Norton as "daily" rider?

When I was younger in the 1980s my former Commando was my daily rider with not that many problems, but now I own five roadworthy bikes and they all get ridden at some point during the year which of course reduces my total per motorcycle.

I've just done two holiday trips 2 up with my wife. The first from Leeds, UK to Spielberg, Austria. That trip all told was 2,300 miles and there at least six 220/260 mile trips.

Today, I've just returned from a trip to France, 2 up again. Today we did 270 miles Portsmouth to Leeds, 190 miles yesterday, all totalled, 1,200 miles.

The only problem apart from quite a lot of oil consumption over the 3,500 miles was the speedo cable came out of its ferule near the drive.

Although the performance two up with luggage is slightly reduced, it is a good all round motorcycle and is enjoyable to ride except on motorways where they are not enjoyable, 65 / 70 mph being as fast as I can maintain for long periods.

So the point to my writing is not to boast at how good my bike is, but to show that the Norton Commando is still a capable motorcycle that can be used and enjoyed now.

The world has changed a lot in the last forty years and so have we. I still like a good adventure, but breaking down isn't viewed with quite the same carefree attitude that it once was. The big difference now is that people who break down are avoided and viewed much the same way we used to avoid people who walk down the street talking to themselves, which of course is now common. The bikes are the same or better, it's us who are getting too old!

I blew a head gasket on a 1967 Datsun Fairlady roadster while on a fishing trip up the Clackamas River circa 1977. I hitchhiked into Estacada and ordered a gasket which was going to take a week to get. I called my job, threatened to quit if they didn't give me the time off, got fired for it, went camping and fishing up the river, hitched back to Estacade, got my gasket, replaced it in the campground with the help of some drunk loggers, and then drove home and started looking for another job. At 20 years old that was a bunch of fun. Then I became an adult and that kind of event was seen as a problem as opposed to an opportunity!

I'm not saying Commandos are prone to breaking down, we just worry about it a lot more.

rvich wrote;

I'm not saying Commandos are prone to breaking down, we just worry about it a lot more.

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I'm not suggesting that I didn't take quite a few tools with me and some spares and a multimeter….because I did. Even the Trispark didn't fail.

My cafe ride is totally reliable. It didn't start out that way but with modifications and upgrades its solid. But I go through a lot of rear tires

With over 43 years of owning my Norton and 37 years in the Featherbed frame my bike has never broken down, except 3 years ago when it decided to throw a joining link on the rear chain, lucky I wasn't far from home, but other than that its been so reliable and I ride it pretty hard, have done many many of miles traveling over the east coast of Aussie land with out any problems at all, doing regular maintenance plays a big part in reliability also having a simple wiring harness and now with the JH maggie even less wiring.
I have always carried a good took kit with me in my shoulder bag when out but in all the years never used them while on the road, my hot 850 Featherbed has well over 180,000 miles on it and is still going strong after all these years of hard riding, but she is showing her age with chips on the tank paint, its not a show pony but for her age she still looks good in my eyes and it always get people looking at it when stopped and now my rear chain link is safety wired on lol.

Ashley

jseng1 said:

My cafe ride is totally reliable. It didn't start out that way but with modifications and upgrades its solid. But I go through a lot of rear tires

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So also with me Jim. I had to do many repairs from what the original owner handed me on my Purchase for my 1974 Interstate. I go through many rear tires. Getting your bike reliable requires work.
Cheers,
Thomas

A friend has a low compression Atlas that has served him well. One easy kick while straddling the bike and it's off and running. A lot to be said for low compression.l

Response to Reggie's point about 65-70mph cruise. He was two up and Im a one up lightweight but I do notice on the dual carriage that although
I can easily go past 70 it becomes difficult and tiring to do so. Autos today breeze along well in excess of the national limit. Some
also can out accelerate us. A nice well surfaced B road can be a better place for the Commando. Times have changed.

To me the limit on "high" cruise speed is the riding position. The bike is certainly capable of cruising one-up at 90+ but the wind makes it not really workable. I have no experience at all with a pillion on the Norton. I often cruise with my feet on the passenger pegs which automatically makes the position better for high speed. Yeah - I keep thinking about rear sets - as I have for 10 years now.

For 13 years a mk3 was my only transport. So yes, a Norton can make a daily rider. 1 unrecoverable breakdown in 72,000miles - stator burned out. But maintenance will have to be continual, especially if you ride through a British winter.
The mk3 ignition switch has the amusing habit of filling up with water, turning the lights on while you are away and flattening the battery.
Switch contacts corrode and need frequent cleaning
Disk caliper pistons need frequent cleaning if they are not to stick and wear out pads.
Valve guides last about 30,000miles and if you run with them worn the inlet seals spilt leading to high oil consumption.
The original mk3 swinging arm lubrication is pathetic, but easily cured with a proper oil feed
Twin amals need constant adjustment. Replaced with a 11/2" SU gives 73 mpg (imperial)
The mk3 wiring harness has nasty multi pin connectors prone to corrosion.
The Boyer mk3 has been a star performer over 40000m. Needs replacing now as pickup wires are getting brittle.
I guess these faults are well known here on the Forum. Despite them, the Norton can thrive on daily use.
rick

A fairing, even a small one can make a big difference. I learned that when I rode an R90s. Motorway riding is completely
different than the 60mph roads. It isnt the engine speed but the wind pressure.

I never had a "ride-stopping" failure on either of my Commandos - back in the day and the current one. Well, unless you count running out of gas once. I did have a "ride home immediately" failure on my current one after the first-generation Alton rotor disintegrated and left the bike without a charging system but the Shorai battery had no trouble running the Tri-spark for 40 miles back to the house. But that was not a "Norton" failure.

