Seems a lot on here have different ways of doing thing on their Norton's

ashman said:

Paul your bikes look great, by the way how's the new place going ...

Click to expand...

I love the new place but it has a BIG problem - it is 32 miles away, about 45 minutes in typical travel. So, any "trip" to the ranch means an hour and a half of driving. So, unless I'm prepared to do AT LEAST 2 hours of work, I put it off until MORE work stacks up.

My wyfe is not the biggest fan. She joins me out there once or twice a month, or for special events like the recent eclipse. We had a fantastic vantage point with the clouds literally parting a minute or two before totality, and remaining clear until a minute or two afterwards!

Anyway, I've recently gotten 2 major issues fixed on two ZRX Kawasakis, repaired a crash-damaged Moto Guzzi for the widow of a late friend, and I'm about to finish my middle son's Ducati that sat 10 years, to sell it for him.

The pond got fuller than it has ever been, to the point of overflowing into the creek's original course, that was nice (but it starts percolating away rather quickly). Also, it FROZE OVER in February when we had 3 days in a row of sustained 19F temps. I tossed a large rock on it, and it bounced, tossed a BIG rock on it, and it cracked the ice a bit and bounced, then I heaved a small boulder on it which just broke part way thru. It was fully an inch thick!

So, my two Dreer Nortons are resting peacefully, awaiting a time which i can finally strip them down and polish them back up to their pre-storage glory. That 4 months of dank storage was one of the most expensive mistakes I've ever made...

marshg246 said:

So, most think my best trick is crazy!

These days I find one of the most hated Norton jobs easy - removing/installing the carbs. I absolutely remove them to change the air cleaner (leave it all in place while removing the carbs). I struggled long and hard with sawed off Allen wrenches and then started buying ball end Allens until I had the right combination. My final pair is one with a longer than normal long end and a very short, short end - both ball end. Then I have a normal one both ends ball. Between them I can always crack the screw loose and once loose I can use the longer ends to spin the first one out.

It might be hard the very first time but once the carbs are off, I ensure that the screws go in easily with t fingertips only. That way when putting them on. The timing side one is installed completely, the drive side outer screw is barely "nipped up" and the carb is wiggled until I can turn the inner one with fingertips. Once I can do that, I snug the outer, so the carb is not rubbing on the inner screw, screw it all the way with fingertips, and finally tighten.

It takes way longer to get the tank off than the carbs.

I find it difficult to fully mechanically sync the carbs on a Norton on the bike, so I remove them, stick an old handlebar in my vice. Put the throttle on it and sync them on the bench where everything is easy to see. Since I don't have chokes, it takes less than 5 minutes when the tank is off for the carbs to be on the bench being synced.

Click to expand...

If you use a cut off allen wrench, just remove the nut for the intake manifold. That way there's nothing in the way of turning it.

milfordite said:

If you use a cut off allen wrench, just remove the nut for the intake manifold. That way there's nothing in the way of turning it.

Click to expand...

Sometimes, removing the nut holding the wrench makes things easier...

grandpaul said:

Sometimes, removing the nut holding the wrench makes things easier...

Click to expand...

LOL! Meant to say the nut for the intake rocker cover.

Great idea Ashley. Little ideas passed on can be very useful. The internet can be the source of some terrible rubbish and misinformation, but it can also be SO useful and accurate. It’s just an insight into what’s in people’s minds, and we know how weird THAT can be. I hope that these tips help someone. I also hope its OK to send a post that addresses the topic.

Dominator engine assembly tricks.

This has been my experience with an early 88 Dominator. Bear in mind that later models may be different in ways that affect the tips given, i.e. don’t trust me, check for yourself.

The head of a 12mm bolt can be used to make a clutch hub centre holding tool. With just a little taken off the flats it will fit neatly in the splined centre hole of the hub. Held in a vice when in use. Either bend the bolt at right angles or weld a tee piece onto it so that it doesn’t spin when held in the vice. A curved claw (large hook spanner) can be made to engage in one of the clutch plate slots in the clutch hub in order to rotate the hub slightly to allow fitting of the shock absorbing rubbers. This tool must be sturdy, as quite a bit of force needs to be applied to compress the rubbers. This tool can also be used to hold the clutch when tightening the clutch hub centre nut onto the gearbox main shaft.

