New to me 75' Norton Commando

I just purchased a 75' Commando and wanted to reintroduce myself and ask a few questions. I have been a member for several years and previously owned a 73' but sold it due to ailing parents. This bike is a pretty good old rider but needs some immediate attention and I will try to make it brief this time and add as I go along. It has the Mikuna carb and Lucas Rita ignition and the rest is stock and the bike has 31,000 miles. My concerns are as follows.

1. Tires and wheels: I have decided to buy Avon Roadriders. The wheels are 19", I remember that some members had changed out the wheels to 17' or 18' to mount a wider tire and wondered about any other advantages like handling, this will not be a hot rod bike but just a rider to putt around on. The spokes are almost black and I was wondering if I could order stainless andchange them out one at a time and let the tire guy true the wheels upon mounting the tires or just send them to Buchanan's or some other wheel folks.

2. Charging system: I am going to order the 6 gauge battery cables from Dyno Dave when I can figure out if I have the long or short ground cable, how is this determined? It has a new battery but the blinkers would not work today until I revved the motor up. It cranks ok with the estart but needs the upgrades. I have been advised to purchase an AGM battery.

3. Tools: The PO gave me 4 open end Whitworth wrenches, sizes AF 5/8 X 9/16, AF 1/2 X 7/16, AF 3/4 X 11/16 and W 1/4 X 3/16. What other whitworth tools would be needed to maintain the bike.

The PO just spent $731 on the bike this past November to include rebuilding both Master Cylinders, brake pads, new fuel taps, gas lines, chain and spark plugs. It smokes a little from the left side upon cranking but goes away when warmed up, hope it is just a valve guide but this can be addressed later. I am the third owner and it has all the old service records, original owner manual with the original plastic sleeve. I will post pics when I can get into town and get batteries for my camera.

I am sorry to make this so long but need help as I live about 2 hours from the nearest Norton mechanic's in Atlanta. Thanks in advance for any comments. By the way I also own a 2003 Hinckley Triumph Bonneville that is my daily rider.

PG.

#1
I would stay with the 19's and run a 100/90 rear and 90/90 front but you could use a 100/90 on the front also. you will need to completely disassemble the wheel to re spoke them properly.

#2
you need to make sure you have a fully charged battery. new does not mean good.

The smoke sounds like a valve guide.

1) If you already know you want RoadRiders, I don't see any advantage to buying 18 inch rims. If your rims are in good shape you can just get a set of stainless spokes. If you have never laced wheels before, a Mk3 is not a good bike to learn on.

2) The extra length in the ground cable is useful if you have the battery with the connections facing rearward. If your battery turns the motor OK, your turnsignal issue is probably a poor ground connection or corroded connectors.

3) That's a good start. Many fasteners are SAE so standard wrenches and sockets work.

Bill and Ron, thanks for the replies,
I have not fully made my mind up on the brand of tires, can you recommend any others. If I decide to replace the spokes I will just send them to Buchanan or any other recommended vendor, probably better to let a pro do it and that can be a project for next winter.

I have the battery on the charger but it is a wet cell and has no markings other than made in Taiwan, the battery was purchased at Classic Bikes in Deland, FL as they were the ones who did the work for the PO. I am going to Atlanta next week so I will pick up an AGM dry cell at a warehouse there. I will also check the connections for corrosion and contact. I also can measure the cables now and contact Dyno Dave to make up a set.

Thanks again, Porter.[/code]

if you intend to ride this thing I would HIGHLY recommend the AM26 roadriders. the K81 dunlop or the avon roadrunner IMHO is not a good tyre for a rider.
On the wheels Buchanan's is the benchmark for wheel work.

Buchanan's/CNW did my wheels (18" rear). I run Bridgetone BT-45s on them. Been real happy with both.

BrianK said:

Buchanan's/CNW did my wheels (18" rear). I run Bridgetone BT-45s on them. Been real happy with both.

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Very good choice. I thought Avon Super Venom was the way to go until I replaced them with Dunlop GT501's. Far superior to the Avons. I run Bridgestone BT45's on my BMW. Excellent bias ply tire, as well. The dual compound Bridgestone has very good wear qualities.

I have jut fitted AM26 Road Riders and am extremely happy with the improvement of ride over the KT100's

Hi Porter, Congratulations on your re-Nortoning. Hey you have received some good info here.
This is how I would approach the project: Ignore your black spokes for now get the tires Windy talked about and wear them out sorting all other issues. The Rita you have will run the bike well but it is very thirsty electrically speaking. For a slow touring bike just getting your charging system to work well enough to keep up at a plodding pace will be challenge enough on an e-start bike. Getting all the right pieces that will work together for charging and getting a good hot spark will take some long reads and conversation. Take a slow down and try not to make too many mis-purchases along the way this stuff is not free or friendly. On your way to a good charging system don't short yourself spark at the plugs. Just as an example the Rita works at low voltage well but soaks the overall system more than others and so is a trade off. The sparks three phase is powerful but requires the use of resistor plug caps and careful wire routing. Always looking to the over all use of the bikes mean RPM's will tell the tale of what you end up using. The mark three came with a good alternator a fresh rotor with a strong magnet an LED tail light and other voltage saving devices is my favorite approach all the while keeping the spark as hot as I can. JMO though