Certainly had the usual leaks/seeps, necessary Amal carb re-adjustments, minor electrical glitches almost always caused by dirty bullet connectors, etc. Heck, have yet to have a flat tire on a Norton!

I know some folks claim 90MPH cruising is topped out for a Commando but I never found that to be true with either one. My current (stock) Commando routinely cruises at 90+ on the Quota in Mexico, most recently from San Miguel de Allende to Mexico City and back - about 340 miles. As we know, the riding position isn't very comfortable at those speeds due to the wind but the bike has had no trouble. FWIW, a friend's single-mikuni cannot do that - around 70-75 is about the max.

Back 1974 maybe 75. I hitched from Scotland to Athens and back, 100 quid in my pocket and a back pack. On the return crossing the Channel on the boat, I remember 2 guys on 2 Interstates who had obviously been touring Europe. Next time I thought that was the way I would do it. As it turned out I did, several times but on a 1980 900SS. That was my main transport for about 15 years. The Commando came much later (5 years ago). It’s my main bike (out of 8), the Ducati comes out on sunny days and is only comfortable above 80 on my wrists. Conversely the Commando is only comfortable below 80! Took a while to stop things falling off, now its really reliable to the point I don’t carry tools anymore. When something goes wrong it’s a bit like buses, 3 come along at the same time.
In the UK, insurance companies usually provide a rescue service to back home, covers you in Europe as well. I used it once, stuck on a very busy road (freeway) about 2 miles from home. I will probably stop riding on the roads in November except for the odd day. Call me a wuss it’s okay

rickloader said:

For 13 years a mk3 was my only transport. So yes, a Norton can make a daily rider. 1 unrecoverable breakdown in 72,000miles - stator burned out. But maintenance will have to be continual, especially if you ride through a British winter.
The mk3 ignition switch has the amusing habit of filling up with water, turning the lights on while you are away and flattening the battery.

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That's a rather serious issue and hardly amusing. Is there a workaround, other than fitting a different switch? Is the CnW switch better?
How is the switch mounted on the 961? I believe installing relays will reduce the problem somewhat.

rickloader said:

The original mk3 swinging arm lubrication is pathetic, but easily cured with a proper oil feed.

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There are numerous threads on s/a lubrication - Fred Eaton at Old Britts heralds the Mk3 design, while others like yourself seem to consider the Mk3 bearing solution as hardly an improvement over the previous design. Les Emery took the liberty of converting mine back to pre-Mk3 standard, claiming the old design gave better bearing support, but in the process he also introduced frequent maintenance, and I am ambiguous over this "improvement".
So - is there a final verdict on how to simplify lubrication of the s/a bearings? Someone made the proposal to modify the sealings, minimising oil loss and thereby extending the service intervals.
To me this seems like a good idea. I have no problems accepting a 10 000 mile / 15000 km lube refill, but I'd hate to do it every 3500 miles / 5000 km.
Adding a reservoir to lube the s/a may be a solution, but fitting lines and couplings look ugly and introduces new potential leaks. To me this is doctoring on the faults, not the causes of those faults.

Anyway, thank you Rick for sharing your experiences.

-Knut

sure to start a conflict, but I used Hobot’s idea and packed Swing Arm full of grease when I replaced the internals ..... that was several years ago , have a look ocassionally and so far no room to force any more in .... have experienced no down side yet ....
Craig

I lube my '73 (after new bushings/swingarm clamps) pretty much the way Norton did - 140 oil in the swingarm. But I don't use the fitting. I remove the swingarm bolt on the top of the swingarm and put oil in using a small syringe, filling until full, then replace the bolt. I don't use the fitting on the side of the swingarm because I learned if you use a grease gun type of device to inject the oil, you can blow the swingarm cap completely off the bike/stripping the threads on the long bolt.

was a regular on here a few years ago ( Bwolfie maybe ?) he had made up a batch of heavy duty SS kits for swing arm with better caps and very robust through bolt .... that what on my SA , no weeps from hot grease and no infiltration of grit so far , I like the setup .....
Craig

Commando has never failed to get me home. I have done a bunch of 700 and 800 mile days (I happen to live about 700 miles from Sturgis, SD and Columbus, Ohio where the AMA Vintage Days is held) and one trip from Wisconsin to the west coast and back. I did once break off about one third of one slide 100 miles from home. It would only run wide open or off. Believe me, it was an interesting ride home. All secondary roads, no interstate. Never found any part of that slide. It must have gone through engine and out exhaust. Doesn't sound possible, but where else could it have gone? I also once sat on a sidewalk in Columbus, Ohio and completely disassembled the carbs. I did not find anything, but upon reassembly the bike ran fine.

Nater_Potater said:

'Just finished wearing out another back tire! I put about 25 miles a day, five days a week, commuting to work. It's almost exclusively freeway work, and it can get a bit dicey come the evening rush hour. Nevertheless, it's still a joy to ride, even if it's idling along in second gear, surrounded by shiny metal boxes... I've done a couple of 500 mile-a-day road trips. I'm pleased to report that they were eventless.
Upgrades include 13mm master cylinder, Ferodo brake pads, Avon tires, single Mikuni, LED headlight, and Jim Comstock's exhaust thread inserts.

Nathan

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Boise or Couer d’Alene? That’s about it for population large enough to have traffic. Four years in Moscow for me in the 60s.

Back in the late 1980'sI used to dispatch ride in London on my 850 MK3 that I still have, mainly for the BBC taking video film from news crews back to the television centre ready for the nightly news, this being before the interwebs. Used to around 1000 miles a week, found that brakes work great when you use them all day every day... don't get gummed up. Did spend a lot of Saturday mornings on maintenance tho...