I started in earnest to put my '69S together and of course found that small things were missing, unuseable, questionable? especially primary drive parts. Just need some guideance as to who is most helpful, patient, knowledgeable,versed in American English etc.

Your help and advice are most appreciated,
Thanks in advance,



Tom

Old Britts
Eurotrash Jambalaya
Raber's
British Cycle Supply
Moore's
Commando Specialties
Fair Spares
Clubman Racing
These are the ones that jumped to mind first but there are more!

There is no shortage of reputable, straight-shooting, helpful dealers in the Commando world.

Unclviny

hi Tom
try either Mike @ Walridge motors CND, BritishCycle Supply CND/US, British Bike Connection Rochester NY US, Old Brits US, Frank @ Clubman Racing CT US,or Fair Spares America US. to name a few from where you hail. Google then Its a phone call away. Get her done.....
I have had good things come my way from most.
CNN

Tom,

That is a question with a lot of answers. Old Britts of course has a whole bunch of information on the bikes, but like most it is missing the 69/70 blow-ups. Not to worry, about the only difference from the '71 is the oil tank, headlamp mount, center stand, side stand, breather assembly, harness, seat, I may have forgotten some things. One important thing is the front fender has shorter stays by 1" for a reason, if you get the longer stays, you may have a problem with steering under heavy braking because the fender will get caught in the 'S' exhaust pipes. The rear fender also has a notch for the tyre pump which I am finding is impossible to find, the fender, not the pump.

Depends if you want an original looking or just want to make it ride-able. I am trying to get mine looking as original as I can with some upgrades without going to whole different parts. You will have to look around for some of the original parts, Old Britts has some if you call them, they don't have a search feature for special 69/70 parts and they are real nice to deal with. I have had good luck with Mike at Walridge for frame, lever and rim parts, Norvil for engine parts, RGM for center stand headlamp shell and rim and some small stainless items. Amazingly you can buy stuff from UK including shipping cheaper than from the US. DomiRacer has some good deals, but most of their stuff is Oriental pattern and not always of good quality, they have a good price on the air filter and sump gaskets. Stay away from a place in Chicago and a guy named Marshall unless you go there personally and know what you are getting. Fair Spares does good upgrades to the gearbox and tach seals and has lots of parts, and SS handle bars. Rabers, British Only, Hawkshaw I have dealt with on small items.

I replaced most of my UNF bolts with SS from boltdepot.com. The Whitworth, CEI, etc. you will either have to have plated or buy special which is very pricey. Rocky Point has lots of that. I plated most of mine with Caswell's Copy-Chrome and so far it is holding up fine.

If you are looking for something specific, PM me, I will be glad to share my experiences. You can check out my 'Phoenix' thread too. I'm waiting on the head from MMW which should be a couple of weeks and then I can get serious.

A couple of others on the forum have '69'S', Nelson, sidriley, and possm, I'm sure there are more.

Dave
69S

Old Britts has one of the best websites for ordering online. Lots of explanations, diagrams, and Fred and Ella let you know whether they have the part in stock, and if not what the status of it is. Also would second all of the others mentioned. Phil always has sage advice at Fair Spares, worth the phone call just to chat with him. Baxters has items that others don't, and lot's of used stuff. Brandon Moore at Steadfast Cycles (an eBay store) has some nice stuff as well. Also have used Rocky Pointe, MAP in Florida, British Bike Connection, and British Cycle Suppy. Colorado Norton Works was very responsive on an order I recently placed with them, and gave me great service after the sale. Eurotrash Jambalaya furnished a steering damper badge for my Trident when others couldn't. And Dave Comeau at Atlantic Green Technical Services has some one of a kind items. Never had a bad dealing with any of these people.

Tag and open first Forum subject line Technical information.
Its mostly about what you just asked about.
Any Nortoneer worth his salt can name off the same handful
above plus a few more major helpers to work your account to joy.

hobot

Thank you all for your responses. It is certainly refreshing to not hear and derogatory remarks regarding suppliers.From your replies it sounds like to me that the Norton world is a community centered on providing help and services as opposed to being a for profit wallet rape fest.
I am, by admission, a techno flunkie. At this point in life should be able to post pictures etc. but am actually thrilled to have the computer skills that I do posess. (no kids)
Anyway, my Norton is a roller (engine (rebuilt by Ed Johnson) and trans in frame, new wiring harness in place) . The biggest hump I have to get over is the primary set up. Reading and re-reading "English" Thank God for pictures! Learning a lot over the past few days. Gathering a parts list. All nuts, bolts, spacers and other dopy things but all critical to proper assembly. I do posess all the major componets of the bike. And, I'm building a respectable looking rider not a AMCA judgeable piece.
Anybody on the # of shims on the clutch drum for a start?

Dave, I'll be in touch

Thanks again to all; Happy motoring1

Tom

The inner cover normally has a washer/spacers on the locating stud that comes off the gearbox carrier, these spacers make sure that the inner case is not bowed out of shape when the outer cover is put on and tightened. I normally tighten the inner cover on at the front three bolts under the alternator and then use feeler blades to work out the gap between the stud and the inner cover with no tension on it. This is then the thickness of washer/spacers that you need. The shims on the clutch shaft are used to space the clutch hub in or out to ensure that the front and rear primary sprockets are parallell in operation. I normally use some kind of straight edge to ascertain this and fit or remove shims as required.

Baxter, british only and occasionally old britts in that order for me

TJKII wrote:Thank you all for your responses. It is certainly refreshing to not hear and derogatory remarks regarding suppliers.
Tom

We save those for other threads.

Actually I think the only universally offensive place is some shop in Chicago which is regarded slightly less than the residual seeds found in bird shit.

To All,
Again thanks. Spoke with Ella and Fred yesterday, placed an order and found them to be really helpful and extremely patient with a Norton Newbie. I've owned a Triumph for over 20 yrs., but have never had to do anything to it except general maintainence . Any muttonhead (myself included) with a hand full of basic tools and knowledge could have done what i have had to do to it over the last two decades So, on with the new adventure when the parts arrive.

I'll Be back,

Tom

p.s., Swoosh Dave , Great analogy! Might have to borrow that one sometime. T

Just got some stainless bits from RGM. I was amazed at the response time. Package arrived here sooner than some Stateside suppliers I have ordered from and prices and shipping were very reasonable. I'd recommend them to anyone.

I'll agree, I've gotten a bunch of stuff from RGM and all of it has been fine except for the gearbox SS magnetic drain plug which had a bad thread on it. They said they would take it back, but I took it to a local machine shop who charged me more than I wanted to clean up the threads. Should have sent it back.

Norvil has some good prices too, unless you don't like Les. Mick and Angie are always good to deal with, they won't do you wrong, but you have to call them, get a cheap telephone service, not AT&T or Verizon.

I have had better prices in the UK than in the US even with shipping, but can't complain about the US/CA service, except that fella in Chicago. Got the Cook County Attorney General after him and he refunded my money.

Dave
69S

The infamous Mr. H**y, there MUST be an infinite number of... (I can't find the right word) in this world as he stays in business even with his reputation. In Marshall's defense I have only done 1 deal with him and it went very well, he was at Mid-Ohio one year and he had the part on-hand so I handed him $ and he handed me the part. But I would NEVER give him $ and let him walk away!

Unclviny