Sun in Seattle = riding time

The sun finally came out in Seattle for a full day, so I took my version of Norton P11 out for a ride. 96.4 miles from NE Seattle to Marblemount and back (total 192.8). Stopped for gas in Darrington and some of the Northwest Norton Owners club was there gassing up their BMW GS's and other large displacement adventure bikes. They came over to look at my Norton. They didn't know what it was, since it didn't have a Commando sticker on it anywhere. They gave me a club sticker and asked me to join up. Told em I was a terrible club guy. They lost interest in talking. I think they lost interest before that, since it wasn't a Commando.

Anywho, bike ran fine. Strong and rumbly. Fuel mileage was not horrible with the 35mm FCR Keihin carburetion like I've been led to believe by comments on this site. 64MPG. That said, I rode half of it on the HWY at the legal limit of 60 mph and only did a couple of 85mph squirts out on the country roads. I did not try to find out how fast it'll go. Fuel was being conserved, because I had no clue how I was doing on the fuel mileage. Maybe next time I get out in the country, I'll see what it can do, now that I know the fuel mileage isn't terrible.

64MPG is excellent... I wasn't getting that with Amals (which weren't worn )

How many lambs were sacrificed for that kind of mileage?

Schwany said:

The sun finally came out in Seattle for a full day, so I took my version of Norton P11 out for a ride. 96.4 miles from NE Seattle to Marblemount and back (total 192.8). Stopped for gas in Darrington and some of the Northwest Norton Owners club was there gassing up their BMW GS's and other large displacement adventure bikes. They came over to look at my Norton. They didn't know what it was, since it didn't have a Commando sticker on it anywhere. They gave me a club sticker and asked me to join up. Told em I was a terrible club guy. They lost interest in talking. I think they lost interest before that, since it wasn't a Commando.

Anywho, bike ran fine. Strong and rumbly. Fuel mileage was not horrible with the 35mm FCR Keihin carburetion like I've been led to believe by comments on this site. 64MPG. That said, I rode half of it on the HWY at the legal limit of 60 mph and only did a couple of 85mph squirts out on the country roads. I did not try to find out how fast it'll go. Fuel was being conserved, because I had no clue how I was doing on the fuel mileage. Maybe next time I get out in the country, I'll see what it can do, now that I know the fuel mileage isn't terrible.

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That is exceptional mileage for the FCR's. What final gear were you running off the gearbox? Were you using fuel with ethanol or high test?
Cheers,
Tom

Gotta remember this is a little 750, and I was not riding hard at all, except for the two very short run up to 85 mph bursts, and I don't think that is hard on my motor, just my nerves. I really don't ever want to get off a motorcycle again, so I'm kind of cautious these days.

I was surprised that the mileage was what it was. My modern motorcycles seldom did better than 47 mpg. Math error? 192.8 divided by 3

Moving right along... The gears in the primary are 22/42, and the gearbox and rear sprocket are stock 19/42. Gearbox final gearing is whatever AMC put in there for factory P11 builds. I don't have a tach, so have no idea what my RPMs were, but they are fairly low at 60 mph.

Not bragging, but there is very little about my motor and exhaust configuration that is OEM Norton P11. It's nothing real special, but there is nothing to really compare it to factory built wise. The P11 is lower and lighter weight than a Commando as well. It's set up like a couch though. My riding position is more or less upright, and I'm only 5'9" 180lbs. Less wind resistance may have contributed??

My plugs are very close to grey with just a hint of tan on the insulators. Some might think too lean a reading, but if that were true the motor would have gotten tired of running that distance. The plugs look like they came out of a new motor running on 107 race gas, so I'm just gonna leave it alone for a while and see how it acts in the heat of summer. I don't run NGK plugs, and I don't strobe my timing. Seat of the pants tuner I am.

I put premium pump gas with ethanol in the tank. Once in a while I put a little fuel injector cleaner in the fuel. I can buy the no ethanol fuel at the corner station, but it's lower octane, so I don't. The ethanol is rough on the FCR rubber gaskets. It makes them elongate, and a real PITA to reinstall. Fortunately, I'm not taking the carburetors apart anymore.

I use the as delivered jetting and needle, the clip is on the 3rd groove from the top, the low speed fuel adjustment is around 3/4 turn out, the low speed air adjustment is 2 turns out, accelerator pump is back to as delivered. I played around with the accelerator pump, but it seems to like being left alone on my motor.

