Tools You Have Made to Maintain your Norton

Ok these aren't tools I've made or are specific to any motorcycle
But if you are making a wiring loom from scratch and you aren't very good at wiring then wago connectors are great
They are cheap enough
You can make a whole loom, checking everything works along the way
Then when you are happy just put on your crimps and hard wire it
It's better than twisting wires together to check what works
Or using crocodile leads etc
They are fully insulated
You can use a three fitting type to clip a multimeter probe into etc
They are great for testing switchgear that you don't have a diagram for

I make simple tools from time-to-time, but our @seattle##gs makes lots of useful tools. Many are things you "can" do without, but if you work on many bikes, do certainly don't want to once you have them!

One I cannot live without is his tool for holding petcocks while tightening - see posts #131 and #146 this thread - quite a few here have bought them.

Two that are hard to live without are tools for installing the bearings in gearbox housings - no more putting my hand in a hot case to drop the bearing in straight!

Another has two uses - a tool with two adapters for installing the crankcase and gearbox seals - no more trying to find a right-sized socket and it keeps the seal centered as well.

The camshaft seal in the timing cover can be a nightmare to install, but his tool for that makes it easy. You can live without his tool for installing the crankshaft oil seal in the timing cover, but it makes it easier to do without damage. Yes, I know AN has a tool for these and there's nothing wrong with their tool, I just prefer his.

These days I'll say something like "I wish I had" and pretty soon it arrives. Most of his tools are made from stainless steel and/or aluminum depending on the application.

@seattle##gs doesn't know I'm posting this. If you're interested in any of the tools I mentioned, I would contact him. He mostly works on customer Norton and Triumph bikes, so he knows the tools needed for them.

Not for normal maintenance but for dent removal during restoration. Template of aluminum made by scribing tank radius on undamaged side then transferred to wood block and sawn . Carriage bolts of three diameters chucked in lathe and heads ground with flapper wheel in 4” grinder to match tank radius.


Tank saddle cut open and dent banged out with hammer and carriage bolts into wooden buck .

I saw a video the other day: how to get a ball bearing out of a blind housing: set it up horizontally, fill bearing with water, ram tissues into central hole, letting them absorb water. When filled, use a close-fitting flat ended drift and hammer to use incompressibilty of water to start bearing moving outwards. I suspect it needs slight gap(s) behind bearing to work well! I guess thin oil could be used instead.

jan nelder said:

I saw a video the other day: how to get a ball bearing out of a blind housing: set it up horizontally, fill bearing with water, ram tissues into central hole, letting them absorb water. When filled, use a close-fitting flat ended drift and hammer to use incompressibilty of water to start bearing moving outwards. I suspect it needs slight gap(s) behind bearing to work well! I guess thin oil could be used instead.

Click to expand...

Depends on the strength of the housing the bearing sits in. The big hammer and incompressibility of water trick could just bust the back off of the bearing housing !

Definitely not a wise technique on Norton aluminium castings.

Some of the tools I made over the years.

Back in 1980, when money was tight, botched this sump plug wrench.
Originally as a box spanner. Pipe was later cut off, and replaced with steel strip.
Strip holds 2 pins for servicing front brake caliper.







Dent removal tools.
Fender got dents from chainlock..
Shaped a hammer head to the curvature of the fender.
Filled a sack with fine sand, shapes itself to the fender outside curvature and hold it steady nicely.
Had no experience, really.
Found that carefull hammering the dent from outside to center with a length of wooden slat worked best for me.
Result is not 100% but good enough.









Exhaust nut tool, using tyre lever, for roadside emergency fix.

Some more tools.

Nothing new: rubbers to keep push rods in place during cylinder head removal and installing.
Just some pieces of bicycle inner tube.



Primary chaincase inspection cap bit, for in toolkit:





Slide hammer XXXL. Not for in toolkit.

slimslowslider said:

Some of the tools I made over the years.

Back in 1980, when money was tight, botched this sump plug wrench.
Originally as a box spanner. Pipe was later cut off, and replaced with steel strip.

Click to expand...

Very nice. Here in the US, I stumbled upon a $10 box end trailer hitch wrench that works fine, at least on my N15. Depending on the frame, it may not work on others (but I suppose could be heated and bent).

I wish I could weld. Maybe at 63 not too old to learn. I am gonna look into it.

slimslowslider said:

Some more tools.

Nothing new: rubbers to keep push rods in place during cylinder head removal and installing.
Just some pieces of bicycle inner tube.

Primary chaincase inspection cap bit, for in toolkit:

Slide hammer XXXL. Not for in toolkit.

Click to expand...

Why so long?

Saber said:

Why so long?

Click to expand...

Because those rocker shafts need a proper pounding to get out!!

That'll get er done!

gpzkat said:

I wish I could weld. Maybe at 63 not too old to learn. I am gonna look into it.

Click to expand...

I've been able to braze for a long time but had a couple of projects that required welding and could find no one local reasonable to do it. So, I bought this: https://a.co/d/dA7iaTc and this: https://a.co/d/d6PUsDy and this: https://a.co/d/6WkkjDJ

It works fine and I've easily completed each job.

My only learning was stupid me: An apron is needed especially when you wear shorts and sit to weld - one quick session and both knees had multiple burn specks! Welding gloves are also a good idea.

I was 72 when I started - before that, it was the time and cost of having others do the work.

slimslowslider said:

Some more tools.

Nothing new: rubbers to keep push rods in place during cylinder head removal and installing.
Just some pieces of bicycle inner tube.

Primary chaincase inspection cap bit, for in toolkit:

Slide hammer XXXL. Not for in toolkit.

Click to expand...

Can you get the rubber inner tube out ok when the head is almost down and the pushrods engaged?
I've always used a rubber band twisted between the rods and the outer studs
I then cut the band and pull it out

baz said:

Can you get the rubber inner tube out ok when the head is almost down and the pushrods engaged?
I've always used a rubber band twisted between the rods and the outer studs
I then cut the band and pull it out

Click to expand...

Same question and I've been using rubber bands too, but I remove the bands as soon as the pushrod ends are in the tunnels, so they drop in.

baz said:

Can you get the rubber inner tube out ok when the head is almost down and the pushrods engaged?
I've always used a rubber band twisted between the rods and the outer studs
I then cut the band and pull it out

Click to expand...

Yes, I tilt the head until the push rods are entering the cylinder tunnel. Then place a piece of wood on the cylinder to temporarily support the head, then remove the tube rubbers. Then remove the wood, and lower the head further and engaging at the same time, using the trick with rubber bands over the rockers. Not that the engaging proces is always easy peasy..

Some more tools.
Cylinder head leak testing kit.
For checking for the infamous crack at the front at 3rd fin.
Using hose out of cylinder leak test kit for feeding compressed air into one of the spark plug holes.
The nuts for the head studs are not shown.



Clutch compressor, for in toolkit:





Crankshaft sprocket puller, for in toolkit
Using bits of the clutch compressor.