22 year old and my first norton 650 ss :) from england

Hey everyone wow what a crazy year.

Been out on the daily rider Norton 650SS it's so great to be riding again on a Norton after so long with the shoulder /neck injury managed to film a bit in between downpours got well and truly drenched haha! Was nice to see the classic community spirit is still alive when a fellow Commando owner came over to ask if I was OK while filming that's what it's all about community, team work and looking out for each other.

As a few will have seen in the other thread I did get that flat tank Norton which has been amazing.

The 1967 Norton 650SS still delivering the goods as a daily rider an keeping up her long record of reliability. 4 Hard winters of riding an she still looks great.

Hope you all enjoy the piccies ^_^ as usual totally reliable and first kick starting.

Got some footage coming over the next few days with some good audio finally as I've got a Rode mic setup now which is working well.

norton_rider said:

Hey everyone

(2018 update pictures start on page 9)

22 years old and in Manchester the north west of the united kingdom been obsessed with bikes for as long as i can remember

been reading about commando's on here for a while so thought Id sign up share with everyone my first norton a 1966 1967 650ss the same guy owned her since new and sold her to me on the proviso Ill never sell it which I definitely wont. Amazing to think he had it for 43 years matching numbers and all that clobber but a bit rough round the edges in places ands got a little bit of a noise on the engine that Im trying to figure out. all fresh engine rebuild not even run in yet so guessing its gotta be something wrong timing wise maybe on the valves? whats everyone reckon put a video bellow

plans for the bike are
fix engine noise
get some new carbs on it undecided between the original 376 twin amals or concentrics
sort the forks as they are dead no rebound or anything probs a landsdowne kit as hes not to far from me few other peeps in the uk noc owners club running them to
set of john tickle rearsets so I can get my legs in a better position
manx clip ons and shorter shrouds
electronic ignition system
swept back exhausts with whatever gives the best gains engine wise
fontana 4ls front brake - so I can stop if a car pulls out on me rather than putting disks on
hagon rear shocks with shrouds - standard shocks are a bit on there last legs 43,000 miles of riding does that
oh and a new tank and seat to keep the original safe and resprayed on the shelf away from corrosion
then some engine tuning nice and mild but more refined than original

hope you all enjoy the pictures be more to come as I work on the bike

put a video clip up of the sound of the engine also some clips on my utube channel of my trip to the isle of man TT shows what the ferries are like haha crazy straps over your bike and stuff

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Keep it original

Yep it just needs the rear mudguard an job's a good'n originality wise got one from noc ready to drill and chrome when I'm able keeping the Commando 2ls though as I like to be able to stop well in winter it's a shame we can't edit posts as I'd love to go back an alter some of that such is life though

Just uploading a clip from todays splash around.

Just curious, didn't a -67 have Concentrics? Why no passenger footrests? I understand the practicality of a bar end mirror for a bike used on a daily basis.
Anyhow a lovely mostly original 650SS. Personally I don't object to period modifications like handle bars and front brake or replacing worn out shocks with modern parts.
Though my long time restoration project, a -68 650SS, will keep the 230mm 4LS Ceriano brake and 18" aluminium rims and 932 carbs. All fitted when I bought it.
Mine is an export model so it has a lot more chrome than the domestic ones.
Great to read that you is well enough to ride again.

Thanks Mike mines 100 bikes before the change to Concentrics and dropping the mag so right on the changeover. Was reg on the road in 67' I've actually got the original bill of sale signed with the postage stamp that's a great lil bit of history.

I have ran both carbs on it well 3 setups a single 389 with a converter, concentrics and the 376 chopped monoblocs I do prefer the Chopped Carbs tbh.

The rear footrests were missing when I got it and I don't have pillion insurance so no need to fit them at the moment. I did used to ride it without a mirror but it's been handy to have a few times so enjoyed having that. Had indicators on when I got her from the original owner to I removed those as I like doing the hand signals it really catches car drivers attentions.

Best mod was the 2ls really that the previous owner did stops on a sixpence.

Shes been ridden through 4 hard uk winters with road salt etc and really stood up to it well I'd say better than alot of my modern bikes crazily.

norton_rider said:

Thanks Mike mines 100 bikes before the change to Concentrics and dropping the mag so right on the changeover. Was reg on the road in 67' I've actually got the original bill of sale signed with the postage stamp that's a great lil bit of history.

I have ran both carbs on it well 3 setups a single 389 with a converter, concentrics and the 376 chopped monoblocs I do prefer the Chopped Carbs tbh.

The rear footrests were missing when I got it and I don't have pillion insurance so no need to fit them at the moment. I did used to ride it without a mirror but it's been handy to have a few times so enjoyed having that. Had indicators on when I got her from the original owner to I removed those as I like doing the hand signals it really catches car drivers attentions.

Best mod was the 2ls really that the previous owner did stops on a sixpence.

Shes been ridden through 4 hard uk winters with road salt etc and really stood up to it well I'd say better than alot of my modern bikes crazily.