The motor configuration:

Stock original P11 cases modified to install a 2S cam.
Flat top Commando pistons +.020 .
Stock rods.
Superblend crank bearings
Fred Barlow Spares ported original P11 head with stock size Kibble White valves, 31mm intake ports. Head surfaced -.040.
1 1/5" headers into a 2:1 1.5-2" collector into a gutted 25" megaphone with 21 SuperTrapp plates in it.
Lightened and balanced crank. Object was to get the motor to spin up faster and tolerate higher RPM. Don't have the technical specs, but it does what it should.
22/42 gearing in the primary, 19/42 gearbox to rear wheel. Stock chromed wheels 19 front, 18 rear.
Single row chain driven clutch with Barnett plates and springs.
Stock gearbox.
Modified clone Commando MkII spigot intake manifolds.
Boyer MkIV ignition.
2 wire stator alternator.
Tri Spark MOSFET reg/rect.
AntiGravity LiFePO4 104 battery.
Autolite APP 5224 resistor spark plugs.
Dual 12V e-coil 4K ohm.
Shade tree designed breather catch can setup, including vented valve covers.
Conti Go Continental tires.

Send it

Schwany said:

The sun finally came out in Seattle for a full day, so I took my version of Norton P11 out for a ride. 96.4 miles from NE Seattle to Marblemount and back (total 192.8). Stopped for gas in Darrington and some of the Northwest Norton Owners club was there gassing up their BMW GS's and other large displacement adventure bikes. They came over to look at my Norton. They didn't know what it was, since it didn't have a Commando sticker on it anywhere. They gave me a club sticker and asked me to join up. Told em I was a terrible club guy. They lost interest in talking. I think they lost interest before that, since it wasn't a Commando.

Anywho, bike ran fine. Strong and rumbly. Fuel mileage was not horrible with the 35mm FCR Keihin carburetion like I've been led to believe by comments on this site. 64MPG. That said, I rode half of it on the HWY at the legal limit of 60 mph and only did a couple of 85mph squirts out on the country roads. I did not try to find out how fast it'll go. Fuel was being conserved, because I had no clue how I was doing on the fuel mileage. Maybe next time I get out in the country, I'll see what it can do, now that I know the fuel mileage isn't terrible.

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NWNO? BMWs? Yup, that was them.

swooshdave said:

NWNO? BMWs? Yup, that was them.

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Said they were Norton owners, not Norton riders. I chuckled.

I wish I had the personality for clubs. I just don't. Riding I can do. Having responsibilities I'm no good at.

64 mpg? This is the American gallon, right?
Never got anywhere near this, are you sure your speedo is right?

Bernhard said:

64 mpg? This is the American gallon, right?
Never got anywhere near this, are you sure your speedo is right?

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I live in USAmerica, so the gallons are whatever is coming out of the fuel pumps in USAmerica.

I used Google Maps mileage from my home address in Seattle to the location I stopped and turned around at in Marblemount (x2), and my speedo, which agrees with the "Your speed is" radar signs in Seattle. The radar signs matching my speedometer while underway also surprised me. Maybe the pumps were wrong, but 3 gallons is the total of what I used. Could be a little off, since I only fill up to within and inch of the bottom of the filler hole. I could have miscalculated that inch by a few thousands once or twice.

I know there are a lot of people on this website that have owned a lot of British iron and have a lot more experience with Amals and so on. I just happen to have a thing for tuning. Sort of an obsession. I'm good with a dremel and common hand tools. The intake manifold walls are reshaped as are the filter adapters. I also did some minor smoothing on the exhaust ports myself after I got the head back from Fred Barlow Spares. I don't do this for a living, but I can make a motor run pretty good eventually. Or I just got real lucky with the mileage.

If I were to ride like I did in the 1990's on twisty hilly roads, I doubt my mileage would be 50 mpg. It would probably be in the 40's. I rode like an old man on this ride. And like I said, half of the mileage was on the HWY with a steady throttle. I'm just telling it like it is.

You could teach me a thing or ten on economy driving because my right wrist twists far too much coming up through the gears when on the 850.... Just something about the sound and feel makes it irresistible. Seems you've overcome this issue. Just ride it and don't wonder as to the why and if parts because you've got it down.

Bernhard said:

64 mpg? This is the American gallon, right?
Never got anywhere near this, are you sure your speedo is right?

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With my single Mikuni I'm averaging about 50 mpg (US Gallons). This is not highway miles. Best recorded is 59. 64 is plausible and easily achieved on the freeway.

jbruney said:

You could teach me a thing or ten on economy driving because my right wrist twists far too much coming up through the gears when on the 850.... Just something about the sound and feel makes it irresistible. Seems you've overcome this issue. Just ride it and don't wonder as to the why and if parts because you've got it down.

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The parts "what if" is large part of why I didn't ride a little harder. I might next time.

I don't think mine ever sounds like a Norton, if you don't count the clatter. The 2:1 is a little high pitched.

