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Klink rode it when he bought it a couple of years ago, and he said it ran fairly well.

I think it was overhauled and sold to the previous owner who rode the poop out of it and never changed the oil.

It looks like somebody was in there but it's not that bad. Sitting sure does that sludge.

Commando head , Commando pistons ... someone has been mixing parts .
better check the crankshaft balance .
If you plan to actually ride the N15 , take a close look at the long bolt holding frame , front down tubes and rear subframe together , plus supports the brake pedal .
This bolt is too weak . When it comes loose ( and it will !) road holding will suffer a lot .
Replace it by something more substansial . The long bolt , holding the rear isos on a Commando is a good candidate .
( and ditch the rear chain adjusters )

Ludwig, how familiar are you with the Norton, Matchless & AJS Hybrids? I thought the head & pistons were the earliest of the Commando pre-production prototypes then in use on the late Atlas'...?

grandpaul wrote:Ludwig, how familiar are you with the Norton, Matchless & AJS Hybrids?

about 200000 km ? (half with a rebalanced 850 engine )
The hybrids had the oil feed on top of the head , not on the side , and had concave pistons .
Doing maintenance work on the primary is a real nightmare : remove both exhausts , footrests , brake pedal , all these screws , disconnecting alternator ,making a new seal ...
So you want everything in there top notch .
One of the weak points are the 3 cheese head screws holding the inner primary case .
They tend to come loose , making the stator rest on the rotor , plus loosing engine oil .
Because your cases are apart , you could consider installing at least one trough bolt , with a flat head from the inside .
I never got the Atlas clutch to work troublefree : sticking , slipping ...so I replaced it very soon with a Commando clutch .
( with hindsight , this could have been because I overfilled the primary )
This also requires a Commando main shaft .
But with a double row chain instead of triplex .
I used Mercedes camshaft chains ( renolds) , of wich I had plenty .
Locked the gearbox in a fixed position and did away with the tensioner .
Chain too slack = new chain .
Real oil seal in inner primary behind clutch to keep the oil in .
Because the Commando cluth has no cush drive , i aslo use a Commando rear hub .
Now it 's belt drive .
etc...
(This is a bike that can keep you busy ! )

Very good suggestions; this one has a cush hub clutch???

I have a couple of Atlas heads, I intend to refurbish the best of the batch and use it.

..and install tapered bearings in the head stock , and an oil filter , and , and ...

Turns out I have ONE 25319 head, and it's in great rebuildable shape.

and another small , but important thing :
you have the original toolbox cover , tie it with a wire , or thin rope , so that when the nut vibrates loose , you don't loose the cover .
It saved mine several times .
these covers are very hard to find .
I lost it once , and when i finally found a replacement , I made a mould , so I can make polyester copies .

Paul, Ludwig is being modest by not drawing your attention to the photos of his wonderful bike on Page 2 of this section under the title "Commando engine into a P11 hybrid rolling chassis". He has done some astonishing and elegant re-engineering in keeping his baby on the road. He has also been enormously helpful to me with posting drawings and other relevant information for my own project.

Dave, I've followed ludwig's posts with great interest. I like custom bikes nearly as much as restorations, and some customs are just unbelievable in thier engineering and execution (such as ludwig's, jeandr's, and others).

I'm very thankful for the folks on this forum that freely offer excellent advice and resources, like Jean's set of carb manifolds for my FCRs!!! maybe he'll make us a set of engine mount plates if i wish hard enough...

Paul, found this site and am now a member (thanks). Very knowledgeable folks here with some excellent tips etc. I am not against anything that would improve the N15 in anyway. Originality is one thing but if original didn't work and something better does that that's the way we go. Oil filter is one along with a host of others. I intend on coming here for the great comments, advice and suggestions.

Klink, I'm on at least three Norton forums besides this one, and this is definitely "where it's at" as far as Nortons go.

I'm thinking it would be pretty cool to meet at Barber's next year and hand ovcer the bike at the Vintage Festival weekend; I'll bring my Combat and we can do the open-to-the-public lap(s).

What an idea...never been though I have been asked. I'll say it sounds good now.

Got to cleaning out the trany and ran across this-



Also pulled apart the forks, yukky watery sludge in there...



Parts ready to go off to polishing-