New Member

Hi All,
My name is Alan and I live in the Snowy Mountains region of NSW.
This is my first post on the Norton Forum. I have a candy-apple Mk2 850 roadster. The bike is not new to me having owned it for perhaps twenty years, having hankered after a Commando as a youth. I have always considered my T160 that I’ve had since my teens as my primary bike and as such the Norton has languished somewhat and not been used very much. This is a little unfair as the Commando has not given any real trouble other than a broken tooth on third gear many years ago which surprised me. The bike is in very good condition, a slight but persistent oil leak somewhere around the head being slightly frustrating.
Living on a remote rural property, about five years ago the bike got pushed to the back of my hanger under a cover and surrounded by an aeroplane, tractors and such and had not seen the light of day since until a few weeks ago when in a moment of enthusiasm I dug it out. Whilst walking around it I turned the key, gave it a tickle and a prod on the starter. To my amazement it fired up instantly in spite of fuel that smelt putrid and a sump flooded with oil. So I decided to give it a good service and take it for a gallop. I was pleasantly surprised how it exceeded my memory of it on the road, loping along ver nicely. I’ve now done quite a few small cosmetic jobs on it and I will register it.
I realise that there is a lot about Nortons I don’t know. I even find the engineering a little baffling after the Trident, so I hope the forum will be able to help me out, so you can expect a string of very basic questions coming from me. So, hello everybody and any advice you can provide me with will be greatly appreciate.
kind regards
Al

Welcome

A candy apple Mk 11 850 is a very fine motorcycle.

If you can work on a Trident then the Commando should be easier.

Welcome and if you worked on your T160 then the Norton will be a lot easier, I have worked on Triumphs and the Norton for over 46 years now and the Norton is just as good to work on as the old Triumphs, surprised the fuel was still active from sitting so long, might have been some old leaded fuel in it as unleaded fuel don't last, anyway get on it and ride it once you get it registered and its a lot lighter than the T160.

Ashley

Time Warp said:

Greeting's from the next State up.

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Hi Timewarp,
Thank you for the kind words.
Could you send me a couple of photos of the steering head showing the routing of the cables and particularly the brake hydraulic hose. Does it pass down through the triple clamp or run down the right hand side. The bike has the flat bars.
with thanks. It doesn’t seem to want to easily do either.
alan

Hard to tell from brochure pix, as they were likely neatened up for nice looking clean photos.

It will in large part depend on what bars/cables/hoses were on your bike to start. If you had a HIRIDER or US bars out of the box, and then changed to UK or drag bars, then your routing will need to change. Bar width also changes things. You have to find a happy place.



...although mine works better on the left with flat bars.

Welcome Welcome Alan L, sounds like you may have had some avgas in your tank good thing though, well whatever it was glad to hear of your renewed interest in your bike, and your good luck with getting it going again. I look forward to your future posts. If you have different handle bars from the previous owner, they probably or might have changed the lines and cables too. Cj

Welcome Alan, congrats on your renewed relationship with the Norton. Many people on this forum are airplane enthusiasts also. I will ask - what airplane do you have?

Welcome Al, you have come to the right place for the Norton enthusiast. The forum is a great resource of information. Many members are eager to share their knowledge for the cause of keeping these great machines operating. Dave.

Hello, Al. Welcome back to the Commando crew. Tridents and Commandos were pretty much the epitome of British motorcycles in the early to mid 70's, so taking one out for a ride allows you to feel like it's 50 years ago. We'll give you all the advice you need here, just ask. Other than ISO's, and one less Amal, I don't think you'll be very challenged keeping your Commando in tune.
There's soooo many aftermarket improvements you can do, but later 850's were pretty sorted by then. I think front brake master cylinder or caliper/ rotor upgrade mods, alternator and electronic ignition are probably things you'd want to consider short term.

Welcome Alan.

Welcome back to the "Norton club"

from one CAR owner to another, welcome aboard!

can't help adding my cable/hose routing. a lot depends on your handlebars - UK/euro, western, etc.. have UK/euro bars, and Vinhill brake hose. hose routes on the outside the triple tree. my factory-original brake hose seemed way too long, and did a bit of a loop-the-loop routing to the brake caliper. one thing i did was to provide a separate path for the brake light switch. used a 5/16" gasket punch to modify the rubber boot and ran the wiring straight down and parallel to the hose. hope this helps....

Alan L said:

Hi Timewarp,
Thank you for the kind words.
Could you send me a couple of photos of the steering head showing the routing of the cables and particularly the brake hydraulic hose. Does it pass down through the triple clamp or run down the right hand side. The bike has the flat bars.
with thanks. It doesn’t seem to want to easily do either.
alan

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