possibly what started the whole cafe racer style

[dracken1]

a norton 500
one of or own t45 frames.
manx tanks are made 5 miles away.

 

[dracken1]

agree with you on the engine choice. but it was what the customer wanted

personally i find that when you crack the throttle open on it, it gets louder and the vibration increases. but the horizon doesn't start drawing nearer any quicker ;D

 

[joea]

the norton featherbed frames are the frame of choice for handling to house an engine of your choice...only thing is they have gotten stupid expensive ....time for a new frame, i found the gs 500 twin engine can hold the unit triumph 650 engine with some mods and will be a much better frame suspension set up as these bikes have been used for club racing for a long time and work pretty good...joe @ v cycle

 

[HerrDeacon]

Very nice. Always love the look of black and chrome/polished...classic.

Also, love how close the front fender is to the tire, nice!

 

[Greaser]

Hi draken, should have been a Triton, the Norton motor wasn't that reliable (like the Triumph was? )
Nice frame , wouldn't have known it wasnt original if you hadn't said.
PJ (from Bridgend, boyo)

Are you serious? You do realise Norton is still ranked #3 behind Yamaha and Honda in wins at the IoM TT. Not bad for a company that makes shitty engines.....
Sorry, but I'd take a Norton twin any day over the stupid Triumph twin. Nice oil pump Mr. Turner! Sheesh....leaking push rod tubes, stupid oil pump design. It has separate cams, big deal. So you can tweak it a little easier. Yep, that crummmy Norton twin is another reason the Commando's suck so bad too, eh?

 

[Greaser]

I guess you either have a 500/ 600 twin (88/99) or have never seen one?
The early Commando's were not reliable, the engine was designed as a 500, got stretched to 600 (Dominator, 99, etc) then bumped to the 750 Atlas which became the Commando.
The 750 had main bearing, cylinder and transmission issues.
The 850 was a much better bike but thats not what we are talking about.
I never said Triumph was a partticularly reliable motor, I've worked on plenty, just more reliable than the Norton and also had loads more available partts (whichever way you want to cut it, there were always more Tritons, Tribsa's Norvins, etc than genuine Norton twin cyl engined bikes (I knew a few people who were die hard Norton fans, but I also knew Trrion owners)
Norton's TT wins were almost exclusivly with a single cylinder Manx dating from 1930's.
Its a rarity to see a genuine one, but it isnt what started cafe racers scene
Most people couldn't afford a Norton.
Norton themselves maintained they only sold road motorcycles to support racing program
PJ

Sorry, too many people jump on the "Triumph is best" bandwagon who haven't worked on one or even ridden one. A 500 Triumph is OK but not a substitute for a carefully built Atlas. Vibration on an Atlas? Bullshit. Be careful when you build it, and it will be good. You want vibration, ride a Harley Sportster. That is vibration.

 

[Greaser]

500 Triumph, my brother had one, got stopped for doing 40 in a 30 limit
Cop told him he had enough problems and let him go.
They were ok as long as you didnt try high lift cams,( forget the numbers) they had terrible rocker angles and wore out valve guides in 3 months ( about 1500~2000 miles)
PJ

Oh thank you Mr. Engine Guru. It is called "oil filter and change".
There is nothing a little PM can't fix with most classic Brit bikes. The best fix for a 650/750Triumph is to fit an oil fliter and a Norton oil pump.

 

[Greaser]

Actually I am an engine guru, you obviously know nothing about modified Triumph 500 twins and very little about engines if you think an oil change cures a basic design flaw.
Bonneville/Tiger motors have a completelydifferent top end geometry. (and not just capacity increase)
Have you ever worked on any old Triumph? (8,9, or 10 stud motor, any capacity?)
PJ

SO what you are saying then, is that the Triumph mtor is rubbish without extensive mods to it? Well, I am sold. Time to toss the 750 Atlas into the nearest lake.

 

[clutchslip]

that bike is sweet

 

[brewtown16]

whats with all the hostility?

 

[Tim]

Must be a Ford / Chevy thing.

Love the look of the Norton. If I summise correctly that you put this together for a customer, I'd be interested in a front fender setup like the one you have. I'm building a poor-man's version of the bike you built, based on a Yamaha XS650, with an Evan Wilcox hand-formed alloy tank, Manx style seat etc. Just need to sort the front fender out, and would like to stay close to the alloy Y brackets/simple fender like on yours, for an 18" wheel.

You can see my bike here:

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=448

 

[Greaser]

whats with all the hostility?

Triumph's are not the be all end all of classic Brit tiwns.
I guess somebody got their ego whacked and tried to come out swinging. I tell you, anybody who claims to be an expert or a guru is full of shit.
I mean the early Commando's not reliable? What kind of bullshit is this loser trying to feed me? I've been around Nortons MY WHOLE LIFE.
From what I've seen, the Triumph reputation is mostly hype. Some people like 'em, fine but their reputation is based mostly on their twin cam set up and the abiltiy to tweak them a little easier than the Norton counterpart, with one cam.
crazypj is nuts if he thinks he can bamboozle me with his rubbish. Right, what's next then? Norton leak oil? Fuck.....

