cliffa
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- May 26, 2013
- Messages
- 4,129
Hi all,
Cliffa here, long time lurker but newbie owner. I joined "Access Norton" in 2013 ( I can't believe it's been that long ) so I thought it's about time to introduce meself.
I’d always wanted a Commando since when at around 16 years old and with a bag of chips in my hand I used to stand outside Gander & Gray in Manor Park, East London with my best mate and my brother drooling & ogling over the basket weave seated Blue and red Metalflake roadsters they had in the window, which I guess would make it around '74 ?. I've had loads of bikes in the intervening years, but always had a soft spot for Commando's.
Roll on quite a few years to February 2016 and I'd just celebrated my 59th birthday. I no longer live in the U.K. but Switzerland. I went to the annual bike show called "Swiss Moto" in Zurich, and after a while ambling around looking at all the plastic I got bored and decide to head to the bar for a pint. On my way I see a solitary guy on a small stand with a black drum brake 750 roadster and a black 961. I walked over and it turns out he is also British, his name is Andrew Evans and he has decided to setup a motorcycle sharing club called http://englishmcc.com/. (check it out, he has some lovely bikes which you can ride around this beautiful country on), anyway I tell him of my love of Norton's and how I’ve decided to buy one but can’t decide between a 961 or an original, but also admit that I've never actually ridden either. He immediately invites me to come over to his base at Lenzberg where I can test both out F.O.C. I didn't manage to get over until late May, and rode the 750 first. I was really impressed with the lack of vibration how agile it felt and of course as it's fitted with peashooters - that noise!! Then onto the 961 equally as noisy, but not in a good way (in my view). I am mechanically sympathetic and I feel that anything that knocks and rattles that much will not last long. On the plus side I loved the physical size of it and all the running gear was top notch. Then however I discovered that there is no longer an importer in Switzerland as Fritz Egli (a name you may know) has had a falling out with Stuart Garner / Norton. So decision made, it's a '74 Mk2A or a Mk3 I’m after.
October 2016, and I'm back in Blighty for my Mother in Law's 90th birthday. Beforehand I'd called a few EBay sellers, and one nice bike was in easy "sneak away" distance from her house. So I went to Hertfordshire and ended up buying a '74 Interstate Mk2a. I arranged for Chas Mortimer transport (another name you may recognise) to collect and ship it. In the meantime I bought what I considered to be the number one improvement for my needs, as my bike will stand for long periods during the winter months - a Jim Comstock breather, which will stop the need to drain the sump after any layoff and have all the other reed valve benefits which have been well discussed here. The breather arrived long before the bike did (thanks Jim) and is a really great piece of kit.
The Norton finally arrived on the 22nd November 2016, and I was chuffed to pieces. As the weather was still mild I decided to take the bike to the "Zollampt" (Customs) ASAP to pay the import duty and get the registration process started. I took the day off work on the 24th, got all my gear on and headed off. My god was i shocked at how bad the vibes were! I'm not exaggerating when I say it shook one of my fillings loose. I pressed on for about 10km, and was just approaching a garage when the engine cut out. I managed to coast in, and when I checked only the reserve tap was open, so tank now dry. I filled the tank and the bike started first kick, and seemed to run sweeter with less vibes. (Perhaps that was just me getting used to it). After a lot of faffing about I paid the import duty, and on the return leg was getting lots of admiring comments and looks from other road users (of course aimed at me not the bike). When I got home I decided to see if I could work out whey the vibes were so bad. I suspected something touching the frame or the head steady incorrectly setup somehow. I was shocked when I looked under the tank to find there was no headsteady at all! The bike seemed to track pretty well though, so I resigned myself to making one myself (actually I was secretly pleased as I love doing stuff like that). But for now I decided I would just fit the breather valve the following weekend. So come the day, I get all the required tools and the breather together and head to the garage, but as soon as I looked under the bike I could see the valve was never going to fit. This bike has been fitted with a third ISO under the gearbox and the outer tube is too close to the sump drainer to allow Jim's valve to fit. I was pretty annoyed at myself for not spotting this when I bought the bike, as now I was really worried that this modification would be spotted during the MFK test ( equivalent to MOT or Pink slip inspection) due on December the 20th, and it would fail, meaning I couldn’t ride it without serious work. They are REALLY picky. The bike did fail, it was fitted with a Norvil brake (no T.U.V approval cert.), an LED side light (too modern) and one non RF supressing plug cap (too anal). That's $150 gone but the inspector didn't notice the 3rd ISO thankfully.
