FullAuto Heads Update

cNw said:
Hey all,

Listing for the new head is up on the cNw web site as well. Description and price. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

As with British Cycle, my first short batch is spoken for. That said, I spoke to John this morning and he is ready to put a PO in for a large amount of castings. We are looking at a few months out but once this batch is in place, knowing John, these will always be available moving forward. In other words, this will not be a limited production once these first short runs are done

Link to web site. Still more info to come: https://coloradonortonworks.net/sts-fullauto-head.html

Looking forward to bringing this to market. It is nice to offer product that you feel really good about.

You can definitely contact cNw to reserve a head from these first production runs. They will be delivered first come first. No deposit required. Get a hold of me at coloradonortonworks@fone.net

Also, I hope that everyone has a really great Christmas Holiday and Happy New Year. It will be the best one for Commandos yet ............

Matt
Click to expand...
Thanks Matt, yes, very pleasantly surprised !!

Seasons Greetings to you too.

cliffa.
 
acadian said:
Called and put my $500 deposit down on the next batch.

Don't have any immediate projects for this yet but figure it's worth the investment, not sure how long they will be available. BC mentioned the new heads have timeserts installed, and the alloy is a different than the originals.

Fingers crossed
Click to expand...

Keenserts not Timeserts ?

I will assume the alloy composition has been changed as the original material seemed a little soft and was the reason I used a copper head gasket not wanting to risk a flame ring composite that might press into the surface.
Others had posted of the top bolt heavy washers sinking into the alloy.
I had to make longer custom fit 3/8" studs also.

That price is fantastic for the next generation of supporters.
That RRP looks to be from AU$600 to $1100+ less than the originals which will surely generate sales.

4a.jpg std8 - Copy.jpg nt.jpg

I would still recommend checking the valve stem to guide clearance especially on the exhaust guides.
 
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Time Warp said:
Keenserts not Timeserts ?

I will assume the alloy composition has been changed as the original material seemed a little soft and was the reason I used a copper head gasket not wanting to risk a flame ring composite that might press into the surface.
Others had posted of the top bolt heavy washers sinking into the alloy.
I had to make longer custom fit 3/8" studs also.

That price is fantastic for the next generation of supporters.
That RRP looks to be from AU$600 to $1100+ less than the originals which will surely generate sales.

View attachment 83660 View attachment 83662 View attachment 83661

I would still recommend checking the valve stem to guide clearance especially on the exhaust guides.
Click to expand...
Alloy of head is A356 in T6 condition. Same alloy the foundry uses for turbo and supercharger housings. We have installed and run a 750 and 850 head. We did not notice any conditions that would tell us that the alloy was too soft, at least in comparison to stock heads.

I am hoping everyone is happy with the price that CNW has posted. We are hoping that the price will make the head more affordable and generate better sales volume
 
I'm sorry. If it's the difference between having or not having a working motorcycle, you'd pay $2k, I guess. But that seems a great deal of money, to me, for a small part of the overall bike!
 
Mart UK said:
I'm sorry. If it's the difference between having or not having a working motorcycle, you'd pay $2k, I guess. But that seems a great deal of money, to me, for a small part of the overall bike!
Click to expand...
Of course, not many would remove a perfectly good head and replace with one of these.

But, if you’ve not got a good head, and you gotta buy one, and factor in new seats, new guides, exhaust threads, a few thread repairs, some skimming, perhaps a fin repair, etc.

And that’s before you even start thinking about porting etc…
 
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My FA head really worked well. I have an RH10 head on it now, JC overhauled it, and I notice the bike is not quite what it was.
FA includes the port work. The angle of one of the ex valves is not quite right on the RH10 head JC said this was not unusual.
FA guide angles are all fine. The original heads ARE too soft no question about it.
 
