Ben's '72 Interstate Rebuild

I do like to walk in the woods with my dog but frightening quail is more on our minds than motorcycles .

I just on back deck and gaze at far off Nuttby Mnt. ... what ever helps you clear your mind is a good thing

Scout63 said:

I tried and tried to start the bike today with no luck. Took a walk in the woods with my wife and the dog and (tell me if you do this) just thought about the bike. I remembered that the only circuits that I didn’t clean in the carb rebuilds were the pilot jets. I dropped the float bowls and ran a guitar string through the jets with carb cleaner and compressed air. They were almost solidly blocked. Now the bike starts and runs well. Lesson learned. I feel that I understand the Amal’s now.

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I have a hard time thinking about anything else, especially in the winter when it's one of the only things I can't really do.

You had the bike running last week right? Strange to have carb issues (to the point of not being able to start) so soon.

How's your tank? Filters?

Last week it took 13 kicks to start. Once running it was ok. I got back to it today and it just wouldn’t start. If I didn’t touch the throttle with the air slides down it would cough once, but if I used any throttle it sounded like it was flooding. If I left it alone for five minutes it would cough again but not start. After I probed out the pilot jets with a .016” guitar string it started on the third kick. After about three minutes I could raise the air slides and after rough adjustment of the throttle stops ( when kind of warm) it would idle off throttle. I definitely need to go though the timing/cable adjustment/ air and throttle stop screw adjustments.

Freshly painted tank that I rinsed out with fresh gas before putting in more fresh gas. The rinsing fuel came out clean and clear and the float bowls, fuel lines and fuel filters were clean and clear. I re-checked float heights when cleaning out the jets. Ticklers are working and fuel is shutting off ok. I’m hoping it was the pilot jets.

My problem now is that I’ve been doing nothing but this project for the past four months and am at kind of a loss. I have a few weeks of torquing and sorting the Norton but winter is here for the next three or four months. I don’t want to ride this shiny new bike on wet and salty roads. My bank account needs recharging but I have a Tonti framed Moto Guzzi project waiting in the wings that I’d like to get disassembled and bagged. At least disassembly is free.

BTW great picture Rick. I love all dogs but especially those that work. She looks happy and smart and the woods road is just right.

Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back for a job well done . Even though it is a two wheeled Chianti guzzling spaghetti mobile maybe you can post some pics of the Guzzi project under General classic motorcycle discussion without upsetting too many folks . Once you have it apart maybe you can apply some heat to the cylinders and bend them to be parallel as motorcycle cylinders should be ... LOL

Wise words Rick. Today she is a two kick cold bike so all is well. I adjusted the valves, torqued the cylinder and head fasteners, set the throttle slides to 3/16” baseline, tried to move the right muffler a little further inward from the kickstart lever and took a few videos. Here is the bike in pretty final form save for the chain guard, chain oiler (ornamental), port side side cover decal and tank pin stripe. Also I need to strobe time it and adjust the carbs when I get a license plate and warm day. I was surprised at how loud and aggressive the engine is. Completely unlike my /5 and so very cool. I can’t wait to hear it on a summer night.

And I installed the right side cover decal a tiny bit too much down on the right side. I’m tempted to leave it that way but my German ancestors might not let me.

Sounds good… Needs mileage now. If I were to clean 'Baby' up to that degree I'd be afraid to take her out... Twice this week I've almost been run over by people from the south side of the river that can't read traffic signs printed in ENGLISH.... Or they just don't happen to care what is written on them.... I ride near every day and this is a common occurrence. I believe if I survived the incident they wouldn't for long if I put that much effort into detail on mine....Just saying.

Anyway beauty of a bike.

jbruney said:

Sounds good… Needs mileage now. If I were to clean 'Baby' up to that degree I'd be afraid to take her out... Twice this week I've almost been run over by people from the south side of the river that can't read traffic signs printed in ENGLISH.... Or they just don't happen to care what is written on them.... I ride near every day and this is a common occurrence. I believe if I survived the incident they wouldn't for long if I put that much effort into detail on mine....Just saying.

Anyway beauty of a bike.

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I know. I ride my /5 all year round and don’t want to have a queen I don’t ride. I just need to get this one out and a little dirty then I will be fine. I’m also a little nervous about getting used to the shifting / braking. Thanks for the kind words.

Good on you Ben - I can feel the dynamic tension in the air - a newly completed toy that you’re itching to play with and snow flakes falling to prevent it - so close and yet so far !

Follow up - I’ve ridden the bike about 7 miles just around a large block (waiting for plates from VT) and am getting used to the shifting and braking. First oil change and the oil looks fine. anti seized and re-torqued the front end and still need to do the rear and adjust the iso’s. Backed the mower into it and knocked it on its side in the gravel but luckily it landed on the foot peg and handgrip with no breakage or scratches. First impressions- unbelievably great sounding, tons of torque running though the gears, very cool lump to the cam at idle, addictive to ride. Best to all.

Cool Ben - + 1 on the cammy lump- lump- lump at idle. Don’t know if the 850 does it but the 750 Combat motor has the greatest high pitch growl when it is up on the cam at rpm - real music !

The Norton Scream.... They all have it from one degree or another.... I feel the need to begin leaning forward after about 4.5k upwards and get a stronger grip as the old motor starts to get down to business. Doing it too often could make your eyes bulge out and become addictive too.

Scout63 said:

I finally found a few extra minutes to work on the bike. I removed the tires - Avon GP front and Dunlop Roadmaster TT100 rear. They couldn't be original since the bike has 12k miles and they had good tread. I did get the license plate and current title for the bike though - 1975 title and last stickered in 1980. I really like the plate but it won't work in MA.

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I was reading thru your thread (I also did a 72 Interstate rebuild) and I noticed that I must have been at the NJ DMV at the same time as your previous owner.

My license plate from Comerfords was HLK916K. Pretty close number, so I wonder if that's where it originally came from. Also I registered it in NJ when I brought it back. I drove it to the state DMV in Trenton (with the Brit plates) because the local office couldn't figure out how to do the registration. This was in 1972 at age 21. I still have those plates and was planning to put them on for the INOA rally in the Catskills but now will wait until 2022 and hopefully I'll still be fit and able to ride it.
Nice job and good luck with your Norton!

Russ

Small world Nick and Russ. Too bad both plates are of no use here in MA. I’ll hold on to them for now. My best, ben