Interchangeable Parts

marshg246 said:

In my pictures you might have seen a 70 Bonneville, three Tridents, and/or three Nortons. I sold a 69 BSA B25 Starfire this year that might have been in a picture.

Click to expand...

You have a sickness, I love it.

I'm also building a Ford GT40 replica. Why my wife hasn't divorced me yet is a mystery.

marshg246 said:

Forks and triple trees
Front Wheel (no disc)
Rear Wheel (no brake)
Caliper
Have a cradle and maybe a swingarm, but would have to dig them out to know how usable.
Rear Fender (one new, one nearly new).
Tanks in various states
Front ISO Mount
Engine parts
1974 Frame
Have two gearboxes but I know one shaft is bent and I haven't determined what is usable.
Complete wiring harness (I always make custom harnesses so I have those from the donor bikes)
LOTS of new AN small parts.
LOTS of new AMAL parts
LOTS of new Tri-Spark parts

If you're building like I do, that's all I can remember. If you're not worried about looks, I have a lot of the hardware you'll need.

Click to expand...

I need a lot of that.

If you want to send me pictures and prices to steve.borneman@yahoo.com I'd appreciate it and see what you got!

comnoz said:

If the builder is smart and does his homework the "bitsa" is likely to be the better bike.
I have both, "bitsa"s and originals. The originals set in the corner with 1/4 inch of dust.

You want to take my original, no big deal.
You want to take my "bitsa", only after you pry my cold dead fingers from the bars...

Click to expand...

Hence valuable to the owner. There is a difference though between a bitsa and an upgraded Commando. Bitsa has parts that happened to be available and cobbled on.

illf8ed said:

Hence valuable to the owner. There is a difference though between a bitsa and an upgraded Commando. Bitsa has parts that happened to be available and cobbled on.

Click to expand...

Mine started out as a frame and motor and whatever else I could scrounge. I was freshly divorced and broke when I first put it together. Time, but no money.

The difference is a "good bitsa" vs a "bad bitsa"

Ludwig's is a good "bitsa"

Everybody's seen a "bad bitsa"

plunge on in....,I started with a 1972 frame I paid $200 for. Nothing else, not even a nut, bolt or screw..took 2 years and about $6,500 in parts/paint/etc. most of them new, to finish. I lucked out and got a 73 850 motor from a guy in Illinois it does not smoke make strange sounds and runs great... the Norton learning curve was steep and I could not have done it without the great people on this forum.. it's the best bike I have ever had (knock on wood) it looks and runs and rides and stops like new ..at least IMHO.

I thought that I was the only idiot who would buy a bare frame and start from scratch.
Looks like I have a lot of company on this site and I’m going to lean on you guys as my project progresses.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, the knowledge I’ve gained one this first post is more than I’ve learned all my life.

Thanks guys!!!

Here’s a question on a different topic, I may start a new thread but I’m sure this subject has been beaten to death.

What are everyone’s thoughts on tanks? Interstate versus Roadster?

I like the bigger Interstate, but what I’ve seen with most of the bikes I’ve been researching is the Roadster tanks.

Norcoastal said:

Here’s a question on a different topic, I may start a new thread but I’m sure this subject has been beaten to death.

What are everyone’s thoughts on tanks? Interstate versus Roadster?

I like the bigger Interstate, but what I’ve seen with most of the bikes I’ve been researching is the Roadster tanks.

Click to expand...

If you like the style of the interstate tank then go for it
Original ones are quite hard to find now, and the ones made in India can be a problem

The fastback tanks were only ever made in glass fibre originally
Although the atlas/ police long range type were made in steel
Also the roadster and interstate were made in glass fibre and also in steel
I'm not sure about the hi rider ?

baz said:

Also the roadster and interstate were made in glass fibre and also in steel
I'm not sure about the hi rider ?

Click to expand...

Late Hi-Rider tanks were steel as glass fibre tanks were phased out and eventually banned (in the UK) on new machines from July 1973.

I bought my bike from a friend in '79 who couldn't keep it running. Every single thing has been rebuilt or reworked. Yes, it has matching numbers... (woop-de-doo, not my thing at all...) Anyway, it may not be a bitsa because I started with a non-runner, with matching numbers, but it's by not even close to stock. It's the most ridable commando I could make it into for my needs.