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Winter is really harsh on bikes here
I regret riding my trident through the winter

Yep I agree Baz that's why I'm running the stainless rear guard still makes sense with the road salt. Do want to get the new rear sorted that I got from Noc at some point need to drill and chrome it.

norton_rider said:

Yep I agree Baz that's why I'm running the stainless rear guard still makes sense with the road salt. Do want to get the new rear sorted that I got from Noc at some point need to drill and chrome it.

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I actually think the salt is getting worse or bigger chunks or something

Salt, in the Northeast part of the USA, is a serious matter. They honk it down with abandon. Yes, as of late they are attempting to seek other means of ice removal, but still your car and worse, your bike, will be eaten alive in short order. However, few ride through the winter on a bike as the snow and ice really preclude it. The cold alone will limit you but perhaps modern electrically heated suits reduce that somewhat.

Indeed it's a nightmare I only ride motorbikes don't have a car. So winter riding is part of my usual riding an all the pains that come with it like pulling up in laybys full of ice lol. Sometimes I think winter riding skills will be a lost art I actually did my test when it started snowing on a rs125 2 stroke lol.

Steady and sensible is the way to do it, on the latest clip that's posting later I'm going steady down a road because I know it always floods on one of the fast corners where you can't see it until your turning into the corner sure enough flooded local knowledge always helps I do agree though Baz it definitely seems to have gotten worse salt wise.

norton_rider said:

Hey everyone wow what a crazy year.

Been out on the daily rider Norton 650SS it's so great to be riding again on a Norton after so long with the shoulder /neck injury managed to film a bit in between downpours got well and truly drenched haha! Was nice to see the classic community spirit is still alive when a fellow Commando owner came over to ask if I was OK while filming that's what it's all about community, team work and looking out for each other.

As a few will have seen in the other thread I did get that flat tank Norton which has been amazing.

The 1967 Norton 650SS still delivering the goods as a daily rider an keeping up her long record of reliability. 4 Hard winters of riding an she still looks great.

Hope you all enjoy the piccies ^_^ as usual totally reliable and first kick starting.

Got some footage coming over the next few days with some good audio finally as I've got a Rode mic setup now which is working well.

Click to expand...

Very nice - congratulations.
I notice you appear to have an exhaust leak between the LH pipe and muffler. Could cause damage if not seen to. Could be just my old(ish) eyes too.
Cheers

baz said:

I actually think the salt is getting worse or bigger chunks or something

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The salt may contain a bonding agent that improves adhesion to the road surface and possibly vehicles!

"Thawrox+ is rock salt with a molasses-based additive called Safecote®, which improves the spread pattern and resilient properties of standard salt, allowing a reduction in the amount of salt used."

Watch out for hungry sheep:

Cheers Rob keen eye did actually nip that up when I got back thanks for pointing it out though always handy if you miss something. I'm gonna order a new clamp on the next Commando order as it's worked loose a few times.

Haha Sheep are mad enough as it is Lab crazy crazy sheep up the cat and fiddle! I was up there at 4am one morning before work an one came over and started headbutting parked bikes lol after baa ing at them for a while lol

Very very excited to share this with everyone riding my Norton 650SS with onboards on the iconic cat and fiddle and a full review of my ownership of the bike, tips on ownership, my Norton Motorcycle History and most importantly why I trust a 650 SS as a daily rider as a rider in my 30s instead of the modern bikes.


Hopefully everyone enjoys the audio is nice and clear for once with the new Mic and the Gopro recorded good for once to.

L.A.B. said:

The salt may contain a bonding agent that improves adhesion to the road surface and possibly vehicles!

Facts About Salt, Deicing And The UK Motorways

"Thawrox+ is rock salt with a molasses-based additive called Safecote®, which improves the spread pattern and resilient properties of standard salt, allowing a reduction in the amount of salt used."

Watch out for hungry sheep:

Road grit plan may create sheep 'addicts'

MOTORISTS and farmers have criticised the trial use of a gritting salt that they say leaves a dangerous slippery sheen on road surfaces - and can…

www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk

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Warning, de-icer rant: In the Western USA the highway departments have discovered calcium chloride. That has nearly twice the corrosive power of sodium chloride, I'm told by a chemist friend. It seems the valance of calcium is 2 whereas sodium is 1. I took his word for it. I first encountered it on un-paved British Columbia roads to keep the dust down. What dust remains is laden with chloride and seeps into every nook and cranny. As the Navy says, "rust never sleeps." Aside from the calcium chloride, they mix it with molasses, as LAB's link shows, so it doesn't just hose off with a water jet, you have to remove it with a brush. A highway dept. representative told me that they changed from sand and snowplows to de-icer as more environmentally friendly as the sand doesn't clog up salmon streams anymore. But then what about the dead needles on the roadside trees up as high as the spray goes?