The gearbox sprocket nut lockplate screw is 2BA thread. A cap head screw is a good idea.

Lucas K2F points nuts and the centre screw head that holds the points plate on are all 4BA (a shade under ¼” across the flats). A 4BA SpinTite, or nut tightener, (like a screwdriver with a socket on the end) is handy for rotating the points plate when adjusting the timing – allows you to keep your hand out of the way so you can see what you’re doing. I have a multi-size magneto spanner that I bought from a kid at Sunday School when I was about ten, but it’s pretty useless and you’re better off grinding down the outside of a ¼” AF spanner so that it will fit in and grind some off the faces so that it will be narrow enough. I still see the kid at vintage car club meetings.

The original centre stand spring top mount bolt also holds one of the inner primary cover mounting tags on the original inner primary chaincase for my ’54 wideline.

If you cut two 6” lengths of ¼” rod and thread one end of each ¼” W, you can screw them into two of the timing cover holes on the crankcase and slide the timing cover along them to align the oil seals correctly when installing it

To stop the crankshaft from turning with the cylinders on but the head off, find the two unthreaded head bolt holes with the line between them running close to the centre of the piston, and drill 10mm holes in a bit of 25mm RHS at centres to suit. Cut two 3” bits of 10mm threaded rod to suit. Put the rod into the holes in the cylinder and run nuts up onto the bottom of them (the front nut may need the points to be trimmed off a bit). Then drop the bar over the rods and spin nuts onto the rods. Put a bit of wood on the piston so that at about half stroke the wood is trapped between the piston and the RHS. This will stop the piston. The cam and oil pump drive nuts can then be torqued.

When I got it my motor had the head of a cap-head bolt brazed onto the hard-to-get-at bottom magneto mounting nut, and a little of the crankcase outer web filed away so that a long Allen head tool could be used to tighten it from the comfort of the left hand side.

200mm lengths of 10mm threaded rod can be run through the engine mounting bolt holes with nuts nipped up either side of the crankcase and the free length sticking out the drive side. I use two because my bench cradle protrudes the same amount, but the other two 3/8” mounting bolt holes can be used to carry another two rods. This enables the engine to be laid on its side on the bench with the timing side up so that it is easier to work on. If the cylinder is fitted the motor will overbalance and a block of wood will be needed to support the cylinder. A motor with an alternator crank will require longer rods.

If an o-ring is trapped under the nut holding a degree wheel on (paper disc stuck to a CD), then the nut can be tightened to the point where the wheel is held securely but can be easily moved for adjustment.

The camshaft, with its spring-loaded breather timing disc, can be held in place in the D.S. crankcase by a piece of string wrapped around it and tied around the cylinder studs while the D.S. case is lowered onto the crankshaft which is already installed in the T.S. case, lying on its side.

I fitted the pistons to the bores before fitting the cylinders to the cases with the motor upright. To support the cylinders I took some 1” wooden dowel rod and cut three pieces 3 ½” long. In one end of each rod I drilled a 10mm hole about 1 ½” deep and on the other end I turned a 3/8” tenon about 10mm long. The holes fitted on the crankcase over the cylinder base studs and the tenons fitted into the corresponding holes in the cylinder base flange. With the cylinder thus supported it was easy to line up the gudgeon pin holes and press the pin in. I was well pleased.

The rockers and their washers are easily installed using a dummy spindle made a little undersize and 2” longer than the spindle. A slight taper on the end ½” of the dummy spindle will bring the Thackery washer into line as it is inserted. Insert the rocker (with the outer shim washer stuck to it with grease) into the head and slide the dummy spindle about half way into it. The Thackery washer can then be inserted with the gap in the washer towards you. When the washer is mostly in then slide the dummy spindle further in and when it’s home wiggle it a bit to centre the washer.

