newbie ventures into the beast

thanks guys for your advice.parts not here yet but i started taking carbs off removed seat ,tank ,battery ,covers.took some picutres for later refferences.removed both carbs and cables found one throttle needleclipcame off to easy clip weak and cracked were it slides into the groove.i don't know if that would make a difference but it wouldn't of lasted much longer.started inspecting wiring to find main harness under side of loom 3 red wires over heated i think positive leads to battery .wiring quite a mess this i think will be the hard part cleaning this up.old owner installed boyer ing. and alot of wiring taped up and inactive i think if i remove the unused wires it won't be so bad. can see my shelf going back to points.thanks for the tip on labeling wires got a wiring diagram coming to . any other tips would be much appreciated.guess i'll go back and start un-taping wires hope the new harness is in a loom. thanks again mc1011

found one throttle needle clip came off too easy - clip weak and cracked were it slides into the groove

Click to expand...

The needle retention clips are split in the center. They are pretty easy to knock off when removing the slide, especially the first time. You get new clips in the rebuild kit, anyway. If you reinstall the slides with the carbs on the bike, you need to do it with the airbox off so you can reach into the throat and guide the needle into the jet.

Note which notch the clip is fixed to on the other needle - that will be your starting point when you re-assemble the carbs. The notches allow you to raise or lower the needle in the main jet which will richen or lean the mixture at mid-throttle.

The normal Norton wiring is that way. I don't think it was done by a previous owner. There are a lot of unused wires because the same harness was used for all the models including the Interpol which had lights, sirens, etc! It is a mish-mash under the tank especially. :lol:

Watch the bullet connectors. Some people do away with them but they have done OK for me except that the bad ones are the two-wire-in-each-side junctions found in the headlight shell. These split and become useless.

Good luck with it. I think you'll find that 99% of it works fine as is and wild replacement of parts is not necessary.

The normal Norton wiring is that way. I don't think it was done by a previous owner. There are a lot of unused wires because the same harness was used for all the models including the Interpol which had lights, sirens, etc! It is a mish-mash under the tank especially. :lol:

Watch the bullet connectors. Some people do away with them but they have done OK for me except that the bad ones are the two-wire-in-each-side junctions found in the headlight shell. These split and become useless.

Good luck with it. I think you'll find that 99% of it works fine as is and wild replacement of parts is not necessary.

I use a couple of things on old connectors. If I wish to reuse them I put them in phosphoric acid. I keep a jar of this stuff (Behr's Concrete Cleaner and Rust Remover from Home Depot) outside my garage door. I put rusty bolts or connectors in to chemically clean them.
You have to watch that you don't go too far, but you can bring parts like that back to completly de rusted or corroded. If the part is plated it may remove or discolor the plating.
After washing to neutralize the acid I use commercial wire spray corrosion remover and protectant. The parts are good for another 30 years if you do it right.
This is particularly good on light sockets.
I enjoy making up little harneses like these on bikes as they are pretty simple and it can make an pleasant Saturday morning in the garage.
This winter I'll rewire my Norton but I think I'll use very few connectors as one can always clip the wire for testing and resolder it afterward .

The wiring harnesses were a weak spot, even at the factory. They were made by Lucas, as was most of the electrical system. Because Norton was such a minor customer, we got pretty crappy quality.

If I were rewiring a Commando, I think i'd switch over to the typr of bullet connectors you can get at Pep Boys back east or Schucks out here on the west coast.

On a couple of my Goldwings I have used the connectors I think you mean. They are much like the original Honda connectors and in fact will plug into them.
You can really have an arguement about the best way to wire as some folks hate solder. I have been using much the same methods for over 30 years that I learned from my dad and uncle who wired Liberty ships in WW2.
I prefer to use a good connector and lightly crimp and solder, followed by shrink wrap.
When we are doing stuff like the holiday train I'm working on now I do this on decorations, but not on the temporary installation on the train.
When it is all up and running we are looking for three days not 30 years.
With bikes if I do a good job it will last longer than the original system.
If you saw the current rat's nest you might laugh but piece by piece I'll correct it. You can actually take some pride in a job well done as a neat loom looks good.