Norton 850 MKIII

Manursr · Jan 21, 2017

Hello ,

I'm new there .
I'm Manu from north of France , i'm 40 and I just bought an MKIII 850 that was a complete john player special .
It is a 76 model and i will transform it into café race with lyta sprint tank style .
It n a project father and son that I will share with my father .
We just begin to rebuilt it .
I will share some picture with you

Manursr · Jan 21, 2017

http://s50.photobucket.com/user/Manu_Militari/story

Some picture of the beginning of the project .

I already need you help .
I can't remember where the 2 metal pieces that are on the manual where fitted .
Any idea

Perhaps a part of John player special kit
Thanks ?

laurentdom · Jan 21, 2017

Salut Manu,

Go to the Norton Commando Rebuilds section of this great site. I remember that some weeks / months ago, Grandpaul told us the story of his JPN rebuild with plenty of comments and pictures. Sure it will help you.

Laurent (Grenoble).

laurentdom · Jan 21, 2017

More precisely:

Norton Motorcycles rebuilds section (norton-motorcycle-rebuilds-f27.html)

850cmndo · Jan 21, 2017

Manursr said:
http://s50.photobucket.com/user/Manu_Militari/story

Some picture of the beginning of the project .

I already need you help .
I can't remember where the 2 metal pieces that are on the manual where fitted .
Any idea

Perhaps a part of John player special kit
Thanks ?

Look to be for a Dunstall centerstand.

L.A.B. · Jan 21, 2017

Manursr said:
I already need you help .
I can't remember where the 2 metal pieces that are on the manual where fitted .
Any idea

Perhaps a part of John player special kit ?

Edit: Yes they are Dunstall centre stand parts as 850cmndo says, not home made footrest brackets as I first thought.
Perhaps you could show us some of the actual John Player parts as all the JPNs were supposed to have been '74 Mk2A models.

Manursr · Jan 21, 2017

Thanks !

I see each picture but impossible to see this pieces

Manursr · Jan 21, 2017

Yes thanks !
It is for dunstall 2 in 1 in 2 center stall I will remove it

850cmndo · Jan 21, 2017

Manursr said:
Yes thanks !
It is for dunstall 2 in 1 in 2 center stall I will remove it

Hang on to them and the stand if you have it. Not the easiest setup to deal with, I ditched mine, but they are pure unobtainium.

Manursr · Jan 22, 2017

One picture of the commando as it stated when I buy it

850cmndo · Jan 22, 2017

That STP sticker alone is worth 5 HP...

gortnipper · Jan 22, 2017

850cmndo said:
That STP sticker alone is worth 5 HP...

Yes, I have one of those on my tool chest, so it breathes HP on every tool that touches my bike.

acotrel · Jan 22, 2017

Why would you want to fit a Lyta sprint tank to it, it has not got a featherbed frame ? Why not rebuild it as a John Player Norton, it would have more value and probably look better anyway ? It is a tragedy that it has already lost most of it's originality, so why make it worse ? That bike is not an ordinary Commando, it is a much sought-after model - please don't destroy it.

gtsun · Jan 22, 2017

If you're not going to use that tank, I might be interested in buying it. Glenn.

gtsun · Jan 22, 2017

acotrel is right IF it's a real John player Norton but you'd have to look into that. Most likely one someone has hot rod it up as one. A real John player Norton would not have the done stall two into one into two exhaust either.

acotrel · Jan 22, 2017

Even if it is not genuine, it would be worth rebuilding it as a JPN. That 2 into 1 exhaust won't function properly because the outlet to the collector and tail pipe is too small.

lcrken · Jan 22, 2017

acotrel said:
Even if it is not genuine, it would be worth rebuilding it as a JPN. That 2 into 1 exhaust won't function properly because the outlet to the collector and tail pipe is too small.

It's not a 2 into 1, it's the Dunstall 2 into 1 into 2 designed by Dr. Blair, and it works just fine. As I recall, it made about 5 more hp in the mid-range, and lost a little at top end. The only real problem I've ever heard of with them is that the construction quality is generally pretty poor. The only set I personally have had my hands on had a really bad mismatch of tubes at the first 2 into 1 joint.

Ken

jimbo · Jan 22, 2017

cool bike,love that vintage racy "patina" however I don't think they made any MK111 estart JPN's, and the wheels! sweet!

If you like it the way it is, keep it that way.

There might be a interesting history on the build. Before you disassemble it, it might be worth to investigate.

Dances with Shrapnel · Jan 23, 2017

You posted a picture of a modern Norton 961. Hardly a Norton JPN.

acotrel said:
Why would you want to fit a Lyta sprint tank to it, it has not got a featherbed frame ? Why not rebuild it as a John Player Norton, it would have more value and probably look better anyway ? It is a tragedy that it has already lost most of it's originality, so why make it worse ? That bike is not an ordinary Commando, it is a much sought-after model - please don't destroy it.

acotrel · Jan 23, 2017

Is that a 961 ? I obviously didn't look closely enough at it.

Norton 850 MKIII

Manursr

Manursr

laurentdom

laurentdom

850cmndo

L.A.B.

Moderator

Manursr

Manursr

850cmndo

Manursr

850cmndo

gortnipper

acotrel

gtsun

gtsun

acotrel

lcrken

jimbo

Dances with Shrapnel

acotrel

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