I retired from a tanker-truck company. The tanks are aluminum as are the wheels. By the end of February, the tanks that ran over the mountains all looked as though the had small pox. Not only that, but on trucks with dual wheels you can only clean between them with great difficulty; the result being that the aluminum festers between the wheel and the tire breaking the seal of the tubeless tires. One of our delivery accounts had initiated a class-action law suit against the highway department for damages. His contention was that the state had found a way of transferring cost of winter road maintenance from their budget to the vehicle owners. Plowing and sand is far more expensive than de-icing, he said.

My personal experience with the resulting corrosion has not been good. That includes badly rusted body panels on my classic pickup before I realized what the state(s) were using on the roads. Now along with so many people across the northern tier states, I have my "winter rat," a sacrificial rig of low value that can just rust away. As a final bit of rant, few Western states have vehicle inspection other than for emmissions and even that has gone away recently, so if your brake pipes or frame is about to go, it's on you to figure it out.

They don't use Cal Chlor on the rural back roads any more as the neighbors prevailed on the county to stop as it was making the dogs sick when they would lick the salt. So there are some roads nearby I could run a prospective sidecar outfit without salt damage. As for that beautiful 650SS I would look for a "winter rat" bike made mostly of plastic and swallow my pride till spring.

I love that 650SS and the video is well done too. It's amazing what communications technology has done. All I have of some of my past bikes are faded Polorid photos.

Since the shop I worked in was employed to do much of the restoration of a 650SS back in the early 90s, I know there was at least one imported into the states. How many were shipped to the States? How many 750s? Of course Commandos were a big seller here. Many if not most of the featherbeds I see here in Northern Washington state have B.C. license plates. They go by so quickly I can't tell if they're 650s or 750s. Not that I would know for sure even if they were stopped. They often travel with the Vincent crowd, it seems. There are many C Rapieds in B.C.

Most of the featherbeds I've come in contact have been 750 Atlases. True, the export models had more chrome, too much for my tastes. I own a 66 model I believe to be visibly stock except for the Commando front brake I installed, a Boyer ignition after the caps in the mag went bad, and concentric carbs. I binned the monoblocks because it would not idle on the side stand. Shortly after that change the side-stand lug broke, sigh. So now its equipped as a 67 would have been. Oh, I too use bar-end mirrors, my second sop to modernity. I used to ride it much more than now and fitted a Commando oil filter, a worthy addition one can't see. Other less visible changes have been a 30mm Commando head and flexible oiler tubes, super-blend bearings, replacement pistons that don't self destruct as the crown's come off (this happened a hundred miles from home), and a factory air filter with an oiled foam element inside.

Parts supply has improved so much in recent years that one can now actually maintain such a bike in daily use and I commend norton_rider for his choice of steeds and attention to its history. I attribute much of that to communications technology and NC machine tools. Lately, Ive been able to source suitable magneto caps from BriteSpark, one of which went into my Matchless (the K2F mag off the Atlas awaits), a new side-stand lug from AN after years of only using the center stand, factory tank-mount rubbers after decades of stacking rubber washers, a new alternator rotor after dousing the original with wicking Loctite in an attempt to keep it from knocking (failed but the Loctite bearing-mount succeded in keeping the rotor from knocking the crank's woodruff key loose ). I did have to use a puller to get the rotor off the crank. I've renewed my enthusiasim for my own featherbed. Thanks.

It's amazing isn't it how technology connects us all

Great to hear you are enjoying yours they are such great riding bikes aren't they, mines got superblends and better pistons in it from the original owner gives great peace of mind.
Been out on her every day for two weeks since I've started riding again properly since the shoulders been on the mend more.

That's my next preventative maintenance thing on the SS once I've moved is to get the Magneto Redone. Always rather do things before they leave me with an issue.

It's actually crazy that the SS has stood up better to the past 4 winter riding where as I had to let two modern bikes go due to finishes starting to go even with washes after every ride. The SS has stood up super well, 4 winters worth of riding and all that she need's is a exhaust bracket repainting and the bottom of the hagon shocks. Good thing is with the SS it takes about 10 mins to really go over her when I get back from my daily ride and clean stuff.

Few months back I got a modern bmw 1200 GS to replace a ktm that got rejected along with dads at 270 and 147 miles as dad an I are planning a 20,000 mile motorcycle trip together through Europe it's not had a look in since I've been able to kickstart the 650SS again. Good job I bought that BMW battery tender lol

Looking back it's amazing how much I've learnt and how much I still have to learn never stop learning that's for sure and thank you to everyone that's helped along the way.

The old bikes have all the soul that's for sure.

Happy Holidays everyone just got back from my Christmas Day Classic Motorcycle ride which is a tradition of mine on the 1967 Norton 650 SS no matter the weather out on Christmas Day.
For those that like to do things your own way I salute you you do you!!
Had a wonderful time in pea soup fog, a thunderstorm, hailstone and loved every moment which was topped off by an awesome conversation with a couple who were out for some trail walking an very kindly took the first picture for me! It's moments where everyone is awesome to each other that always makes memorable times!!

Hope everyone is having a good break here's the ride vide from yesterday on Xmas Day.