Finally have my 961 SF !

BritTwit · Oct 2, 2014

dimitri said:
I heard from my dealer that he had to replace hydraulic lifters on various bikes. I have not heard the noise it makes on a commando, but it could be what you describe. A bit like valves with to much clearance.

Performance wise, a faulty lifter will have only a small effect. Probably not noticeable at all.

..replace faulty hydraulic lifters...
This is news to me. I hadn't heard of this before in either the US or the UK.

GoingCommando · Oct 2, 2014

Ordered the round Halcyon 830 mirrors today:

http://classicpartsltd.com/classic-moto ... irror.html

They said they will machine down the fittings for me to fit the 961. No extra charge mentioned

swooshdave · Oct 4, 2014

Nice to meet you today and see your bike. It looks incredible.

I'm glad you found the club, we could you some more young blood. :mrgreen:

GoingCommando · Oct 4, 2014

Thanks Dave, and thanks for posting the pics! I was going to take some shots of all the other great bikes but my phone memory was full...
Great meeting all of you as well!

I'm up to about 550 miles on the bike now and have the first service booked for next weekend.

swooshdave · Oct 4, 2014

More pictures here. Not to worry, you were busy answering questions about your bike. Here in Oregon you'll need to know your Kenny Dreer lore. :mrgreen:

https://www.facebook.com/OregonNortonEnthusiasts

Britfan60 · Oct 5, 2014

Swoosh. You know this guy? Different state, not too far off.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Commando ... otorcycles

GoingCommando · Oct 5, 2014

swooshdave said:
More pictures here. Not to worry, you were busy answering questions about your bike. Here in Oregon you'll need to know your Kenny Dreer lore. :mrgreen:

https://www.facebook.com/OregonNortonEnthusiasts

Great pics there! I had just been wondering if you guys were on Facebook.

I've read some Kenny articles like this one: http://www.soundrider.com/archive/peopl ... dreer.aspx
Also it has been great talking to you local folks that have known him for so many years and witnessed a lot of his development of the new Nortons.

Definitely much of my interest in the new Norton stems from it's history; from England to Oregon/Kenny and back to England again, I feel privileged to have one here in Oregon where such a large part of it's development took place. I also feel totally humbled every time I talk to all you bike experts that know sooooooo much more than I do. I'm just a guy that saw ALL the cafe' racer shows multiple times, plus a whole lot of other bike shows, Googled and oogled a whole lot of bike photos, and decided the 961 was the one for me.

Dozer · Oct 6, 2014

Anybody that owns a 961 owes Kenny Dreer a huge thank you. If I ever met him Id buy him a drink as without him I would never have owned a Norton.

GoingCommando · Oct 12, 2014

Returned from the 961's first service last night. All is well and the bike is wonderful and better than ever.

My dealer in WA was having a Grand Opening for their new building featuring the Indian Motorcycles and the folks from Indian were there with about 20 new Indian bikes letting visitors ride them. Not just a little circle around the parking lot, but what seemed to be about a 15 mile loop, with lots of fun turns and a little bit of freeway cruising. My wife and I took this beautiful "Vintage" model, which is the larges bike I've ever ridden.

Got used to it pretty quick, but it felt good to get back on the Norton afterwards which of course felt more light and agile then ever after riding that beast.
The new smaller Indian Scout bikes looked like a lot of fun too. May be a future purchase, but my 961 is still my favorite by far.

GoingCommando · Oct 13, 2014

Since the first service on Saturday it seems to me that the engine is less noisy. Not less exhaust or revving noise but less clanking and loose metal noises. Today my neighbor across the street even came out and told me that he noticed the engine is not making the clanking and clicking noises he heard before the service and said he noticed right away it sounded better (he's heard it a LOT lately since I'm going out all the time).

