New/old Norton owner

Hi all. I just bought a 71 750 Commando off ebay. It arrived two days ago and generally seems in nice condition. I previously owned a 73 850 (my dad bought it new back then) but sold it quite a few years ago. So I'm excited to finally have another one!

I have an initial question. The header pipes have bad chrome so I'm looking for new ones (ebay). Are there any issues regarding fit I need to look out for such as the 750 vs 850 exhaust nuts, or is an exhaust pipe an exhaust pipe? I assume I'm better off buying new instead of trying to get the old ones rechromed? They seem to sell for about $100/pr on ebay...

Thanks, and I'm sure I'll have lots more questions later.

Debby

Hi debby,

Well a big welcome to you!!! Thanks for joining our little forum. I'm still being impressed at how much information the collective craniums here can hold :lol:

As for the chrome --- I don't want to insult your intelligence, so forgive me if I suggest something you may be aware of.

My 1975 850's chrome is pretty aged, with many pits and sub-surface rusting bubbles.

I found the magic of 000 steel wool. I can get a fantastic shine, as well as removing ALL surface rust.

I can still see where the underneath stuff is waiting to pounce at the nearest opportunity, but it certainly made me feel much better about holding off on re-chroming or a new purchase. My Dunstalls look REAL good now (well at least compared to what they used to).

I would guess this is one of those subjects one can find on nearly any old-vehicle restoration forum or web-site.

Again, WELCOME :!: :!:

Prolifically,

Commando pipes

Hi Debby,

I have a set of aftermarket pipes I bought six years ago on my '72 roadster. Fit is a definitely a problem. I had to buy a Mk3 kickstart arm to clear the right side pipe and the mufflers are not even. All the Commandos I see with aftermarket pipes from England seem to have similar problems. I have been looking on e-bay for original pipes with no dents or bends that I can have re chromed. If you have originals that fit properly, keep them.

I'm already well acquainted with steelwool/wd40 thanks to another bike I bought a few months ago (77 GS550 Suz). Works great for surface rust. The left header on the Norton has apparently logged a lot of hours with the steel wool. Chrome is scratched and dull but looks ok. The right one is a lot worse. Most of the chrome has come off, and it looks like PO slopped some silver paint on it to keep it from rusting. Looks pretty bad, but it's solid, no dents, and it fits. No alignment or clearance problems. So I guess the pipes are keepers. Maybe next winter I'll have them rechromed. How expen$ive is that anyway?

David - saw some pipes on ebay this morning that look interesting. Seller claims they're original, opening bid $9.99, no reserve. Is that you bidding on them? If so I won't bid against you

Debby

Norton pipes

Hi Debby,

It's not me on e-bay bidding. Go ahead! I'm not really in a hurry to get these. From the picture they look like original type (the exhaust flange is correct).