Norton Picture Thread

[Goin-Commando]

I didn't see any place special to post pictures of Nortons so I thought I'd start one.

Neither one of these are mine, but a guy can dream:


This one is mine, 73 750 High Rider- Commando, the almost Combat version.
It's original condition (when I bought it):


Where I'm at with it now:





Everyone feel free to add pictures of your Norton here too.

[BluesRider]

Is there a bike in that top pic? Oh,now I see it.

[BluesRider]

P.S.- This thread is now a sticky!

BR

[Midnight]

commando iam so glad to see what your doing to your bike ,that high rider was in my opinin the ugliest cmmondo ever, my next bike i would like to own would be a red commando fastback, lomg range tank and black sibecovers ,a wider rear tyre, and a nicer instrument consol than stock fitted, back to your bike big improvement man very nice indeed..

[BluesRider]

OK,RICH! We're waiting.............

[rmak]

Ha ha, Bruce! Thanks for the prompt. I don't take possession for a few more weeks. I locked her in with a big down payment, though.
1974 Norton Commando. 10,000 original miles. My test drive was a little tepid. Right side reversed shifting is not something I'm used to. My buddy, a Norton owner, took it out as well and said it moves right along. I'll post new pictures after I get her home.

[Midnight]

Nice Bike Rich, you will have fun with that Rich, the low down power is amazeing my new mantra I have GET ONE ha ha..

[BluesRider]

Don't worry Rich.The upside- down,right handed shifting is easily adapted to.

Now,learning to brake with your left foot,well,that's a whole 'nother thang!

Best make sure the front brake is in good fettle.

Cheers!
Bruce

[Midnight]

Rich just keep repeating in your head ,up for down,down for up thats what I Do on certain bikes, and it works for me.

[BluesRider]

Very nice,Rich. I couldn't see the pic earlier,due to security shit on the computers at work,but I can see it now.Looks like a very original example,which is rare anymore.Sounds like the P/O knew what he was about,which is even rarer.

The oil pump mod was probably lapping down the cover,to fit closer to the impeller gears.That way more oil actually gets pumped,instead of just cavitating around in the pump.Common Commando mod.

The jury is still out on those anti wet sumping valves.Lots of people run them,and swear by them,but I've seen some forum posts claiming that the valves failed to open,and starved the engine of oil.I never had a wet sumping problem with mine,when I was riding them regularly,but I've seen them that would do it overnight.

The three phase alt,and solid state rectifier are both solid mods too. I'm not crazy about the aftermarket EI,but don't worry,when it fries,it's pretty easy,and inexpensive to go back to the original points/condenser set-up.

I see it's got the stock Amals.That's good,in my opinion.Lots of shit talked about Amals,but when they're in good condition,they work very well.They give you better throttle response,and run out better on the top end,than the single Mikuni set-up,which is the most common Commando carb mod.The main slam on Amals is that the slides wear out quickly,but they can be restored by sleeving them,or being fitted with a chrome plated slide.I'll bet this has already been done on that bike.

A couple of things you probably already know,but I'm going to say them anyway.With Amal carbs,it's very important to shut the gas taps off when the bike is parked.The way the floats pivot,they just don't have enough leverage to hold the needle against the seat,particularly if the tank is nearly full.There has been more than one rider who found his machine to be hopelessly flooded after forgetting to shut off his fuel taps.I've even heard tales of engines being completely full of gas,after sitting long enough.

Also,unless they updated them for 1974,the taps do not have a reserve position.For normal riding,you only turn on one tap(doesn't matter which).When the engine begins to run lean,or falter,you reach down,and flip on the other one.The fuel trapped on that side of the tank is your reserve.If you are going on an extended full-throttle run,like trying to bury your 150 MPH speedo,then you want to go ahead and turn both taps on.

The Isolastics can be set up either loosely,for comfort,or tight,for handling.I think your '74 has the vernier type adjustment,which means you can adjust them without taking the damn things apart,and adding or subtracting shims,like I have to on mine.Set up at the looser end of the spectrum,above 2000-2500 rpm the engine is glass smooth,but like Ron said,they do have a bit of a "hinge in the middle" feel.Set up tight,they will transmit some vibration at all engine speeds,becoming obtrusive at certain rpms.There are a couple of companies that make head steadies,that are supposed to let you set the Isos up loose,and still maintain chassis stiffness.I haven't tried one personally.Hopefully,that low mileage bike still has the original Isos,because reportedly,unless you can find some NOS ones,the aftermarket ones don't do as good a job of damping out the vibes.

Bottom line,great find!You're going to love that bike.You got a good price on it too,and you bought at the right time.A year from now,it would have sold for $6500.00

(I'm going to paste this over on NBR too.There are a couple of other guys there looking at Commandos.They might find this helpful)

Cheers!
Bruce

[rmak]

Thanks, Bruce.
The p/o told me about the return oil valve and their potential problems. He said that he made his own using a ball bearing that shuts off any oil returning to the engine. He says it's failsafe, but I'll be checking often.
My buddy says his only leaks oil when the bike sits. When running regularly it's sealed well.
50 weight oil was recommended. Any thoughts?
cleaning primary oil with every oil change was also recommended.
He says he avoids Mikuni's like the plague. I was surprized to see the amal used but it runs great.
If you'd like I could pm you with the complete list of mods for your opinion. Ron, you too if you wish.
Thanks,
Rich

Also, looking for cool handlebars and mirrors. Don't like the mirrors at all and could use a little rise and pullback with the bars. Any good Norton suppliers?

[BluesRider]

Rich,you can certainly PM me if you wish,but it might be informative to others to post it in open forum.

Remember though,I don't claim to be expert,only opinionated! ;D

Ron,on the other hand,probably knows what he's talking about.

[rmak]

I defer to your judgement. I just didn't want the thread to go off on a tangent with my specific issues. Please move it if it seems appropriate. I did want to give details of the guy's upgrades since I wasn't sure about all he did and didn't know what remains to be done. Here is his explanation:

This is a fairly complete list of all that I have done to upgrade my bike.---- Boyer ign. with reinforced connections on the stator plate. Podtronics rectifier, 180 watt alternator, Al Osborne voltage control ( eliminates the original assimilator), new wiring ( minimalist), seperate fuses on circuits, relays for horn, headlight, turn signals / brake light, ignition. Front fork modification -- added longer damper rods and springs, new damper tube caps.S/S front brake line, resleeved brake master cylinder.Automatic cam chain tensioner. Modification in timing case to prevent" wet sumping", relapped oil pump. S/S rocker oil feed lines. New valve springs and seals. Cyliners honed and new rings fitted.Resleeved Amal carbs.Needle bearings in the swingarm to replace bronze bushings. Needle bearings in the main stand.Mick Hemmings micro adjusters on the Iso's.. S/S spokes -- wheel rims are original. Fresh Avon Roadrunner tires -- 600 miles ago?. New seat. Fresh paint. Venhill clutch cable.
When I first got the bike in 2000 I stripped the motor and transmission, found nothing to worry about, all bearings and bushings were in top shape, crankshaft had clean journals and good big ends, main bearings are sound.I put in new seals.The sludge trap was clean, having only run about 8,700 miles I did not expect to find anything bad.

[BluesRider]

Well,we did get a little off the topic of Norton pictures,which is what this sticky thread is supposed to be about,so I started a new thread to continue this conversation.

If you look around,I think you'll find it.

Cheers!
Bruce

[haggis95]

This is one of those coloradonortons - I don't know why - I want to like them but can't.