Low mileage, semi-basket build thread

Re: New Norton owner, 74 850, Help!

Snorton74 said:
If you're considering having someone to do the head, you should have Jim Comstock (Comnoz) do it. You can't find anybody better. FYI
Click to expand...

I saw another post here by Comnoz suggesting that a member use Kibblewhite parts. I figure since they're just down the road and they make the parts the experts use, might as well have them do the work if anyone does. Last time I was in there Mike showed me a Norton motor on a stand and told me about how the elder Kibblewhite was flown to Japan by Norton to build race motors (I think that was the gist of the story, it's been a while).
 
Re: New Norton owner, 74 850, Help!

Japan sounds like a funny place to build Norton engines ??

Unless you are planning to race this thing, or want an uber-cafe racer, a stock head should be quite OK. ?
Get an opinion to get it in good roadable condition - you may be pleasantly surprised.
If it hasn't done a lot of work, the media blasting may be the most expensive bit.....
 
Re: New Norton owner, 74 850, Help!

Rohan said:
Japan sounds like a funny place to build Norton engines ??

Unless you are planning to race this thing, or want an uber-cafe racer, a stock head should be quite OK. ?
Get an opinion to get it in good roadable condition - you may be pleasantly surprised.
If it hasn't done a lot of work, the media blasting may be the most expensive bit.....
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been thinking. Of course, I DO want an uber-cafe racer but I'd prefer horsepower gains at mid to low rpms vs expensive valvetrain upgrades to allow higher revs. Also, I've never ridden one of these bikes and I'm told I'll be quite happy w/ stock performance. I was thinking perhaps some mild flow work might be recommended.
 
Re: New Norton owner, 74 850, Help!

Seems to me not all head mods work so well on commandos , if you want to improve your head I would suggest you put it in the hands of someone with hands on experience with commando heads .
 
Re: New Norton owner, 74 850, Help!

fatmatt said:
Checked out the parts bins, tore down the motor and photographed everything today. Got 2 rude shocks. The PO claimed the bike was on non-op. Not so much, back fees to 2009. Thanks, asshole. Also he neglected to mention that the reason he "just lost interest" in the project was because he broke a chunk off the crankcase when dis-assembling. Thanks again. Pics coming in a bit.
Click to expand...

Turns out the PO isn't such a bad guy after all. I contacted him about the issues and he swore up and down that he thought it was non-opped. Turns out it was his OTHER Norton that was non-opped. I said that if he were to give me the set of Norvil rearsets he had I would consider all forgiven. He agreed and promptly sent them. He could've left me hanging with very little recourse. It's always nice to deal w/ honest people. If you're reading this Tavist - "Thanks dude!".
 
Tore the motor back down today and ordered new superblends and a shim kit from old britts. Very nice folks, they had the stuff in the mail within half an hour. I'll be dropping the bits off at Kibblewhites tomorrow.
 
Any recommendations on what paint to buy for the motor? I'd like to keep it as close to stock looking as possible.
 
K/W is reknown for its Black Diamond valves and springs but didn't think they had a Norton capable shop or did anything but produce special parts for a long time. Kenny Dreer told me he contracted with them to produce Norton specific kit we can now order off the shelf. Then sold me his marked up version which Peel was quite pleased with. It takes a pretty hard hearted and devil may dare behavior to tell the difference and get any benefit between plain factory set up vs more expense non factory items. If ya get one thing able to take rpm to make power something else will need to be upgraded to stand it then the next item and on and on. Having lived with both kinds now I'd say spend most ya time and money on weight lost rather than engine for most bang for the bux in sane thrills with ease. Its the innate torque vs mass that makes Commando so pleasing, hp only keeps the pull going longer to ungodly speeds into ho hum opens.
 
Probly best shaveing the flywheel just a notch . Better responce but not to far . Gotta have real nice Valve Spring set up . All measured checked & gapped for travel & off coil bound / bottoming . in Whole valve train .
 
Dropped the motor bits at Kibblewhites today, actually had someone else do it as I couldn't find my keys. Got some more story on the Japanese connection from a friend today. Seems the Japanese used to do a sort of speedway racing similar to horse racing. At some point someone commissioned motors from five or six different American builders in order to find the best builder and Kibblewhite came out on top. When I stop by later this week I'll try to get some more details. Kibblewhite is quite legendary amongst the older generation of riders in this town. I did a Poker run over the weekend with the Pacifica Motorcycle Association and a guy was describing what a magician he was with headwork and how he used to help out all the local kids with their dirt bikes.
 
Heres a T O Y O . ( always thought those Jap things were Toys . :wink: :P ) and its called " Auto Race " perhaps .

Low mileage, semi-basket build thread


some more photos here . http://blackcountrybiker.blogspot.com.a ... chive.html . thanking you .

This might come up , its not here . http://www.triumphflattrack.com/2009/10 ... -bike.html

Ah So . Good Fun .

Low mileage, semi-basket build thread


looks like those Dunlop Road Race tyres might still be available . The good ol ' trigonics ' .
 
I made the mistake of casually saying to the guy at the machine shop - "No hurry, take yer time". So ... three years later I've finally gotten my engine parts back and am all ready to start building. I've picked up some Loctite 515 to glue the case halves together, some Rustoleum Rust Stop BBQ matte black to paint the barrel and Duplicolor Engine Enamel in Aluminum color for the case and head and am just waiting for a nice day to do some painting. Also picked up CNW crank case, barrel bolt and timing cover fasteners to hold it all together.
First question - I've got 23 thou endplay at the crankshaft. I'm tempted to leave it at that as opposed to adding spacers. Any thoughts?
 
Finally the got bottom end together and case halves bolted together (trying to fulfill at least one 2017 resolution) only to discover I'd put the the crankshaft in bassackwards. Doh! Oh, well. Maybe 2018 will be more productive. Happy New Years, all!
 
"measure twice, cut once"

(or something like that)

You should ask L.A.B. to move this thread to the "member's projects" section...
 
Alright, crankcase bolted and (hopefully) sealed up. Now for timing side. Is this the "oil sealing disc" and if so is it properly oriented? (thanks ahead of time, I hope I'm not on here every step of the way with basic questions like this) ((and hopefully my images work))
Low mileage, semi-basket build thread
 

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