Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 118 Location: Broward County, Florida
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:57 am Post subject: Still sorting it out
I took Ed (wife's name for the bike) out for a good, long group ride on Sunday, about 180 miles overall. The bike did not let me down, but four issues popped up:
1) back in town, after 60 miles of 4500 - 5000 RPM on the interstate, the clutch started acting up - not wanting to fully release (dragging) and slipping a little bit on acceleration.
Main seal was loose, allowing almost a pint of 50W to drain from the engine into the primary drive case.
2) The shocks are shot. A previous owner had gotten a replacement pair, but I guess 20+ years of laying around didn't do them any good. When I got to our destination, the Aprilia rider behind me said "You need shocks!"
3) swingarm bushes are shot. The guy I bought the bike from had gotten a 'new' cradle and swingarm, so I installed them without taking the swingarm off and checking things out. Seemed OK when I assembled the bike, but now I can visibly move the swingarm side-to-side about 1/4" at the axle. It was fine on acceleration up to 90+, but squirrelly on trailing throttle anything over 75
4) Cracked another exhaust pipe. Again, the bike came with 850 pipes in good shape, so I installed them against the advice of my local Norton guy. He said there is a good chance the 850 flange nuts will strip out of the head (as these had done previously), and the 'Y' of each pipe has a tendency to crack, especially with the quality of some of the aftermarket pipes. Left one cracked at about 500 miles - so I put on a used one ($40). Guy said, "You'll be back for the 750 setup"
Bottom line:
New oil seal 'permatexed' in (much tighter fit, too). Clutch washed clean of oil and re-assembled. ATF back in the case.
New 750-style pipes, exhaust crush gaskets and flange nuts
New bushes, o-rings and spindle
New Emgo shocks
$460
Hopefully, this will cure the issues.
Ride. Wrench. Repeat.
I should have it ready for another ride Thursday night (big bike night down south of Miami, about 110 miles round trip).
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:47 am Post subject: newbie finds oil in points cover
while tracing my wire hareness and getting familar with it i popped points cover to find a blend of water and oil inside not alot about tablespoon worth .so here i am on the horn again some thing i should get eduacated on before i install new ing.
Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 185 Location: Yorkshire England
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 4:30 am Post subject:
BillT wrote;
Quote:
3) swingarm bushes are shot. The guy I bought the bike from had gotten a 'new' cradle and swingarm, so I installed them without taking the swingarm off and checking things out. Seemed OK when I assembled the bike, but now I can visibly move the swingarm side-to-side about 1/4" at the axle. It was fine on acceleration up to 90+, but squirrelly on trailing throttle anything over 75
On a Commando, you will always get some movement at the back wheel due to the clearance required at the two isolastic tubes. I don't think that this (1/4") sounds particularly abnormal, as mine will do this and the cradle, bushes and pin were all re-newed 2 years ago. My previous Norton also would all have movement at the back wheel. Check the clearance of your isolastics as well, as this may help to reduce the amount of movement at the back wheel if they have too much clearance....ideally about 5 thou in my opinion.
In the UK, there is an annual vehicle inspection for machines over three years old, and although I have never personally had any problems, there have been people who have had their Commandos fail the inspection due to the testers "ignorance" about how the engine gearbox and swinging arm is mounted on a Commando, and the tester has assumed that the swinging arm bushes were worn due to the side to side movement at the back wheel. If as you say it felt OK prior to fitting, it may be that it is OK.
Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 118 Location: Broward County, Florida
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:16 am Post subject:
When I removed the swingarm, I was able to slide the shaft out easily by hand, screwing a 1/2" bolt in the end. Bushings were tight in the arm, but the pinion slid through the bushes quite easily. I would guess clearance between the bushings and the shaft to be 3-4 thousandths. Since I had it apart and had the new pieces, I went ahead and changed them.
Turns out the swing arm is a Mk III - I had to run back to the shop to exchange the o-rings for the disk seals. Re-assembly was much tighter - pinion was a tap-in affair with a small rubber mallet. Arm moves easily, but is tight enough that it will just about stay in place
Rear of the bike is much more solid now - traveled 110 miles last night on it.
....Then it died 3 miles from home. First a low RPM misfire, as if there was a fueling problem transitioning from the idle circuit, then it just died. Had my son come out to get me with a couple of tools. No spark from either plug. Since there are two coils, I would think it means both are good, as I don't think they would both fail at the same time. I would assume this means one of the Boyer components has gone bad.
Need to check the wiring, check the pickup, see if I can swap out the black box.
As the original Boyer I put in had a bad box, my trust level isn't that high.
Since it had never run with the original box, I'm not sure what a failing Boyer would act like.
common problem with boyers which happens on commandos more than any bike is the wires at the back of the stator plate in the points chamber breakdown/break which stops the signal to the black box to fire. It can be fixed and a repair kit is available from a board poster.
Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 118 Location: Broward County, Florida
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject:
Fixed!
Seems one of the connectors at the stator had been crimped a little too hard - fatigue apparently caused the crimped section of the bullet terminal to break in half, separating the connection.
Re-did the bullets and soldered them. No issues during six hours of riding around on Saturday.
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At the end of 1967 the Norton Commando was announced.
The Norton Commando was greeted with a certain amount of scepticism because on first sight the commando appeared to comprise of the old Norton Dominator twin cylinder engine mounted at an inclined angle in a set of new cylinder parts.
It was not realized that the new Norton Commando Isolastic method of engine suspension damped out all engine vibration and produced a machine which had uncanny smoothness for a vertical twin. In due course the critics were silenced and the Norton Commando had the distinction of being regarded as the first of todays so called superbikes. There can be little doubt that the original design concept of the Norton Commando has proved correct, since comparatively few modifications of any real consequence have been made since production commenced during 1968.
Now nearly 40 years later Norton Commando riders like us are a breed of our own, and as far as we are concerned its still more fun to go for a blat on the old Norton Commando, and fast. As a Norton Commando owner and enthusiast, my goal here is to promote and give credit to those who keep the Norton name going.
It is more deserving to give credit to the Commando itself, for after all these years it continues to be respected. The original Commando designers like John Favill are those who deserve the credit for developing this incredible motorcycle.
The Norton Commando Roadster and Interstate of the late seventies, never died. Although the Norton Villiers factory dispersed the tradition lived on. Today Kenny Dreer in the USA is developing the new 952 CC Norton. What a great looking bike this is, and its engineering is still based on the original layout. It will be interesting to see how the new 952CC Norton does in todays tough motorcycle market. One thing is for sure, I would own one if I could afford it.
