New Member Intro

Hello all,

I have been lurking on this forum for a few months now, while searching for a Norton to call my own. I know my way around bikes a bit, but mostly old honda cbs that I'd fix up, ride and sell. I have always wanted a Norton since I was a kid, and was never in the position to be able to afford the bike, but now that I'm a bit older and wiser, and with the fact that the old japanese bike prices have become seriously inflated (used to be able to find a cb750 for $500 not too long ago) I figure its time I took the long awaited plunge.

I am currently searching for a bike, and I was hoping to start this off right by drawing on access norton forum members superior knowledge. Hopefully I'm not too much of a nuisance with all the questions I'm sure I'll have. That said, I'm eyeballing a 1973 850 commando and the bike has been put away for 2 years, and the battery is dead. The owner said I could bring my own battery and we could try starting her up. Is there a specific battery that is recommended, and is there any prep that should be done before a cold start attempt that a newbie such as myself wouldn't be aware of with these bikes?

Anyway, I hope I can eventually be a contributing member and not just the guy asking all the questions. Happy to be here!


Thank you
Paul

Welcome, Paul! This is a great site. A '73 850 would be a good bike to start with, as long as you can keep the right-hand "upside-down" shift pattern fresh in your mind.

NortonNewbie said:

...the bike has been put away for 2 years, and the battery is dead. The owner said I could bring my own battery and we could try starting her up. Is there a specific battery that is recommended, and is there any prep that should be done before a cold start attempt that a newbie such as myself wouldn't be aware of with these bikes?

Click to expand...

The bike will actually run with no battery, assuming the charging system is intact. Just flip the key switch to only the first position (one click clockwise from vertical) so that none of the lights draw down the power while kicking it through. Also, be very aware of the fact that most of these bikes are still POSITIVE GROUND! Pay close attention to polarity. As for prep work, the carbs will most likely need to have their idle circuits cleared. http://www.jba.bc.ca/Bushmans%20Carb%20Tuning.html And, like the CB750s, the Norton is a dry sump system with remote oil tank. Most Nortons suffer from "wet-sumping", where the tank drains down into the sump. The procedure is to pull the sump plug from the center case, catch the oil, and transfer that back into the oil tank before starting attempts are made (assuming that drained oil isn't full of sludge/dirt/water). Don't try to fill the oil tank with more oil without first draining the sump, or you'll have a severely overfilled system.

Lots of pictures! We all love pictures. technical-information-how-post-photos-t2357.html (about two-thirds down)

Nathan

Hi Paul and welcome, a lot of things to think about before starting it, was the carbies drained before sitting, oil needs to be changed, has it got points or EI, is the wiring up to scratch, what was the reason for letting it sit, all this even before you put a battery to it, what sort of price he wants for it will also play a part, not having matching numbers will have a small dent in the price but there are a lot of reasons for engine or frame changes, remember these are over 40 years old and a lot of things can happen to a bike in them years.

If the price is right it could be a good project for a complete rebuild, even a running bike could have hidden problems and not all sellers are honest and how was the bike stored plays a part as well.

Without seeing the bike myself this is the only advice I can give, you could be lucky with it, but then there could be a lot of hidden problems, do you feel lucky.

Good luck with it.

Ashley

Not all Commando's have chokes still in their carbs, and you will have to "tickle" them to prime them with fuel. Do so until you begin to see fuel out the tickler (for me that is about a 4 count just before that happens).

Also, pull in the clutch and kick through in neutral before trying to start. This will help free up the plates.

http://britmoto.com/manuals/Manuals/Riders_3.pdf

http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Repai ... mmando.pdf

Hi, welcome. Good plan to get educated BEFORE the search. Good luck finding the bike you want :mrgreen:

Paul
Welcome but ... :?
PM sent
Andy

Norton Newbie said:

Paul
Welcome but ... :?
PM sent
Andy

Click to expand...

Hey Andy, I got your PM and replied.
Cheers
Paul

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome, looking forward to this and hopeful that I can find a bike that works for me before this miserable BC 'wet' coast weather breaks!

Lots of pictures! We all love pictures. technical-information-how-post-photos-t2357.html (about two-thirds down)

Nathan

Click to expand...

Thanks Nathan, I posted a few pics on a separate thread titled "1973 Norton Commando 850", trying to sort out what exaclty the bike is before i can make a reasonable offer

Paul:

Welcome from a former N-V development engineer now living in Anacortes. I hope you find a decent Commando without getting your clock cleaned.