Onder said:
The original heads ARE too soft no question about it.
Click to expand...
I'm not going to argue the point but I think it has been proven that the 5 x 3/8" bolts are too strong for the alloy head - as in, don't allow for thermal expansion without creep failure of the head alloy.
You'll note that the hardware recommended for the new heads are ARP (waisted from 3/8" to 5/16") - so... are the heads too soft or the bolts too stiff(strong)?
 
Fast Eddie said:
Of course, not many would remove a perfectly good head and replace with one of these.

But, if you’ve not got a good head, and you gotta buy one, and factor in new seats, new guides, exhaust threads, a few thread repairs, some slimming, perhaps a fin repair, etc.

And that’s before you even start thinking about porting etc…
Click to expand...
Quite agree.
I'm thinking especially for 850 owners - decent heads have been very scarce for ages, and although I've not seen any updates from UK suppliers yet, I trust that the price will be similar 'over here'
 
B+Bogus said:
Quite agree.
I'm thinking especially for 850 owners - decent heads have been very scarce for ages, and although I've not seen any updates from UK suppliers yet, I trust that the price will be similar 'over here'
Click to expand...
Really? I 'trust' the price will have 20% VAT added, so allow for 20% more. At current exchange in UK around £1800. Which compares favourably with what I actually paid Mick Hemmings for mine.

Yes, I know others paid more.
 
Time Warp said:
Keenserts not Timeserts ?

I will assume the alloy composition has been changed as the original material seemed a little soft and was the reason I used a copper head gasket not wanting to risk a flame ring composite that might press into the surface.
Others had posted of the top bolt heavy washers sinking into the alloy.
I had to make longer custom fit 3/8" studs also.

That price is fantastic for the next generation of supporters.
That RRP looks to be from AU$600 to $1100+ less than the originals which will surely generate sales.

View attachment 83660 View attachment 83662 View attachment 83661

I would still recommend checking the valve stem to guide clearance especially on the exhaust guides.
Click to expand...
That is unbelievably cheap. Jim Schmidt's long rods and light-weight high comp pistons used to be about $2000. You could build a very nice engine with those - almost affordable. The only reservations I have about those rods and pistons is, if you buy them - a few years later, it might be difficult getting replacements. if Jim is not still around. I think Jim can supply 12 to 1 comp. which can almost be used with petrol.
 
acotrel said:
That is unbelievably cheap. Jim Schmidt's long rods and light-weight high comp pistons used to be about $2000. You could build a very nice engine with those - almost affordable. The only reservations I have about those rods and pistons is, if you buy them - a few years later, it might be difficult getting replacements. if Jim is not still around. I think Jim can supply 12 to 1 comp. which can almost be used with petrol.
Click to expand...
Back in 2014, before ordering pistons, rods, valves and springs, I asked Jim how long he thought he would be selling these parts?

Now, 8 years on, I think his answer would be the same!
 
Steve A and Acotrel - My relatives have a habit of living into their 90s - so I'll be around for awhile. And when the time comes I plan on posting the part numbers on my website so anyone can still get what they want directly from the suppliers - either that or someone will take over the business.

Rob SS - here's the 3/8" waisted head bolts that can stretch and allow for thermal expansion.

FullAuto Heads Update

FullAuto Heads Update

The coarse US 16 tpi threads as shown are the least likely to strip out the aluminum threads - and these ARP bolts are available from Summit racing at a very good price (not waisted). It would be great if the new heads and cylinders were threaded to suit instead of using weaker finer Brit threads (please). The best available head on the market deserves the strongest thread pitch.
 
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Has anyone replaced an early stock 750 Commando head with one of these new STS/Full Auto heads and noticed a big improvement? They are very different port shape wise from stock 750 heads. If mentioned previously by someone that has actually replaced a stock 750 head with an STS head in this thread, I apologize for wasting your time.

The STS heads are in stock at CNW right now for the guys with cash to spend on a head.
 
Just emerged from that particular quagmire, have a few years window before grandchildren take over the mantle. That said the oldest one has just passed driving test and has commandeered my wife’s car …..

….. permanently !
 

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