Norton Villiers Commando 1968 Re commissioning an adventures at 30

Hi Eddie think the plan is to machine that part out like the later cylinders on both sides as it's out of the piston travel area. Yep totally agree Pete did an amazing job on my 650ss tank spark erroding a screw an that's been spot on

Just about to go outside an start stripping the head now the crazy weather has stopped.

Then need to look at removing the bottom end to strip that got all the strip down tools now

Today's update sorting the previous owners issued out. Stripped the valves outta the head on the 68' Commando.

Tomorrow's task is to start cleaning some of the blast media that's remaining from when he did the head.

Interestingly the rocker spindles all had the oilways pointing inwards towards the centre of the head not outwards towards the rockers. Which I believe is incorrect for a Commando.

Some pictures for everyone's enjoyment video coming tomorrow.

Looks like the inlet guides are the later type with the seals and exhaust are the earlier type.

Next task is to remove the bottom end from the chassis and commence strip down on that.

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norton_rider said:

Interestingly the rocker spindles all had the oilways pointing inwards towards the centre of the head not outwards towards the rockers. Which I believe is incorrect for a Commando.

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Cheers mate ties in with the 68' Manual I've got just been having a flick through it's really interesting finding what's up with her. No wonder I was having issues, apart from all the other stuff we've found so far looking forward to getting the cases split and seeing what bearings are in.

Bingo.

Rocker feeds facing inwards allow too much oil into the head, causing it to flood to the point the guides are submerged, at which point they’ll suck oil down.

Highly likely to be the (or at least a) cause of your over oiling and general blackness.

Bingo is right... At some point a dedicated commando owner rebuilds the entire engine, so you're biting the bullet early on in your ownership. Sad, that the previous owner putting the spindles the wrong way is probably the cause of your total rebuild... ouch...

At least he's going to know what he has rather than going through the continuous trouble shooting.
The part of it all which really gets me is someone blasting the head and leaving the trash inside, and then selling it off without disclosing the fact. That's just wrong in all sorts of ways....I mean you buy a fifty year old bike you know you're going to put money into it...But that isn't right.

Cheers guys yeah this was from a older private individual who called himself a so called 'expert' guess it just goes to show all that glitters is not gold.

Main reason I wanted it was because it was a very early 68' which was what my dad's oldest bro raced. I had my suspicions though even with my limited Norton knowledge that all was not right as it was running like a bag of tat. Points pretty much fell apart in my hands when I removed the points cover so guess that was a sign of things to come.

In a way though I'm glad I didn't just check the spindles and sort the direction on those out as I wouldn't have found the rest of the issues with the help of the advice from Pete Lovell Chris an the lads from Norvil as well. An my all of you.

Know my bits are in safe hands with Pete an Chris.

I know the next time I come to get another Norton (currently selling all my Japanese classics) I'll be asking a ton more questions. Just lucky that rd250lc sold at weekend although it didn't hang around that's for sure. Giving me the money to get all this done.

Gonna be an interesting learning curve gonna start on getting the bottom end out of the frame.

Once all the engine is built I'll have to look at the gearbox wouldn't surprise me if he has done the same thing.

Commando progress video from last night's investigations today Ive got her ready for bottom end removal in the morning then its time to strip that down to! Yet again found more crazy issues video coming tomorrow on today's work

norton_rider said:

Commando progress video from last night's investigations today Ive got her ready for bottom end removal in the morning then its time to strip that down to! Yet again found more crazy issues video coming tomorrow on today's work

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Really sorry to see this, but I absolutely admire your positive attitude. Keep up the good work !!

Space 1999 - love it

If you are into retro, check out "The Prisoner"

Cheers,

cliffa.

I am not a number!!! Cracking series been watching UFO to.

Workin on the bikes listening to propper sixties music can't beat it.

Cheers mate yeah it's the only way forward really positive attitude it's happened next time round I know what extra questions to ask when buying another Norton

been working flat out on my 650SS today hopefully be able to finish that tomorrow an give her a test before I go for more Commando parts an strip down tools. Then if I need anything for the SS I can grab that at the same time.
Bottom end is out now but at a stop till I get some extra tools this week. Should be on crank strip mid week I reckon.

norton_rider said:

I am not a number!!! Cracking series been watching UFO to.

