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Okay I can definitely see the drawbacks to powdercoating and refitting. Is this mainly just an issue with the gearbox cradle. If so I could powdercoat the frame and paint the cradle.
1973 Norton Commando Restoration
- Thread starter BigNickDawg420
- Start date
Okay I can definitely see the drawbacks to powdercoating and refitting. Is this mainly just an issue with the gearbox cradle. If so I could powdercoat the frame and paint the cradle.
Fast Eddie
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Powder coating is the perfect choice... for park benches and garden furniture...!
Powder coating goes on too thick. Then when you bolt things up, the powder squashes down over time, effectively loosening the fixings.
As you tighten things up, the powder often squashes down to a thin plastic washer that then comes away from the base metal, allowing rust in.
When rust gets under powder coat it’s like getting dry rot into timber... it just keeps going and rotting away the metal under the powder.
Sometimes the powder coat can be so thick that things don’t even fit anymore. Sometimes the heat used can distort thin tinware. My rear number plate / light bracket was rendered scrap by this very issue. The battery tray almost was, I salvaged it but it’s not quite right, hence I have a new stainless one from RGM ready to replace it.
I had my Cdo black work all powder coated despite vowing years ago ‘never again’. But a local bike shop persuaded me that things have moved on a lot in the intervening years and those issues no longer arise.
They lied! I had all the same bloody aggro!
So, for the second time in my life... NEVER AGAIN...!
You will however now get posts from those saying that powder coat is the best invention since the wheel. The ‘done thing’ is to mask off all fixing areas then paint those over with a thin coat of spray paint after the powder coating process.
But like I’ve already said, for me, never again!
Unless you’re gonna be moto crossing or desert sledding, I just don’t believe you need anything as tough as powder, and once that’s decided, a good two pack paint makes perfect sense.
You pays yer money and takes yer choice...
Powder coating goes on too thick. Then when you bolt things up, the powder squashes down over time, effectively loosening the fixings.
As you tighten things up, the powder often squashes down to a thin plastic washer that then comes away from the base metal, allowing rust in.
When rust gets under powder coat it’s like getting dry rot into timber... it just keeps going and rotting away the metal under the powder.
Sometimes the powder coat can be so thick that things don’t even fit anymore. Sometimes the heat used can distort thin tinware. My rear number plate / light bracket was rendered scrap by this very issue. The battery tray almost was, I salvaged it but it’s not quite right, hence I have a new stainless one from RGM ready to replace it.
I had my Cdo black work all powder coated despite vowing years ago ‘never again’. But a local bike shop persuaded me that things have moved on a lot in the intervening years and those issues no longer arise.
They lied! I had all the same bloody aggro!
So, for the second time in my life... NEVER AGAIN...!
You will however now get posts from those saying that powder coat is the best invention since the wheel. The ‘done thing’ is to mask off all fixing areas then paint those over with a thin coat of spray paint after the powder coating process.
But like I’ve already said, for me, never again!
Unless you’re gonna be moto crossing or desert sledding, I just don’t believe you need anything as tough as powder, and once that’s decided, a good two pack paint makes perfect sense.
You pays yer money and takes yer choice...
Craig
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No PC for me .... put frame up on work benches in basement and stripped with auto type paint stripper right down to bare metal .... then put many coats of oil base rust paint on ,over many nights , a coat a night until can was empty .... yup used a brush ( that should get some comments ) no one has ever mentioned they noticed though , almost 20 yrs ago and still glossy and black ....
Craig
Craig
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The engine is out!
htown16
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Just finished painting a frame and auxiliary parts. Used Duplicolor engine enamel with ceramic along with their engine clearcoat with ceramic. Looks great. I stripped the frame with a wire cup on an angle grinder and the other parts with Rustoleum aircraft stripper in a spray can.
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Hello everyone, I've haven't been doing much work on the Norton, and I've been away for a while on the forum. But I did manage to get the front hub/wheel rebuilt.
I've got a few big parts orders on their way, and I almost have everything to complete the running gear, frame/forks/wheels/isolastics.
I've got a few big parts orders on their way, and I almost have everything to complete the running gear, frame/forks/wheels/isolastics.
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It looks like there is some excessive wear on the rear brake drum and the bolts that hold the shoes look pretty messed up, I'm already ordering the bolts and other things but do you guys think this drum needs to be replaced too?
Does anybody know what could have caused this?
