What have I got here (part 2)...

wjrich said:

Old Britt's sells the lenses with no bulbs (pn 6-1408-11), so I'm asking if anyone knows where to get lenses and bulbs?

Click to expand...

http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/New%20Items%20In.htm

06-6408 Lens, Amber, for 850Mk3 console
06-6409 Lens, Green, for 850Mk3 console
06-6410 Lens, Blue, for 850Mk3 console
06-6411 Lens, Red, for 850Mk3 console
06-6431 Bulb only, for self-soldering

Click to expand...

The MkIII warning lights can be repaired easily with ordinary capless bulbs.
mk3-ignition-light-bulb-holders-t9250.html

Ended up priming and painting the yokes, installed the new brake plumbing (back to original MKIII configuration), and am waiting on a new console w/warning lights.
Reassembled the whole front end in about an hour, but then spent the better part of the last 2 days trying to bleed the front brake. It seems that I can't get a proper fluid-tight connection on the metal pipe that is between the yolks. Master cylinder to hose, lower hose to lower pike and lower pipe to caliper all good, just can't get upper pipe right on either end.
Any hints? I may have over tightened and maybe screwed up the flaired ends, but I can't seem to get these to stop leaking... I've ordered a new pipe and will try again...

wjrich said:

It seems that I can't get a proper fluid-tight connection on the metal pipe that is between the yolks.

Click to expand...

Yes, I have had the same issue at the pipe to bulkhead fitting that secures through the lower yoke, item 28, 29, 30 and 31.
I tightened only enough to stop the leaks, I thought. Tighter made no difference, it still weeped over night with the brake lever bungied to apply pressure.
I found the hose end bulkhead fitting to be shorter than the original, too short to allow the nut on the pipe to close the union.
I also had a weep where the hose connects to the MC, again too short to close on the internal flare.
All the new items were sealed in plastic bags along with the usual Norton id card.
The replacement brake hoses and pipes are not exactly as the originals. Disappointing yes, but easy enough to overcome.
All the Best.

I like Kim The CD Man's disc that contains the service bulletins in it, too.
I habitually shift into neutral before coming to a stop. In case I stall, I can kickstart before cars start honking.

Well the long and the short of things is that trying to "improve" the existing front brake plumbing, the bike's going to end up being trailered to a shop to fix the front brakes. Tried over many hours, 2 large bottles of DOT 3 brake fluid and 2 upper fork brake pipes to 1) ensure the fittings didn't leak and 2) bleed the brakes. End result- brake fluid everywhere excedpt in the master cylinder and brake lines. Good seal on hose from master, but can't get a seal on either end of top pipe, and now it looks as if I'm getting a bit of weepage from where the pipe joins the caliper. After taking the front end completely apart and refitting, I thought this would be the simplest part of the job. Time to swallow some mechanical pride and turn it over to an expert- brakes to crucial not to be done right.

That is a sensible move on your part. Pride has nothing to do with fixing brakes if all is not going well.
Total confidence is needed for any brake job on any vehicle.
They could fail at the worst possible time.
I used to just keep going and going until any problem was corrected, now I seem to have the brains to stop, go on to something else, then resume the next day and it goes soooo much better that way.
You are wise to hand it off and err on the side of caution.
All the best.

Well the bike is up and running and all issues resolved for now. Took apart front end, painted the trees, rerouted the brake plumbing as per original. Had issues getting the proper fitment of the brake line components, so I handed that part off to a professional. Good thing, as there were issues with the MC that were fixed that never would have picked up on. Also got the poor idle issue in check as the person doing the brakes re-adjusted my carbs. Seems it was the same issue that I had with my Atlas, and he told me how to resolve it, so I'm sure the same fix was applied. Thanks to all for th advice given for both of these bikes.
So I had a good, hard ride yesterday, getting in about 125 miles. Wanted to ride today, but weather here completely crapped out, so I decided to clean up the bike a bit.

With a little elbow grease, most of the bike looks great. What doesn't look as nice as the rest is the engine, specifically the head and the crankcase.

Now I'm not looking for "garage jewelry" here, I just thought that since the rest of the bike cleaned up pretty easily it would be nice to clean up the motor a bit as well. Anybody have an engine cleaning trick that doesn't involve major disassembly?
Thanks!

You could try and paint the head and crankcase (they were painted) originally. Not the side covers but the castings. There are high heat engine paints that mimic cast aluminum. You also could paint the cylinders with high temp black engine paint. You would need to do a careful masking job and clean the bolt heads afterwards. If done carefully can look good...not as good as tearing down and painting...but nice.

Side and rocker covers can be polished to bright shine. Put a little wax on them after polishing and they will stay nice for some time.