged it out of the garage and into the dry if small conservatory at the back of the house. The alloy polished up a treat, except for the tank. There are lots of fine scratches in the alloy which are taking many hours to remove. Having always been non committal on the virtues of polished alloy tanks... yes they look great in photos but are hell to live with, gaining scratches far too easily. Therefore I made the decision to paint the tank. Probably gloss black with gold pinstripes, though no doubt I'll change my mind a few times on the colour scheme.

Next I'll make new brake and gear change pedals, as the ones I used originally don't quite match the style of the bike, as they were meant for a modern bike. I'll also rework the gear change layout to put the link rod above the lever and not below. IT wont look quite as neat but it'll work better and leave more room around the exhaust.

Next it needs a front fender, I made a mount for a classic British alloy fender, but its too narrow and doesn't cover the tyre as is should. The good news is that painting the tank opens up more possibilities for the fender.. carbon, or painted plastic might work.

Then there's an annoying oil leak coming from the primary chain case, tricky to see from where, but it needs fixing.

Finally there's the electrics.. particularly the cheap switchgear and idiot lights which I want to upgrade. One of my other bikes is having a revamped wiring system fitted at the moment, using German Moto Gadget parts. They are expensive but hopefully worth the cost. If I'm happy with the results, I may decide to use the same supplier to upgrade the Norley electrics too.

No doubt they'll be lots of other small changes along the way.. such as making a mesh screen to the open velocity stack.. but these are the main changes I've got planned for 2018. I try not to work on more than one project at a time, so progress will be slow until a couple of other projects are completed.
 

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I've been busy with other bikes so not much has happened with the Norley, except that today I finally took the tank to be painted. I lot of people have said I shouldn't paint that lovely alloy tank, and I can see why. It does look good when new and polished. But if a bike is actually used on the road, it doesn't stay new and shiny for long. I'm not a fan of the dull and dented look, so its gone for paint. Nothing fancy, just a simple classic black and gold design, should be ready in around 6 to 8 weeks.. cant wait.

While I was there, Richard the owner was happy to let me film some work in progress and parts waiting for paint. There was a cool alloy tank and seat for a Guzzi made my John Williams of the Tank Shop up in Scotland, which I really liked. I forgot to take any photos, but here's the video I made today..

https://youtu.be/69p0MOPjQ5Q
 
Wow, one of my favorite bikes on this site, good to see some more action. Why is there a 'dogleg' in the shift rod?
Cheers, 50gary
 
To clear the primary case, it may have been loose, cant remember so not in its correct angle. But that's another area I'm looking to change. New one off brake and gear lever and different linkage. The first one was always supposed to be temporary to make sure the ratio was right. .
 
Got the call yesterday to say my tank was ready for collection from the paint shop. After much thought I came up with this simple design, but you never know how it'll really look until its done. Really pleased with the results, given its a handmade alloy tank which isn't perfectly symmetrical. Still got to fit its Monza fuel cap, and finish the other work the bike is having before it goes back on the bike, via a stainless tank strap to hold it secure.

The tank was originally bare polished alloy, classic Triton style. Which while looking great in photos when new, is a pita to live with if the bike is actually used on the road. Therefore I eventually decided to have it painted, in equally classic black and gold.
 

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A) I didn't have any
B) No one knows what Norley means
C) I couldn't find any HD tank decal that would look right on that tank
D) The Norton gold decal works with the black and gold colour scheme I wanted
E) Most specials take their ID from the frame not the engine, so while its not a OE Norton frame, its close enough.
 
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