2022 Norton Commando Photo Contest

Fast Eddie said:

Indeed, come on City Garage, spill the beans…

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cliffa said:

Pipes one the 961's are stainless. It looks as though the @City Garage technique is going to remain a secret

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Dan1950 said:

I used a white polishing stick on a cotton buffing wheel followed by Simichrome.

Removed the blue but left a faint straw color.

Most importantly, it did not dull the chrome like dedicated blue removal products.

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cliffa said:

I know that @Stu Bodycote also knows the secret. I've seen his work, but he won't spill either.

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City Garage said:

Does this count? We were going to run this at Bonneville, but as I'm sure many heard, it was rained(flooded)out.

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Schwany said:

Are those standard TM or pumper Mikuni carbonators on the Bonneville Norton?

I used to paint my steel headers all too frequently. Tried just about all the paints that are supposed to work, and even followed the directions. Never lasts that long on a bike that gets ridden. So... as an experiment I stripped the paint off the headers and baked canola oil on them. Gets a bit golden but looks a little Akrapovic like and does not flake off like paint does. Same idea as seasoning a cast iron skillet. Not recommending it at all. I did it for kicks and so I wouldn't have to paint the headers. I do paint everything from the collector back, because it doesn't get hot enough to burn and flake off.

Looks like you painted them with BBQ paint before loading the bike up for the trip to Bonneville, and the motor hasn't been run long enough to burn the paint off.

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City Garage said:

Those are TM on special manifolds because TM's dont fit together on a Commando. And that is not BBQ paint or high heat rattle can paint.

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peculierboy said:

View attachment 98431

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Britbike850 said:

well here is mine…View attachment 98493

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Fast Eddie said:

Dan there appears to be some crossed wires here… the questions we are asking are put to City Garage to ask how he polishes the stainless steel pipes on the 961…

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City Garage said:

This picture isn't for the contest but to show a different angle of the exhaust. It's a full-size image, so you can zoom close to see the work.

We share a lot of what we do with 961's, but on this, our process is going to remain a secret. We have three 961's out there where this was done, including this bike, along with the side covers. The whole process is very labor and time and material intensive and not something you can do in your garage. Plus, you could buy a few exhaust systems for the total cost. The side covers don't turn out as well as the exhaust because of the crappy castings, but the stainless was from Cone Eng so we know it's good quality and was easier to work with.

The one thing I will share is that the side covers get sprayed with a clear Cerakote product which prevents oxidation but again not something you want to attempt in your garage unless you have an ultra-clean paint booth. We use this on both early commandos and 961's

View attachment 98419

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baz said:

I just use a Tig brush
It takes minutes to restore mirror polished stainless that has discoloured with heat back to original finish
Although I don't know why you'd want to do that unless you are not going to start the bike again?

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cliffa said:

Wow baz, I didn't know such a thing exists !!

Why do it? I think it really lets my 961 down.

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