Wheel rim replacement

quawk said:

does my front wheel have any offset to the hub since it's a drum brake?

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For final truing mount wheel assembly in the forks with wheel off the ground and true for the rim being central to the forks.

quawk said:

My '73 has the drum brake, front and rear, which I intend to keep because I like the looks of the front drum. Twin leading shoes and the air scoop. Different from seeing the discs for so many years. I've asked in a previous post but got no response, does my front wheel have any offset to the hub since it's a drum brake?

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I like the look of the TLS drum brake as well . I actually bought the correct fork slider and drum for my 72 to convert it but changed my mind - never got the brake plate though. As far as offset goes I’m not certain but should be easy to figure out by placing the lug on the brake plate in the notch on slider then measuring , keeping rim centered between fork stanchions. BTW - if Al (acotrel) reads this you are likely to get a lecture on all the hazards of drum brakes -
LOL

quawk said:

Could I ask how long or how many years did you work as a bike mechanic? I see you're in the U.S. I respect your privacy but could I also ask what part of the country you're in? Also, when you were lacing up Norton wheels "back in the day" , were the rims usually replaced with chrome steel, stainless, or alloy? Were they usually being replaced from being bent, bad chrome (as one other poster had said he had trouble with), or did owners just want a different trype of rim?

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This was in the late 80s and 90s. By that time the former Norton/BMW dealer had become a retro parts and repairs shop with a large stock of NOS and used parts. We worked on mostly British and European bikes. The original marques were over represented as one might expect but we also took in Vincents, the odd Manx and anything outside of the Triumph/BSA lines as the the shop up the street did those. We also took in orphans including a Gnome Rhone and various Guzzis, Aramachis, some Greeves, a couple of French Mopeds, a whizzer and others I no longer remember. All in all is was about a decade and very interesting as the shop had a complete machine shop. We sent out carb sleeving, crank and cam grinding and dynamic balancing but did everything else in-house, including magnetos. We had a 3-phase 12" swing, 6-foot lathe, a 100 ton press, valve grinding equipment, a pin fitter, blast cabinet, a big grinder/buffer and many other odds and ends. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunty to work there.

I had come from the world of heavy trucks, which included frame straightening on things like KWs, Peterbilts, Freightliners, etc. but that turned out to be too much heavy work, then European cars at a BMC dealer who did, Rovers, Jags, MGs etc. and also did Saabs, so I had lots of experience with the quirks of British machines.

On restorations the wheels were often Dunlop rims we had re-chromed though at that time we could also get some Dunlops new -- probably NOS but I don't recall for sure. But on many cafe-style bikes owners wanted alloy and the flanged Akront was a hands-down favorite. I don't recall doing stainless rims, just the $taintune BMW exhausts. There were several good wheel builders in the area so we hired out much work to them but we did the specialty, oddball stuff that was too labor-intensive for the production shops.

There was a goodly number of scramblers, flat trackers and trials bikes that found their way to us and I used a heavy, lead hammer to straighten many a bent dirt-bike rim. My own matchless got that treatment on the rear. The front was too bad from jumping and got a new Dunlop 21' chromed rim. I laced up lots of those. Norton discs weren't so difficult as we had made up a jig to force the offset and get them concentric. Of course in rainy Seattle there was some rust but no road salt so chrome held up pretty well.

The shop was in Seattle, near Seattle University. Sadly it is gone now. The building became a glass blowing studio. After that I bought an interest in a Guzzi dealer and let younger guys do the wrenching but kept my hand in it on special projects. These days, I'm officially retired though I do a few jobs for barter, no cash though.

quawk said:

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, we have a small mom and pop bike shop not far from me, in our little rural county, that was open clear back in the late 60's and early 70's and sold Nortons during the times of production of Commandos. I'm not sure exactly the time line, but he had sold BSA, then Triumph, then Norton as the earlier brands ceased production. I think that's where my admiration of the Brit bikes comes from, walking into his shop and seeing some of the bright, shiny new English made beauties. Americans were still somewhat resistant to the coming of the Japanese brands. After Norton ceased, he then sold Moto Guzzi. I can only assume that those brands allowed a dealer to invest in a relatively small inventory of new bikes each year as he was a very small shop and probably didn't sell many new bikes in a year's time. Surprisingly, his shop is still there and he is still open, although I believe at this point, all his business consists of is selling parts, I would guess primarily to old customers from the past that try to patronize him out of loyalty. He no longer sells new bikes, or has a mechanic(s) doing service or repair work. I would also guess the reason he is still there and open is the fact that his shop sits on part of a small farm, and that the farm income subsidises the shop. I've not been to his shop in quite a few years, but am trying to think of an excuse to stop in and chat with the owner. I have been thinking, ever since I purchased my Norton, that I now have that excuse. Unfortunately, internet sales put the "stake in the heart" so to speak of little shops like his.

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i will highly encourage you to pay a visit. Your day, week possibly your life will probably be enriched...