One thing a bitsa affords you is chosing the better parts when possible. My '70 model had a flat headsteady, which broke because they aren't up to the job. Later models of commando have a box headsteady which are much stouter and don't break. You can push the envelope further regarding headsteadies and get a production racer headsteady or an aftermarket "ball joint" type headsteady which are the best choices... A lot of parts have these kinds of choices.

So since you are on the norton learning curve, you shouldn't jump at parts being offered to you until you find out if you are buying a part that norton modified on later models... There's a lot of this kind of thing. Sometimes parts that are cheap are parts guys are selling because they upgraded to the less flawed part.

Many norton owners swap out to lighter weight and wider aluminum rims to use a more modern tire profile more effectively. You get more rubber on the road with less unsprung weight, so handling will improve. There's aftermarket brake upgrades too. Since you are starting without all these things, you can go straight for the best stuff if that's what you want to do.

For commandos, the list of parts that can be grouped as either "original", "improved", or " aftermarket vastly improved" is a pretty long list. There's a few parts like the flat headsteady that should go right in the trash bin/recycle bin, but you will see them for sale... There's probably a few others out there which would be good to pass on in lieu of the later model part.

********************************************
Regarding your second post, my bike was a roadster originally. When fuel was leaded, I could stop anywhere and get good fuel, then it became unleaded, and further on it's ethanol laced. I transformed my roadster into an interstate so I can go to a dedicated non-ethanol gas station near me and have a wider range of travel with the fuel I prefer in my bike... It may not look as sexy as a roadster, but it's my frankenstein bike... Of course it looks horrible..

you can see it from original all the way to it's currently transformed state now on page 81 of the sticky thread on members bikes...

o0norton0o said:

I bought my bike from a friend in '79 who couldn't keep it running. Every single thing has been rebuilt or reworked. Yes, it has matching numbers... (woop-de-doo, not my thing at all...) Anyway, it may not be a bitsa because I started with a non-runner, with matching numbers, but it's by not even close to stock. It's the most ridable commando I could make it into for my needs.

One thing a bitsa affords you is chosing the better parts when possible. My '70 model had a flat headsteady, which broke because they aren't up to the job. Later models of commando have a box headsteady which are much stouter and don't break. You can push the envelope further regarding headsteadies and get a production racer headsteady or an aftermarket "ball joint" type headsteady which are the best choices... A lot of parts have these kinds of choices.

So since you are on the norton learning curve, you shouldn't jump at parts being offered to you until you find out if you are buying a part that norton modified on later models... There's a lot of this kind of thing. Sometimes parts that are cheap are parts guys are selling because they upgraded to the less flawed part.

Many norton owners swap out to lighter weight and wider aluminum rims to use a more modern tire profile more effectively. You get more rubber on the road with less unsprung weight, so handling will improve. There's aftermarket brake upgrades too. Since you are starting without all these things, you can go straight for the best stuff if that's what you want to do.

For commandos, the list of parts that can be grouped as either "original", "improved", or " aftermarket vastly improved" is a pretty long list. There's a few parts like the flat headsteady that should go right in the trash bin/recycle bin, but you will see them for sale... There's probably a few others out there which would be good to pass on in lieu of the later model part.

********************************************
Regarding your second post, my bike was a roadster originally. When fuel was leaded, I could stop anywhere and get good fuel, then it became unleaded, and further on it's ethanol laced. I transformed my roadster into an interstate so I can go to a dedicated non-ethanol gas station near me and have a wider range of travel with the fuel I prefer in my bike... It may not look as sexy as a roadster, but it's my frankenstein bike... Of course it looks horrible..

Click to expand...

Your bike doesn't look horrible at all!!
Immaculate restored bikes on trailers look horrible
Some of my bikes have matching numbers but I couldn't give a rat's arse about it I don't know why people make such a big deal over it?

o0norton0o said:

I bought my bike from a friend in '79 who couldn't keep it running. Every single thing has been rebuilt or reworked. Yes, it has matching numbers... (woop-de-doo, not my thing at all...) Anyway, it may not be a bitsa because I started with a non-runner, with matching numbers, but it's by not even close to stock. It's the most ridable commando I could make it into for my needs.