Workin on the bikes listening to propper sixties music can't beat it.

Cheers mate yeah it's the only way forward really positive attitude it's happened next time round I know what extra questions to ask when buying another Norton

been working flat out on my 650SS today hopefully be able to finish that tomorrow an give her a test before I go for more Commando parts an strip down tools. Then if I need anything for the SS I can grab that at the same time.
Bottom end is out now but at a stop till I get some extra tools this week. Should be on crank strip mid week I reckon.

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I AM A FREE MAN !

Gonna be back on with the commando got some new tools today to sort the rest of the bottom end strip down.

In reply to a few of the messages I've been getting.

Please note heat the head to retain the interference fit on the rocker spindles refer to your workshop manual

This is not shown on the video due to issues with the current head this is just snip bits filmed as a diary.

What happens at the beginning can differ to part way through dependant on what's found in-between filming. As the videos are over a day period then highlights edited together on my Mac.

This is not an instructional video as mentioned a couple of times just fun filmed while working on my Commando after the previous owner media blasted the head and left the media in the cylinder head which ruined my engine.

The spindles were already turning and loose as it was found out today after seeing one of the experts the rocker spindle covers fitted by the previous owner were incorrect!

For a brilliant instructional video on how to strip the Norton Commando engine check out the Mick Hemmings Dvd available on the Norton owners club.

Every day is a learning day really enjoying the process.

Bottom end should be coming apart this week!

Some epic stuff from Norvil
How nice is that engine stand!
IMG_20190729_150319085-01 by norton.rider, on Flickr

Well, that instruction book looks nice but I guess this one is better for the 68 Commando:
https://www.manualslib.com/download/1013224/Norton-Commando.html

Thanks Riviera yep got a NV one for the Commando that was for my 650ss

Got quite passionate after a few private messages on some other social media platforms basically telling me till I'm 50+ I shouldn't be working on Norton's.


Never gonna stop working on them far to much fun hopefully me learning as I go inspires some others my age to get stuck in and have a go.
Covered the latest findings with the cylinder head and how the videos are filmed + some parts on for the Ss.
Just wanna say thanks to everyone that's given me great advice so far.

tell these fools to pi$$ off. if the young riders don't pick up the torch than these old bikes will die off like them.

norton_rider said:

Got quite passionate after a few private messages on some other social media platforms basically telling me till I'm 50+ I shouldn't be working on Norton's.

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Thanks Bill yeah I was pretty shocked to be honest but it's water of a duck's back gonna be stuck in on the bottom end tomorrow time to split the cases

Had quite a productive couple of hours before finally got a break in the weather so got stuck in on the Commando then the heavens opened up biblicaly just as we split the casings haha! Mad dash to get everything away.

Next job is to strip the crank question to anyone in the uk where did you get your main bearing puller from an what size?

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those are the original roller bearings, not the improved superblend bearings which your bike should have. It's actually good that you took the engine all the way down from what your pictures look like... It just goes to show that just because an engine runs fairly well, that doesn't mean it's all good inside. The broken flywheel should make a decent anchor if you own a canoe, but it should never go back into an engine again from the looks of it.

The early cases don't have any thickened spider webbing in the casting around the main bearings. I didn't know that, but looking at the scars on the timing side, you have to wonder if that case half is good to reuse.

Most of us have been down this road. This is where it gets expensive. You can't risk all the time and money you are currently investing by reusing anything that could cause a catastrophic failure after the rebuild is done. There will come a time where you have spent a lot of money, and the bike looks exactly like it did when you first bought the bike, but you'll have the knowledge and confidence to know that everything inside the bike is correct, which makes going out for rides without problems into the normal experience. I rode around yesterday a bit. The bike never missed a beat and drew a few fans when I parked it when I stopped in town. A total rebuild is worth doing.

Carry on young man... it's worth it...

To pull the bearings from the crank you´ll need something like this:
https://www.globalindustrial.com/g/...ors/puller-splitters/Spreaders?trackType=null