Believe me, I don't really have it down. It flows well, and doesn't give me the impression it's going to break, but I used too thin a base gasket on the barrels and the push rods are a little long making the rocker geometry wonky. Works, but it's noisier than I remember it being before I put the 2S cam in it and had the head resurfaced. Truth is I didn't know exactly what I was doing at the time. Still probably true, but I have perfected being delusional.

Schwany said:

The sun finally came out in Seattle for a full day, so I took my version of Norton P11 out for a ride. 96.4 miles from NE Seattle to Marblemount and back (total 192.8). Stopped for gas in Darrington and some of the Northwest Norton Owners club was there gassing up their BMW GS's and other large displacement adventure bikes. They came over to look at my Norton. They didn't know what it was, since it didn't have a Commando sticker on it anywhere. They gave me a club sticker and asked me to join up. Told em I was a terrible club guy. They lost interest in talking. I think they lost interest before that, since it wasn't a Commando.

Anywho, bike ran fine. Strong and rumbly. Fuel mileage was not horrible with the 35mm FCR Keihin carburetion like I've been led to believe by comments on this site. 64MPG. That said, I rode half of it on the HWY at the legal limit of 60 mph and only did a couple of 85mph squirts out on the country roads. I did not try to find out how fast it'll go. Fuel was being conserved, because I had no clue how I was doing on the fuel mileage. Maybe next time I get out in the country, I'll see what it can do, now that I know the fuel mileage isn't terrible.

Click to expand...

Hi Schwany, Glad the sun's been shining on you. I thought you were a resident of the South Bay area, near San Jose? I guess not, you're actually in the Puget Sound area. It matters little to me as I'm in Davis, CA near Sacramento and I have good Norton friends in both places. It seems to me, you're a pretty social guy posting fairly often on Access Norton. I think you would get a lot out of finding other like minded Norton friends up in your area. Especially the Northwest Norton Owners Club along with the VME (I've been able to attend several Vashon Island TT's, despite being a Californian. It helps my wife and her family are all from Seattle). Get in touch with me if you'd like some well known Norton names in the area to speak to. I think you might enjoy some of them? C-ya, Jer

jerrykap said:

Hi Schwany, Glad the sun's been shining on you. I thought you were a resident of the South Bay area, near San Jose? I guess not, you're actually in the Puget Sound area. It matters little to me as I'm in Davis, CA near Sacramento and I have good Norton friends in both places. It seems to me, you're a pretty social guy posting fairly often on Access Norton. I think you would get a lot out of finding other like minded Norton friends up in your area. Especially the Northwest Norton Owners Club along with the VME (I've been able to attend several Vashon Island TT's, despite being a Californian. It helps my wife and her family are all from Seattle). Get in touch with me if you'd like some well known Norton names in the area to speak to. I think you might enjoy some of them? C-ya, Jer

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Jerry,

I lived in California for decades. Was born there. Last residence was in Gilroy before moving to Seattle in 2014.

I appreciate the kind words and thoughts.

VME looks interesting. Is the Isle of Vashon TT a timed asphalt road only event? Does it require a race prepped motorcycle (safety wire, no lights, and so on), or can a street bike run the event?

Think Tavern to Tavern. The Vashon TT is nothing but a big crazy party along with a poker run. It's full of hipsters on old motorcycles, out for a good time. I think I have some videos on my YouTube channel, Jerrykap44. It's always around labor day and the VME keeps the date slightly secret so all of us CA & OR riders don't swamp their ferryboats.

QUOTE="Schwany, post: 530508, member: 10834"]
Jerry,

I lived in California for decades. Was born there. Last residence was in Gilroy before moving to Seattle in 2014.

I appreciate the kind words and thoughts.

VME looks interesting. Is the Isle of Vashon TT a timed asphalt road only event? Does it require a race prepped motorcycle (safety wire, no lights, and so on), or can a street bike run the event?
[/QUOTE]

Schwany said:

I use the as delivered jetting and needle, the clip is on the 3rd groove from the top, the low speed fuel adjustment is around 3/4 turn out, the low speed air adjustment is 2 turns out, accelerator pump is back to as delivered. I played around with the accelerator pump, but it seems to like being left alone on my motor.

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I went back up with the clip to the first position on the needles with a shim under the clips. It worked OK in the 3rd clip position, but acceleration in the lower RPMS was too soft for my liking. The 2nd clip position also works well, and is recommended by some Commando owners, but I wanted to try it a little leaner. Motor is nice and crisp, and pulls like it should. I also leaned out the low speed fuel adjustment from 3/4 out to closer to 5/8ths out. 35mm FCR Keihins. More info about the motor up above in the thread.