Bad picture I know, i couldnt get it to focus. But this cush drive appears to be really worn
Does anybody know what could have caused this?
Bad picture I know, i couldnt get it to focus. But this cush drive appears to be really worn
Fast Eddie
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The ‘hard copy’ parts book shows a shim / spacer to be used ‘as required’ to space the brake plate away from the drum. This is shown as number 21 on Andover Norton’s site (see below) but unfortunately they do not show it as being ‘as required’.
Looks like you bike needs such a washer. Maybe 2!
It looks like your hub may also have a more raised riveted part than the OEM hub had.
You should also check the rest of the assembly against the parts book exploded drawing for any missing parts / incorrect assembly. You don’t know who’s done what in there over the years!
I can’t see the wear you refer to on the cush drive as it’s out of focus.
Looks like you bike needs such a washer. Maybe 2!
It looks like your hub may also have a more raised riveted part than the OEM hub had.
You should also check the rest of the assembly against the parts book exploded drawing for any missing parts / incorrect assembly. You don’t know who’s done what in there over the years!
I can’t see the wear you refer to on the cush drive as it’s out of focus.
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It does have one shim on the dummy axle, but the dummy axle(44) itself appears to have a bit of wobble where it seats on the felt washer(46), its not a tight fit at all. It seems like this causes the whole backing plate/shoe assembly to wobble inside the drum.
acadian
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The parts order is critical, there was a photo posted here a while back with the correct sequence, anyway I went to don's 1 piece rear axle and left the whole mess behind
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the wear looks consistent around the whole drum which would indicate that something is not in the correct location.
i would take the drum to a brake shop and have them give you advice regarding use or replacement and they can also ensure the brake shoes are properly fitted to the drum.
has anyone been into the brake drum stub axle and parts, cause you might have missing or wrongly situated pieces...
lastly, my own personal bitch is people thinking that the drum deep groove ball bearing can be replaced by a self aligning bearing (because it can be had in the right dimensions with seals). it may be the correct dimensions but will allow the drum and chain to wobble causing premature wear...
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Wow, your absolutely right. I’ve noticed it before, but it looked too perfect to look like collision damage. Looking at other pictures of Commando frames it doesn’t appear to be normal at all.might have a frame issue on the top backbone front neck area
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When I took everything apart, and looking at the exploded drawings, everything seemed to be in its correct place. I haven't pressed out the bearings from the hub or the brake drum yet. One thing I can think of is maybe the axle wasn't screwed in tight enough which caused the shoe/backing plate assembly to wobble. I have no problems ordering the new parts required parts to fix this, I would just like to know what the problem is so it doesn't happen again. And I'm not quite catching what you are saying about the bearing. I do have a hub bearing on order from Andover-Norton, is there something special I should know about it? I think a few people have had their way with this bike over the years, and a number of things have been changed. As I see it now, the rear hub/brake assembly appears to be correct, except for the excessive wear.
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buncha stuff out there to start out with having a close up look at frame measurement/numbers,
could be your neck is tweaked for one, prob there is a strength, structure integrity issue that needs to be addressed or looked at up close
i'd think that is a critical area to have a significant anomaly, first i've seen of its kind, experts will likely have plenty to say..
early frames were known to crack in that area, before a fix was introduced with the additional lower supporting structure/beam welded in
saw one go on ebay recently for ~ 250 bux
https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/commando-frame-straigtening.19931/
https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/frame-straightness.23808/
https://www.nortonclub.com/docs/Straightest_Commando_Frame.pdf
https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/practical-frame-straightening.7475/
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Take the frame specs from the workshop manual and your bare frame to a specialist motorcycle frame guy, preferably with experience with Commandos. and have him check to see if it is true. You can do the cradle and swingarm while you are at it. That is what I did when mine was apart for a resto, and it was worth it for me as the PO had broken the frame right by the rear iso gusset.
htown16
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Get the Mick Hemmings DVD's on Heavy Twin engine rebuild and gearbox rebuild. Have a view through them and then decide if you want to do the engine and gearbox yourself. If not they are still money well spent. I would at least try the gear box. It really only goes back together one way. Old Brits also has a good write up on the gearbox rebuild.
http://bracebridge-street.com/tech.htm
https://www.oldbritts.com/gearbox_a.html
http://bracebridge-street.com/tech.htm
https://www.oldbritts.com/gearbox_a.html
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