I made a new head steady from the top of the motor to the steering head. Like a Manx it has a threaded rod so that it can be assembled with a little pre-tension, on the premise that it is there to reduce the tendency of the front wheel to whip back and forth.

I use clip lock plastic bags to keep small parts in their separate groups, and I string nuts and washers on either thin cable ties or the thin wire used to tie up garden plants. The cable ties are only engaged a few clicks so that the end can be cut off and the tie re-used. The bags have labels that can be written on.

All the special little tools that I’ve made are painted red to make them easier to find in the chaos of my workbench. Maybe I’ll colour code my special tools for each bike. My next project may be a Ducati – what a shame that red is already taken.

I've just put the head on and discovered that a 5mm dia. magnetic pickup tool is just the thing for manoevering the pushrod ends while peering in through the exhaust rocker cover hole. With the head held up off its seat a bit, once the ball on the rocker is seated in the pushrod cup I held the valve end of the rocker up with a rubber band over the bolts on top of the head. This keeps the ball seated while you fiddle with the other pushrods.

Some good tips here !. I must be lucky , Once built I have not had to rebuild any of my motors , Except Sons Atlas which wore out its rings (no oil changes!,) oldest rebuild still in use 34 years . Not getting enough practise !. A 650 SS PR bike next and some of those tips will be usefull.

marshg246 said:

I've heard that you Australians like to "have at" each other for the fun of it - starting to believe it's true

Click to expand...

I have only ever road-raced to develop a motorcycle for use in dogfights. Some people do not know how to have fun. When I was a baby, my mate used to dink me to a picture theatre where we watched Spitfires shooting Germans. Then when I was 13, I watched Geoff Duke blow off all the top Manx Nortons in a road race. I was stuffed forever - it is a bloody vice. Everything I have done as a scientist has been distantly related to road racing. It has taught me a lot. One of my bosses tried to bully me - when I think about it, it was pretty funny. He was a bachelor and thought he knew how to argue.
In the 1970s, when we road-raced, it was always dog-eat-dog. These days the kids all seem to be friends. My mate Russell is an arsehole. He must be 87 years old. I still tell him nothing which might help him to race faster, even though we will probably never be on the same racetrack together again.
I liked racing against the kids. I need to do it again.

One of the things I have always hated in Australia is football. It is a cowards' game. If someone really does not like you, in a football game they can get a sneaky punch in and get away with it. It has happened to me, and I immediately stopped playing and punched shit out of the guy. If anybody threatens, I immediately call them out to have a stand-up fight. They always die in the bum, but when I turn to walk away, I do not take my attention off them.
It was really funny when I was in charge of a laboratory, and two guys thought they could have a fight. I don't think they liked what I did for them. I helped them both to find better jobs.
American companies like to employ Australian managers.
I get the impression that in the UK, there are more ways you can end up in the slammer. We don't have guns, but knives are becoming more common.

The good thing about mate ship here in AUS is we can put sh it on each other and still be great mates, and when a mate tells you something private that they stuffed up or was embarrassing for them can be quite amusing but of course they try to get back at you, sometimes they succeed and other times they don't have a chance if you are one step ahead of them lol, but all in good fun of course, I can keep a straight face when I am sh it stirring, my mates can't lol and reading their body language always catch them out lol, I am good at it lol, but don't tell them that lol.

He was a bachelor and thought he knew how to argue.

Funniest thing I’ve read all day. Thanks Acotrel

Die in the bum, never heard that term before .... cheers Acotrel made me smile

ashman said:

The good thing about mate ship here in AUS is we can put sh it on each other and still be great mates, and when a mate tells you something private that they stuffed up or was embarrassing for them can be quite amusing but of course they try to get back at you, sometimes they succeed and other times they don't have a chance if you are one step ahead of them lol, but all in good fun of course, I can keep a straight face when I am sh it stirring, my mates can't lol and reading their body language always catch them out lol, I am good at it lol, but don't tell them that lol.

Click to expand...

