cNw changes (2020)

baz said:

Best of luck with your change of venture, we are all lucky to have people like you that push boundaries and keep these old beast's alive
Cheers

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cNw said:

Hi all,


So I am making some pretty big changes at cNw. As of October 9th (my birthday as it turns out), 2020 I stopped taking on any more full rebuilds.

This change is not due to a slow down in business but actually rather the opposite and I just do not have enough time to dedicate to all areas of the shop

I officially started cNw in October of 1997. I was told I was a fool to invest time in building Norton's. People didn't want to spend any money on Commandos and that I would fail for sure. Did not listen to the 'advice' and decided to go for it anyway. It was a slow start but as the rebuilds come to an end 23 years later, I will have ended up building more than 160 complete cNw rebuilds. They sure evolved over the years and when I look back at the bikes I built years ago it's interesting to see the changes. I always pushed to make them as good as I knew how at the time, in the relentless pursuit of perfection (hard to make a machine perfect as we all know). With every build I learned more about these bikes and I have been very fortunate to be able to put all my efforts into just one brand and one model machine.

The bikes currently on order will of course be completed and delivered as promised. This in itself will take well over a year.

While that chapter will be closing, there is no slowing down. It is time to take cNw in a different direction.

Moving forward, the focus will be on the parts catalog and I will keep adding more upgrades, modifications and custom parts for these Commandos on a regular basis and filling in the gaps in my current parts list. It is also my intention to add some full lines of additional parts for those that are looking for stock type items for their bikes.

I will be building a few bikes over time but they will be designed by myself and then offered up for sale when completed. These machines can not be pre purchased or reserved ahead of completion.

I am excited and looking forward to this new streamlined approach for cNw and I will be doing everything I can to help support my customers when it comes to creating their own machines or just keeping them on the road, looking and working better than ever.

I am also taking this opportunity to say a big Thank You for all the great support over the years. Without that, this venture would never have been possible.

Matt

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Charles Waggett said:

With 35 years in the Classic and new motorcycle business I have now "retired" . I am taking on restorations for select customers. I have done many restorations on British twins and triples but my favorite are Commandos. I am based in BC Canada and would be happy to book a restoration for your Classic. Charlie N. Waggett chasfix@aol.com

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cNw said:

Charlie,

I am sure you build some great bikes.

Here’s an idea. Start a fresh thread about what you will be offering your customers. Add some pics of bikes you have built and detail how they are put together and explain to people why they should come to you. Just adding a sales pitch to this thread is just a bit strange to be honest.

Good luck with you new venture

Matt

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IBA270 said:

Hey Matt!

This is an old thread, but I wanted to resurrect it; indirectly, you got me into Norton's about 13 years ago when you built Winston Oxley #071. I know you know the story, so I won't get into it here, but that experience and connection to Winston and his joy for that motorcycle, as unfortunately short-lived as it was, sent me on a quest to learn more and search for my own. I've now got a visually close facsimile of what you two designed. It's not Winston's, but I sure get a bang out of riding it.

I know you're crushing it with the transition. Congratulations!

Allen Dye
'74 Commando and some other cool stuff

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TomU said:

His parts/builds are definitely quality which makes it puzzling why he cheaps out on the breather gaskets. The material is prone to tearing and the holes are too small for the bolts (if not enlarged) will bunch the gasket. That then leads to this

View attachment 101654

Anyone contimplating his breather (which is awesome) be advised to at least expand the holes on the gaskets or better yet make your own gasket before installing. Getting it out insitu after the fact is a royal PITA (you have to remove the exhaust, losen GB and remove the clutch)

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motorson said:

Maybe we should start a new thread about the reed valve breather. I managed to install mine and then remove and replace it without removing any engine parts. The first time I installed it I used Hylomar gasket sealer and it was too slick so the gasket slid out. 2nd time I used just good old Permatex and so far so good.

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CNW Crankcase Breather Gasket

I posted in several threads my experience with the CNW breather but it may be a topic worthy of its own thread. I followed the instructions (or so i thought) and when i ran the bike for the first time, i got this At idle, the leak was about 1 drop/sec but at higher RPMs the leak was much...

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