The Norda

R

Rat_ranger

Coast to Coast
So just to get it out of the way, this will be a slow build, probably 2+ years.

So I've had a slimline featherbed frame for a few years now, initially I was going to stick a unit t120r motor in. Other stuff took priority and it sat. Now I have a pre OIF frame to stick the t120 in and needed to either sell the feathetbed, or find a different motor to stick in it. So today I picked up sohc cb750 basket case for $200. So now the plan is to stick the cb in the featherbed.

Plans are to strip the motor to cases and clean it, and mock up with the empty cases. Honda made sure the motor was all there, and I don't want to hurt myself trying to move the motor. So motor plates are step 1. Step 2 is to make triples and fit the cbr600f4i forks, then it'll be saving money to get a tank and rebuild the motor.
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Although I think a TRITON is the ultimate use of a Norton frame, I do love this project. In the 80s there were several 4 banger Honda engines fitted into British frames. A big favorite of the AWOL magazine folks.
 
Rider52 said:
Although I think a TRITON is the ultimate use of a Norton frame, I do love this project. In the 80s there were several 4 banger Honda engines fitted into British frames. A big favorite of the AWOL magazine folks.
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Yeah, the T120 motor I have was $75 on offerup 4 years ago. Sat for a year or so before I picked up the featherbed. Didn't start working on it for whatever forgotten reasons. Then finally got back to finishing the rebuild on my XS650. Now that it's done and I have a triumph frame for the triumph motor, I wanted something with a little more highway capability to stick in the featherbed. So I decided the honda 4 was the way to go. Plus the pics of the dresda cb750 featherbed made it look like a good fit.
 
Yeah, all you'd hear is "Who?" Either way, it's a good looking start w/ lots of potential.
 
Hopefully I can fab up engine plates fairly quick. Part of that will be decided by weather though. When it's 100* the garage is miserable, so not much gets done.
 
I really like the look of the Dresda swing arm with a featherbed frame. I think this will be a very cool project.
 
So far it looks decent inside the motor. Cam and cam journals are clean, engine turns over smoothly, it's very clean around the stator and shift mechanism.

You can tell it sat for a while from marks on the cylinder walls. Bore is stock with a little wear.
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Engine mounting should be very simple. Oil filter interference may be an issue. Sometimes exhaust pipes are problematic with a narrower frame. I have a friend with a Honda 750 powered early Sportster. It was easier than I imagined. Don't be surprised if you need a cleanup bore. Honda did a poor job with the initial boring of these engines and after use the cylinders can get out of round.
 
Rider52 said:
Engine mounting should be very simple. Oil filter interference may be an issue. Sometimes exhaust pipes are problematic with a narrower frame. I have a friend with a Honda 750 powered early Sportster. It was easier than I imagined. Don't be surprised if you need a cleanup bore. Honda did a poor job with the initial boring of these engines and after use the cylinders can get out of round.
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I expected to need to bore 1-2 sizes over to get a full clean up. I've got the head off and measured, the cylinders are all around 2.403" with about a .0006 variation. So in spec, but a hone won't fully clean it up. Definitely sat for a while as you can see stain marks on the walls, no damage that'll catch a nail, and it spun smooth by hand.

Pistons seem to range from cheap, to $$$. A lot of people seem to like the cyclex products, 4into1 is mixed, cruzinimage was mixed as well.
 
Red at Cycle One Manufacturing in Locust Grove, OK may be close enough to get your boring done at a reasonable price.
 
Engine is almost ready to split. Have to wait until tomorrow since I don't have the right flywheel puller. So far everything is looking pretty clean inside. Clutch steels look like they've been a bit hot a few times, but if the speedo that came with it is correct it's not bad for 32k miles.
 
Whoever painted it, painted over the old dirt and oil. Not even scrubbing hard and paint started coming off, and there wasn't any under the dirt.
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The cases look better after a vapor blast. Not fully cleaned, but I'll need more glass beads and fresh water in the blaster to do more.
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