About the primary oil in the Norton Command 750

MexicoMike said:

FWIW, the red bike in the pic is a "Fastback" (my favorite Commando configuration) not an "Interstate."

Re ATF: I've been running 200ccs (maybe a tad less) of ATF in the primary for 18 years!

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MexicoMike said:

One advantage of ATF instead of engine oil is that it is easy to differentiate the two. If you have a leak, you can quickly tell if it is engine oil or the ATF. Of course engine oil is the "correct" lubricant per Norton but I have also found that with ATF I have never had any clutch issues as far as slipping clutches or any need to occasionally clean the clutch discs as is often mentioned as being needed periodically. I have never needed to clean the clutch discs/steels.

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akira shimomura said:

I would like to know why you use ATF as primary oil?

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ashman said:

The prime use of oil in the primary case is only to lube the primary chain, the clutch is designed to run dry and the stock Commando clutch can run with a dry belt drive, but most owners run fiber clutch plates for belt drives I have used my stock clutch plates wet and dry with both chain and belt but the stock plates tend to bite quicker when letting the clutch out with a dry belt drive.
As for the oil in the primary 7floz is the max, I run between 5 to 7floz in mine as the oil will splash on the chain when running, in the manual Norton say to use normal motor oil in the primary which is a bit thick for the clutch plates, from buying my Norton new in 1976 (1974 850 Commando) my bike suffered slipping clutch from near new, so after a few years of experimenting with different oils in the primary the ATF was the best and have been using it in the primary since the early 80s, ATF-F is designed for the older Ford transmissions that had clutch plates, but lately I been having troubles finding the ATF-F so the last few years I just been using normal ATF and it works just as well without the ATF-F formular, so since using ATF since 1980s I haven't had clutch slippage and no sticking clutch plates.
But as usual you still got to do maintenance of your clutch plates as well primary as part of long term servicing and to make sure the chain, sprockets, ALT and Rota is all running good, everything in my clutch is stock from the factory from new except I had to replace the clutch centre (knoched from wear and a new pressure plate) as well a sealed clutch housing bearing, but my bronze and steel plates are all original from the factory and it was an everyday rider for most of its life.
A lot on here also have troubles with gearbox oil migrating down the clutch push rod that also can cause clutch problems, some install a Dyna Dave clutch rod seal to stop this, I have never had the problem but I measure my oil that I put in the GB with a measuring cup as well I put grease on my clutch push rod, so after 48+ years no GB oil in the primary, works for me.
After 48+ years I have learned a lot about my Norton and keeping up the maintenance when needed is very important to long life with very little breakages/wear, it's all about looking after your old bike and having fun doing it and getting to know your Norton.

Ashley

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kommando said:

ATF is designed for use in automotive gearboxes with multiple internal clutches, the one to go for is the GM version but the Ford will also work well.

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akira shimomura said:

Thank you. I'll try to find it so I can get it.
But I'll have to look to see if the GM and Ford versions are available in Japan!

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