February 2017, after two cancelled appointments the snow was finally gone and the weather was great. During that time I had purchased and fitted a standard (overhauled (and thanks to Kieth1069 for the info.) "Ludwig" style modified pistons) caliper and disc, a homemade heady steady with a Mk3 spring, all the Hemmings ISO's adjusted. As I said, The weather was great - until the day I took my sparkly bike for inspection when it poured down all day. But thankfully it passed !!! I was so relieved. I could then remove the UK registration plate GUT252N and put on ZH75055 (750SS as I like to think). So I'm on the road.
The weather has been pretty mixed so not many miles yet. So anyway, now I have loads of questions:
1) Oil level - how high should it be? I read just up to the "L" if so why?
2) Oil - which is recommended these days?
3) Oil filter - are there any others that fit?
4) Front brake switch / hose - Can I reverse the positions so I can swing the lever down lower ? as the switch hits the bars before I can get right for me.
5) Third ISO mod - Does anybody on here recognise the bike registration number GUT252N ? I would love to find out who did the third ISO mod. I have spoken to the previous owner and he said it was like that when he bought it. It seems it lived much of it's life in the Bristol area of the U.K . I also spoke to Mick Hemmings (via Angela – Hello Angela ) and Les Emery, and they both said it’s a great mod, which was originally designed and drawn up by John Mclaren for the proddy racers. Interestingly both the bikes that "motoalchemist" show on his recent blogs have exactly the same mod.
6) Primary Belt drive - The bike is fitted with a dry clutch & belt drive. The clutch screams as I pull away (sounds like wheelspin). I read you can lightly oil the plates, but do I need to strip the whole plot down? or can i squirt some WD40 or similar between the plates somehow?
7) The outer primary cover - was all drilled out like a Swiss Cheese, presumably to cool the belt drive but I didn't like the look so purchased a good second hand standard one. Is that a problem?
8 ) When I select first gear it's not clean. It clicks up but doesn't fully engage, so I have to keep my foot under the lever as I let the clutch out, then it goes all the way into gear. If I don't it will jump out of gear when I give it some beans. There is no end float in the K/S shaft, neither the chain or belt are too tight, and the clutch is not dragging. I noticed the other night that it has the Maney outrigger (from what I can see). Could that contribute to the selection problem?
Sorry for such a long first post and so many questions.
Cliffa here, long time lurker but newbie owner. I joined "Access Norton" in 2013 ( I can't believe it's been that long ) so I thought it's about time to introduce meself.
I’d always wanted a Commando since when at around 16 years old and with a bag of chips in my hand I used to stand outside Gander & Gray in Manor Park, East London with my best mate and my brother drooling & ogling over the basket weave seated Blue and red Metalflake roadsters they had in the window, which I guess would make it around '74 ?. I've had loads of bikes in the intervening years, but always had a soft spot for Commando's.