 

[Greaser]

Well I guess it was you with the whacked ego, I made a perfectly sensible comment and you jumped in with guns blazing
You didnt answer my question, have you EVER worked on ANY of your bikes or do you just pay someone else to do it (someone just like me, its what I do)
I grew up with this stuff, Velocette, Matchless/AJS, BSA, et.al., (Being British, I would)
ALL 1960's 70's bikes had issues, tthe older the design and the harder it was pushed, the more problems it had.
I speak from 40 yrs experience, instead of being such a mouthy C*** put up or shut up, you told everyone you bought your first bike in 1998, Sportster you didnt like
PJ
I never had the issues with Lucas electrics that other people seem to find so common

Well, I've worked on everything from Briggs & Stratton lawn mowers to 671 Detroit Diesels, sidevalves, OHC OHV 2 stroke, 4 stroke, gasoline, diesel, propane. As far a bikes go, I'v enever worked on a Vincent, Laverda, Velocette or an Indian. I've rebuilt Norton twins in my kitchen. If that doesn't answer your question, I am afraid you can not be helped.
Hardly anything I haven't twisted a wrench on.

Just curious, but what does "Being British" have to do with anything? My God, that is just total poser rubbish. DO you really think I am going to believe that somebody that claims, " I speak from 40 yrs experience" would act like you do? Maybe 40 years of dodging fists from people trying to knock some sense into you. So really, how are you? By the tone of your post I'd say,.......... 13, .............on a good day.

So you live geographically closer to where the classic Brit bikes were made so therefore, you must be more knowledgeable? Well, you've given ME a damn good chuckle!

 

[Greaser]

I'm fine and 52, How are you?
and being closer does have some influence, my father never got a car licence as he didn't like cars, I didnt get a car licence unil I was 28, because cars are slow and boring.
Donr't know why you think tha someone with 40 yrs experience wouldnt act as I do when your total purpose in life seems to be instigating disharmony on various forums.
I'm glad your so easily pleased

My old british bike is awesome when it's not broken
and it's all the right wings fault that it leaks oil.

PJ

Well you are 100% correct about the "Righty Wing" and the old Brits being awesome when they're not broken!

 

[Joksa]

Hi draken, should have been a Triton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_Manx#Car_racing

Many complete motorcycles were bought in order to strip the engine for 500 cc car racing, as Nortons would not sell separate engines.[6]

 

[Joksa]

Many complete motorcycles were bought in order to strip the engine for 500 cc car racing

And what to do with a Manx without engine -> triton

 

[domiracer66]

I've gotta agree with greaser here, there is no way in hell a Triumph twin is better in ANYWAY than a Norton twin. First of all Norton had a 10 bolt head from the get go, Triumph 8 and then 9 bolt.. The Norton head has a more efficient down draft intake port design, splayed exhaust ports for increased cooling, and a hemi style shallow combustion chamber design. The head also has an integral rockerbox for added rigidity whereas the Triumph retained an earlier 2 piece design. As greaser mentioned the pushrod tubes are cast into the barrel and less likely to leak which the Triumph tubes so commonly do. The Norton oil pump design is far better as is the oil feed to the crank and head pressure feed all the way to through the rocker spindles out the gundrilled rockers right down to the pushrod cups. This is a big improvement over the "splash around" oil distribution in a Triumph head. Next the Norton crank is much stronger which is why the standard Triumph crank upgrade is to fit a Norton crank. As far as reliability goes there is one model that had any serious issues, the early Combats, compression was raised to 10 to 1 which caused main bearing failure. This was corrected by the factory shortly there after by fitting "superblend" type bearing with an increased load rating. All of this begins to make sense when you realize Bert Hopwood, who helped Turner design the Triumph speed twin, left Triumph and then took employment with Norton using what he had learned from the short comings of the 1936 Speed Twin as the basis for the new 1947 Norton Twin design. Comparing the the two engines is a lot like comparing your 5th grade "What I did this summer" paper to your college Thesis. The later Norton twin is a better motor hands down but then again I might be a little biased..

 

[Greaser]

What would make you biased? :

Groovy Norton. What belt drive set up are you using?

 

[domiracer66]

Thanks Greaser it's 5 disk Steve Maney unit with aluminum basket and nickel plated Commando diaphragm spring.

 

[lunar_c]

Actually I am an engine guru, you obviously know nothing about modified Triumph 500 twins and very little about engines if you think an oil change cures a basic design flaw.
Bonneville/Tiger motors have a completelydifferent top end geometry. (and not just capacity increase)
Have you ever worked on any old Triumph? (8,9, or 10 stud motor, any capacity?)
PJ

While I'm dubious of anyone calling themselves a guru on anything .. he's pretty much in the right .. they had oiling issues, as did a lot of other motors from the era .. and correct me if I'm wrong but did they even run a filter in that era? I thought they still had the centrifugal sludge trap thing that everyone loves so much.

Think twice before you rip into someone who possibly has a lot of knowledge and experience .. but also remember it's just a forum and people make as many mistakes and say as many stupid things as they do when they're not on a computer