Head steady spring, useful or junk?

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Fast Eddie

Fast Eddie

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I'm going to be fitting a Comnoz / CNW head steady. My question is: is the mk3 spring a good idea to use with these?
Mine is a mk2a, so there's no heavy starter, plus my clutch and alloy pulley belt primary is around 8lbs+ lighter than stock.
The iso's are new.
So, spring or no spring???
 
I understand that the general consensus is that the head steady spring is to help support the heavier 850 Mark III engine. But what I find interesting is that in the 850 Mark II sales brochure (the one with Peter Williams on the cover) there is a picture of a blue roadster partially dismantled that displays the isolastic system. If you look closely at that picture you can see that there is a head steady spring as well. Things that make you go hmmm. Sure enough I went to look at my Mark IIA head steady and found the mounting holes for the head steady spring already there. So apparently Norton thought that spring was important way before the Mark III was manufactured and then changed there mind and figured it wasn't necessary after all. Then of course the Mark III came along and voila there it is.

So apparently Norton didn't think it was necessary, then it was, then it wasn't and then it was again - so who knows? I think my Mark IIA handles just fine for the kind of riding I do so I'm not going to worry about it.
 
Mounting bracket fit on my '69, so it was a later additive. It helps the low rpm vibration a lot, I don't notice it past 2000 or so. If I had my druthers, I'd put the comnoz Kibblewhite spring on it. The spring fully tightened doesn't bring the front isolastics up to the center, even on my 750 so the donuts still get compressed on one side. Jim thought his spring was good.

Dave
69S
 
I bought and installed the Comstock/CNW head steady about a year and a half ago, with no spring

that motor is very very heavy, guess I don't believe that spring can support it enough for a difference

had the DT head steady with spring prior, can't feel any difference with the CNW now without
 
1up3down said:
had the DT head steady with spring prior, can't feel any difference with the CNW now without
Click to expand...

I'm curious why you gave up on the Dave Taylor. Were there problems?
 
I'm curious why you gave up on the Dave Taylor. Were there problems?
Click to expand...

no problems with the DT at all!

I sold it and bought the CNW unit simply because I journeyed to CNW and went on a wild buying spree, hydraulic clutch, complete Brembo front brake system, all kinds of other stuff

like catnip, it just felt so damn good to spend money on my Commando that I could not stop, simple as that

and no, I do not regret my irresponsible behavior

really, it's all Matt's fault
 
1up3down said:
I'm curious why you gave up on the Dave Taylor. Were there problems?
Click to expand...

no problems with the DT at all!

I sold it and bought the CNW unit simply because I journeyed to CNW and went on a wild buying spree, hydraulic clutch, complete Brembo front brake system, all kinds of other stuff

like catnip, it just felt so damn good to spend money on my Commando that I could not stop, simple as that

and no, I do not regret my irresponsible behavior

really, it's all Matt's fault
Click to expand...

I wish my wife could be as honest about her purchases ;)

I favour the spring, BTW - especially with the DT steady
 
Just to be clear, we are not JUST supporting the motor, but the entire drive unit. The math is quite simple here. If you remove one of the 3 points that offer vertical support you loose roughly 1/3 of your vertical support. Granted, the 2 lower mount are wider and spread out but I think you get the jist. If your trio is singing at Carnegie Hall and one guy gets laryngitis, it's probably best just to cancel.

I have been corrected on the availabilty of the CNW headsteady. I apologize for that but not my view on the headsteady itself.
 
Yep weight and road loads on the rear patch translate to a downward force on front isolastic cushions, so to set iso's centered w/o pilot and cargo loads on will not be centered in actual use unless over compensating a bit of compromise. I've beveled 2 new front soft type cushions sets and very pleased with low isolation onset rpms and no handling issues I can detect. I stuffed the 2 old front hardened big cushion into the rear mount at same time - in case ya dare follow hobot happyness hints.
 
1up3down said:
I'm curious why you gave up on the Dave Taylor. Were there problems?
Click to expand...

no problems with the DT at all!

...

and no, I do not regret my irresponsible behavior

really, it's all Matt's fault
Click to expand...

Good, I'm glad. I installed mine, but put the bike away before I could test ride it. Seems okay while idling.

I understand the behavior problem all too well.
 
DogT said:
.................. If I had my druthers, I'd put the comnoz Kibblewhite spring on it. The spring fully tightened doesn't bring the front isolastics up to the center, even on my 750 so the donuts still get compressed on one side...................... Dave 69S
Click to expand...
+1...if you haven't seen it, search the forum for the thread.....seems the way to go, much more sturdy spring than the stock set up, which equals more support, but it does require welding a small "foot" underneath to use as a mounting plate.
 
gortnipper said:
pete.v said:
I am not sure, but I do not see them offered at CNW anymore. I wonder why that is?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

If and I say IF CNW is not offering their head steady anymore then it isn't because the design is no good. After 2000 mls the ball joints of my DT head steady were worn out (probably not if I had lubricated them every 100 mls) I replaced it with the CNW head steady, did over 14000 mls so far and the bigger self lubricating ball joints are still tight. Good thing about the DT head steady is the spring device which I did fit to the CNW head steady :wink:
 
nortonspeed said:
gortnipper said:
pete.v said:
I am not sure, but I do not see them offered at CNW anymore. I wonder why that is?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

If and I say IF CNW is not offering their head steady anymore then it isn't because the design is no good. After 2000 mls the ball joints of my DT head steady were worn out (probably not if I had lubricated them every 100 mls)
Click to expand...

What was the clue that led you to believe the joints were worn out? Noise? Excessive vibration? I have only put a 100 or so miles on my DT Head Steady before realizing I didn't have it installed correctly. Just wondering how to tell if it's ruined.
 
I have the DT steady also and after just 1 season of riding it started to chirp. Drove me nuts trying to figure out where the bird was hiding.
The heim joints were dry as a bone. Too late, I ruined them. Maybe a 1000 miles or so.
I took it off but didn't like the handling so I replaced the joints and lubed them with silicone grease. Fine now.
The spring they, RGM, gave me wouldn't fit do to the bolt which connects it was too short. Called RGM about 2 years later to get a longer bolt / bracket and they sent me one gratis.
I've yet to put it on. I will this weekend.
 
Well, I suppose it's a good thing I don't hear any chirping. When I checked the play in the joints I could get a little clicking sound, though. If you don't mind me asking, how much did your replacement cost?
 
I added a spring to my home made head stead a few years ago. I was able to adjust it so the the vibration of the bike went away at lower speeds. It only made a slight difference. I think the main advantage of the spring is it will allow you to use very soft iso rubbers. The spring must reduce the weight on the front isolastic rubbers to nothing when adjusted properly. The softer the rubbers are the lower the frequency of the vibration that can be damped out. On a Triumph I have that also has an isolastic mounting system, I have the weight of the engine held up by a valve spring under the front of the engine. There is only one isolastic mount, a Norton one above the head. I had to drill six holes in the mount to get it to be soft enough to work. It smooths the engine out at lower speeds than the Norton.

Nigel
 
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