I'm very happy with how the bike is sounding and running. The dealer said all sounds they heard are normal and that the oil came out very clean without signs of metallic dust. All seems to be as it should be

The dealer said they had a customer order a 961 CR that should be there any day now, so that will make two of them in Washington. As far as I know mine is still the only 961 in Oregon but with all the folks asking about it I'm guessing there will be more here very soon. I hope to eventually have a local Norton dealer here so I don't need to travel three hours for service.

mrsimon · Oct 13, 2014

GoingCommando said:
Since the first service on Saturday it seems to me that the engine is less noisy. Not less exhaust or revving noise but less clanking and loose metal noises. Today my neighbor across the street even came out and told me that he noticed the engine is not making the clanking and clicking noises he heard before the service and said he noticed right away it sounded better (he's heard it a LOT lately since I'm going out all the time).

I'm very happy with how the bike is sounding and running. The dealer said all sounds they heard are normal and that the oil came out very clean without signs of metallic dust. All seems to be as it should be

The dealer said they had a customer order a 961 CR that should be there any day now, so that will make two of them in Washington. As far as I know mine is still the only 961 in Oregon but with all the folks asking about it I'm guessing there will be more here very soon. I hope to eventually have a local Norton dealer here so I don't need to travel three hours for service.

Congrats. . With 20 bikes in a country as big as the States is, don't hold your breath waiting for a dealer for 2 or 3 bikes.

Dozer · Oct 13, 2014

I still cant get over the sheer distances involved in the US, here in this little island we are never more than 150 miles from the sea! That's practically coastal in the US....

der · Oct 13, 2014

Dozer said:
I still cant get over the sheer distances involved in the US, here in this little island we are never more than 150 miles from the sea! That's practically coastal in the US....

I'm one mile from the sea on our little island, but 3 hours from any Norton service.

Dozer · Oct 13, 2014

I assume that's Thor on Bodmin moor? Or Donington?

GoingCommando · Oct 13, 2014

Oh and by the way, the helmet I'm wearing in the photo above is the new Reevu helmet with the built-in rear view mirror that Dimitri let me know about on the first page of this thread. Thanks Dimitri! The mirror actually works very well, much like in a car. I guess my only complaint about the helmet is that the mirror system makes the top of the helmet slightly larger than my Shoei helmet, but it's really nice to see what's directly behind me.

swooshdave · Oct 13, 2014

Dozer said:
I still cant get over the sheer distances involved in the US, here in this little island we are never more than 150 miles from the sea! That's practically coastal in the US....

Well, here in Oregon it's about 75 miles to the coast in one direction and 3000 miles in the other...

Britfan60 · Oct 13, 2014

Here in NY, I'm about 10 highway miles from the Atlantic and about 3000 from the Pacific. I'm only about 8 miles from the dealer.

Dozer · Oct 14, 2014

3000 miles for me and Id be in Africa.....

Britfan60 · Oct 14, 2014

California roads are much cooler for biking along the ocean. Twistier. The Long Island roads are kind of straight, but really scenic and I haven't passed a cop yet, so.........

GoingCommando · Oct 20, 2014

BritTwit said:
Dozer said:

Its a standard mirror but you have to buy a machined down insert, which then still didn't fit. Cue 2 hours sitting in my garden with a file....

Mirror is v solid though, cost £45.00. insert was another £8.00

I just like the look of the halcyon stuff as that is what a lot of the original Brit iron uses.

Click to expand...

Email Halcyon.
They can do the machining for you. Enough people have requested their barend mirrors for 961's that they know what has to be done.
I had a set done for my 961 CR. machined down to 14 mm. They fit like a glove in the clip on ends.
Let them know that your 961 has handle bars.

I ordered the mirrors and had them machined down to 14mm, but they are still too large to fit my 961SF bars. I'm guessing it's because the cafe racer bars are different than the SF bars. Looks like mine will need another couple mm shaved off to fit. I'll order another pair of fittings or ask them to make these a bit smaller (probably not worth the cost and delay of shipping them back).

Finally have my 961 SF !

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