Johnnymac wrote:Well i installed the Brembo Master cylinder and stainless brake lines this evening. I must still have air in the lines as the brakes dont seem to engage until the lever is half way pulled. I have bled the lines 4 or 5 times, but i just cant seem to get it right. Anyone have any tips?

Bleeding these brakes successfully has been discussed on a number of threads so you will need to look them up.
There are a number of strategies described since there are often problems doing it successfully.
I myself just kept pumping the level for what seemed forever and it eventually worked.
A common strategy is to pull the level full back and tie strap it that way and leave over night which sometimes works to give enough time to let the bubbles naturally creep up through the line.
Another approach is by using the bleed fitting force brake fluid up from the caliper.

The issue of the fluid used also has been discussed and I chose to use Dot5 synthetic because it is not corrosive and attract water like dot3.
If system already has some dot3 in it however may be problem to now run in Dot5.
There are threads that discuss this also.

Bob

Try the newer way where you use a syringe with needletip gone and a short plastic tube in it's place to inject the fluid from caliper end up to m.c. top end. Fast and no bubbles to deal with.

Torontonian wrote:Try the newer way where you use a syringe with needletip gone and a short plastic tube in it's place to inject the fluid from caliper end up to m.c. top end. Fast and no bubbles to deal with.

I took it to my local motorcycle mechanic, Eric Bess over at Flying Tiger Motorcycles here in St. Louis....and he did just this... he reverse bled it with a syringe. Then he pressurized it by putting the MC cap back on and pushing more fluid in the lines through the caliper. Now it is TIGHT. Two finger braking and the caliper grabs really nicely with almost zero effort. It is also very nice having rear brake lights with the front brakes. (The previous owner told me that for the 7 years he owned the bike, the front brake light never worked.) I am very pleased with the upgrade. Down the road, I would like to upgrade the disc and caliper, but IMO, even with the stock caliper and rotor, this is an amazing improvement in performance! -Probably the best $200 I'll ever put in the bike.

Johnnymac wrote:My new 1972 Commando Combat arrived today after a long journey from New York. It looks great and started on the second kick.

I took her for a spin today and man did it take some getting used to. It will take a while to get used to the right hand shift. The brakes on it are terrible. This is the first Norton Ive ever ridden, but stopping was a challenge. I ordered some high performance pads this evening to see if helps. I looked in the shop manual and it says to remove the front wheel to change the pads. Is there an alternate way of doing this? I just changed the pads on my bonneville and all it requires is the usual removal of the cailpers.

Well, I wasn't aware that owning a Norton Commando was going to completely take over my life.... but it has.

My bike has undergone a couple pretty good transformations over the past couple of months.... from the pictures you see above...

To this:



Only to find out that the tank sealer that the PO used is completely useless. So I have had to strip down my lovely looking Commando Cafe Racer..... now it looks like this:




The Tank and side panels are now at the shop for a complete respray. I can't wait to get her back together and on the road again!!!! And yes, I could have removed the sealant without ruining the paint.... but then I would have had a hard time convincing my wife that I needed a custom paint scheme. lol

Well, it was very much worth the wait....

Got my tank and side panels back from Paint today. Couldn't be happier! They were painted by Liquid Illusions here in St. Louis, MO. The paint work is fantastic. You can even see my bald head in the reflections on one of them. HA. Let me know what you think. No decals here. all logos are painted in gold flake.

SWEET !!

Yum, like ya can see through her lacy panty's. Hope the close ups after some use stay as pristine. Your painted parts will need a lock on them at rallys.

Thanks Guys! Now if I could just find time to replace my leaky oil seals. I hate to admit it, but I'm going to have it done at my local shop. We are moving in 30 days to a new home and I just don't have time to play with my Commando at the moment. After the new seals though, should be better than new.

Johnnymac wrote:Thanks Guys! Now if I could just find time to replace my leaky oil seals. I hate to admit it, but I'm going to have it done at my local shop. We are moving in 30 days to a new home and I just don't have time to play with my Commando at the moment. After the new seals though, should be better than new.

If you are talking about the crankshaft seal, that's going to be a real challenge without getting rid of crankcase pressure first. In fact, with a depressurized crankcase you may find the engine oil leaks are gone.

JimC wrote:

Johnnymac wrote:Thanks Guys! Now if I could just find time to replace my leaky oil seals. I hate to admit it, but I'm going to have it done at my local shop. We are moving in 30 days to a new home and I just don't have time to play with my Commando at the moment. After the new seals though, should be better than new.

If you are talking about the crankshaft seal, that's going to be a real challenge without getting rid of crankcase pressure first. In fact, with a depressurized crankcase you may find the engine oil leaks are gone.

Thanks Jim, I installed the reed valve from XS650 a few months back... But after having my bike sit there for 2 months wetsumping, it has sprung a leak in a couple places. I think that it's coming from is the crankshaft seal and the gasket between the inner primary and case. My primary gasket o-ring needs some RTV as well as it's leaking there too.

Guess I should of asked first. It's just that I've seen so many, including myself, try to correct a leaky crankshaft seal with a pressurized crankcase, I automatically react.