One thing a bitsa affords you is chosing the better parts when possible. My '70 model had a flat headsteady, which broke because they aren't up to the job. Later models of commando have a box headsteady which are much stouter and don't break. You can push the envelope further regarding headsteadies and get a production racer headsteady or an aftermarket "ball joint" type headsteady which are the best choices... A lot of parts have these kinds of choices.

So since you are on the norton learning curve, you shouldn't jump at parts being offered to you until you find out if you are buying a part that norton modified on later models... There's a lot of this kind of thing. Sometimes parts that are cheap are parts guys are selling because they upgraded to the less flawed part.

Many norton owners swap out to lighter weight and wider aluminum rims to use a more modern tire profile more effectively. You get more rubber on the road with less unsprung weight, so handling will improve. There's aftermarket brake upgrades too. Since you are starting without all these things, you can go straight for the best stuff if that's what you want to do.

For commandos, the list of parts that can be grouped as either "original", "improved", or " aftermarket vastly improved" is a pretty long list. There's a few parts like the flat headsteady that should go right in the trash bin/recycle bin, but you will see them for sale... There's probably a few others out there which would be good to pass on in lieu of the later model part.

********************************************
Regarding your second post, my bike was a roadster originally. When fuel was leaded, I could stop anywhere and get good fuel, then it became unleaded, and further on it's ethanol laced. I transformed my roadster into an interstate so I can go to a dedicated non-ethanol gas station near me and have a wider range of travel with the fuel I prefer in my bike... It may not look as sexy as a roadster, but it's my frankenstein bike... Of course it looks horrible..

Click to expand...

Not sure what a headsteady is but I’m sure I’ll find out soon.

I really like the alloy wheels, I know that the BSA bikes I worked on used Borrani wheels. What alloy wheels do Commandos use?

baz said:

Your bike doesn't look horrible at all!!
Immaculate restored bikes on trailers look horrible
Some of my bikes have matching numbers but I couldn't give a rat's arse about it I don't know why people make such a big deal over it?

Click to expand...

im just excited about matching numbers because the last three bikes I built were not.

Norcoastal said:

Not sure what a headsteady is but I’m sure I’ll find out soon.

I really like the alloy wheels, I know that the BSA bikes I worked on used Borrani wheels. What alloy wheels do Commandos use?

Click to expand...

About the only new wheels worth putting on a Commando are either the Borrani if you want shouldered rims or the Excell rims if you don't want shoulders.

I did an elaborate modification to use cast alu wheels because I thought I would save a lot of money instead of going the usual alloy rims conversion which most people have. I didn't save any money really, so that part didn't work out like I planned, but I like the result.

The search function here works great for researching opinions on parts. It will cut your questions down from 1,000 on any given topic to about 400...

o0norton0o said:

I did an elaborate modification to use cast alu wheels because I thought I would save a lot of money instead of going the usual alloy rims conversion which most people have. I didn't save any money really, so that part didn't work out like I planned, but I like the result.

The search function here works great for researching opinions on parts. It will cut your questions down from 1,000 on any given topic to about 400...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip!!!

comnoz said:

About the only new wheels worth putting on a Commando are either the Borrani if you want shouldered rims or the Excell rims if you don't want shoulders.

Click to expand...

Don't know if you get them your side of the pond but I have a morad flangless alloy rim on the back of my commando I'd highly recommend them,
It's been on there for years dosent corrode and it's not anodised
I just clean it occasionally

baz said:

Your bike doesn't look horrible at all!!
Immaculate restored bikes on trailers look horrible
Some of my bikes have matching numbers but I couldn't give a rat's arse about it I don't know why people make such a big deal over it?

Click to expand...

I’m one of many that make a big deal over it. It at least indicates the drive train and frame haven’t been completely trashed by a previous owner.

illf8ed said:

I’m one of many that make a big deal over it. It at least indicates the drive train and frame haven’t been completely trashed by a previous owner.

Click to expand...

Ok it may give you an indication that that the bike has not been trashed
But I prefer to take every single thing apart and completely refurbish it
Don't let anything get past you
For example the frame must be perfectly in alignment along with the gearbox cradle and swing arm
Forks and yokes must be checked
It's easier to do this with components IMO regardless of what numbers might be on them
Buying a complete original or restored bike can be a real gamble
The bike is only as good as the previous owner/owners/restorer that has had his or her hands on it