It's the same here
British bloke's love ripping it out of each other it's all done in fun
We have some polish blokes at work that really didn't get it for a long time
Then someone told them "if a British bloke is taking the piss it means he likes you" "if he ignores you he really doesn't like you" after that they changed
And now they do the same!

baz said:

It's the same here
British bloke's love ripping it out of each other it's all done in fun
We have some polish blokes at work that really didn't get it for a long time
Then someone told them "if a British bloke is taking the piss it means he likes you" "if he ignores you he really doesn't like you" after that they changed
And now they do the same!

Click to expand...

I tried teaching some American friends the difference between phrases like “cheeky b*stard” and “yer wanker” when said in the different intonations of “friendly banter” or “let’s sort this outside”.

They were kinda shocked that the same phrase could mean you’re best mates… or gonna get a smack in the mouth !!

But the best bit was them practicing the phrases, in different intonations, in crap English accents !!

We took the piss for months afterwards

1973x75 said:

He was a bachelor and thought he knew how to argue.

Funniest thing I’ve read all day. Thanks Acotrel

Click to expand...

My father was a soldier during WW2, and when I was in high school, our pubs closed at 6 O'clock. Interacting with actually trained me. I loved him dearly, and I suspect he always pulled his punches. He was extremely strong and a committed shit-stirrer. My youngest brother is similar, I always need to listen to what he says or become an object of ridicule.
My boss who was the bachelor was living at home with his parents. He had been a rugby player. Some people have very strange ideas about their own importance. I was sad when I found out he had died. I wanted to sit with him and tell him the truth about himself and the beautiful job he gave me. He used to tell me that I was his second choice, but he did not know that I got two jobs at the same time, and chose him. I would never do anything which might have boosted his ego.
British people are much more civilised. You could not say to an Englishman, many of the things we say to each other. But they say things to each other which are in code. You should hear the way our soldiers talk back to their officers. Most of us are never in a position to hear it. I have worked with them - it is extremely funny.

acotrel said:

my mate used to dink me to a picture theatre

Click to expand...

I don't know if "dink" is a purely Australian expression, it refers to "giving a double" to someone on a bicycle, usually by having them sitting sideways on the top bar while you pedalled with your knees stuck out.
I have a scar on the bridge of my nose from when my mate Robert was giving me a dink and I dangled my foot into the front wheel.

"Gimme a dink mate"

marshg246 said:

So, most think my best trick is crazy!

These days I find one of the most hated Norton jobs easy - removing/installing the carbs. I absolutely remove them to change the air cleaner (leave it all in place while removing the carbs). I struggled long and hard with sawed off Allen wrenches and then started buying ball end Allens until I had the right combination. My final pair is one with a longer than normal long end and a very short, short end - both ball end. Then I have a normal one both ends ball. Between them I can always crack the screw loose and once loose I can use the longer ends to spin the first one out.

It might be hard the very first time but once the carbs are off, I ensure that the screws go in easily with t fingertips only. That way when putting them on. The timing side one is installed completely, the drive side outer screw is barely "nipped up" and the carb is wiggled until I can turn the inner one with fingertips. Once I can do that, I snug the outer, so the carb is not rubbing on the inner screw, screw it all the way with fingertips, and finally tighten.

It takes way longer to get the tank off than the carbs.

I find it difficult to fully mechanically sync the carbs on a Norton on the bike, so I remove them, stick an old handlebar in my vice. Put the throttle on it and sync them on the bench where everything is easy to see. Since I don't have chokes, it takes less than 5 minutes when the tank is off for the carbs to be on the bench being synced.

Click to expand...

I have only owned my first Norton for about 6 months. I have had the carbs off at least twice. I struggled with the sawed off Allen wrench and then came up with this idea. Having the many bits from those "Christmas Gift" screwdriver sets lying around by the dozens in tool box drawers, I decided to sacrifice one by cutting off the head and thereby making a stubby bit to fit nicely between the flanges of the intake manifold. Once your screw has started into the threads a turn or two, insert the homemade bit and finish tightening with the closed end of your 1/4 inch spanner.
Works Great!!