Roll on quite a few years to February 2016 and I'd just celebrated my 59th birthday. I no longer live in the U.K. but Switzerland. I went to the annual bike show called "Swiss Moto" in Zurich, and after a while ambling around looking at all the plastic I got bored and decide to head to the bar for a pint. On my way I see a solitary guy on a small stand with a black drum brake 750 roadster and a black 961. I walked over and it turns out he is also British, his name is Andrew Evans and he has decided to setup a motorcycle sharing club called http://englishmcc.com/. (check it out, he has some lovely bikes which you can ride around this beautiful country on), anyway I tell him of my love of Norton's and how I’ve decided to buy one but can’t decide between a 961 or an original, but also admit that I've never actually ridden either. He immediately invites me to come over to his base at Lenzberg where I can test both out F.O.C. I didn't manage to get over until late May, and rode the 750 first. I was really impressed with the lack of vibration how agile it felt and of course as it's fitted with peashooters - that noise!! Then onto the 961 equally as noisy, but not in a good way (in my view). I am mechanically sympathetic and I feel that anything that knocks and rattles that much will not last long. On the plus side I loved the physical size of it and all the running gear was top notch. Then however I discovered that there is no longer an importer in Switzerland as Fritz Egli (a name you may know) has had a falling out with Stuart Garner / Norton. So decision made, it's a '74 Mk2A or a Mk3 I’m after.
October 2016, and I'm back in Blighty for my Mother in Law's 90th birthday. Beforehand I'd called a few EBay sellers, and one nice bike was in easy "sneak away" distance from her house. So I went to Hertfordshire and ended up buying a '74 Interstate Mk2a. I arranged for Chas Mortimer transport (another name you may recognise) to collect and ship it. In the meantime I bought what I considered to be the number one improvement for my needs, as my bike will stand for long periods during the winter months - a Jim Comstock breather, which will stop the need to drain the sump after any layoff and have all the other reed valve benefits which have been well discussed here. The breather arrived long before the bike did (thanks Jim) and is a really great piece of kit.
The Norton finally arrived on the 22nd November 2016, and I was chuffed to pieces. As the weather was still mild I decided to take the bike to the "Zollampt" (Customs) ASAP to pay the import duty and get the registration process started. I took the day off work on the 24th, got all my gear on and headed off. My god was i shocked at how bad the vibes were! I'm not exaggerating when I say it shook one of my fillings loose. I pressed on for about 10km, and was just approaching a garage when the engine cut out. I managed to coast in, and when I checked only the reserve tap was open, so tank now dry. I filled the tank and the bike started first kick, and seemed to run sweeter with less vibes. (Perhaps that was just me getting used to it). After a lot of faffing about I paid the import duty, and on the return leg was getting lots of admiring comments and looks from other road users (of course aimed at me not the bike). When I got home I decided to see if I could work out whey the vibes were so bad. I suspected something touching the frame or the head steady incorrectly setup somehow. I was shocked when I looked under the tank to find there was no headsteady at all! The bike seemed to track pretty well though, so I resigned myself to making one myself (actually I was secretly pleased as I love doing stuff like that). But for now I decided I would just fit the breather valve the following weekend. So come the day, I get all the required tools and the breather together and head to the garage, but as soon as I looked under the bike I could see the valve was never going to fit. This bike has been fitted with a third ISO under the gearbox and the outer tube is too close to the sump drainer to allow Jim's valve to fit. I was pretty annoyed at myself for not spotting this when I bought the bike, as now I was really worried that this modification would be spotted during the MFK test ( equivalent to MOT or Pink slip inspection) due on December the 20th, and it would fail, meaning I couldn’t ride it without serious work. They are REALLY picky. The bike did fail, it was fitted with a Norvil brake (no T.U.V approval cert.), an LED side light (too modern) and one non RF supressing plug cap (too anal). That's $150 gone but the inspector didn't notice the 3rd ISO thankfully.
February 2017, after two cancelled appointments the snow was finally gone and the weather was great. During that time I had purchased and fitted a standard (overhauled (and thanks to Kieth1069 for the info.) "Ludwig" style modified pistons) caliper and disc, a homemade heady steady with a Mk3 spring, all the Hemmings ISO's adjusted. As I said, The weather was great - until the day I took my sparkly bike for inspection when it poured down all day. But thankfully it passed !!! I was so relieved. I could then remove the UK registration plate GUT252N and put on ZH75055 (750SS as I like to think). So I'm on the road.
The weather has been pretty mixed so not many miles yet. So anyway, now I have loads of questions:
1) Oil level - how high should it be? I read just up to the "L" if so why?
2) Oil - which is recommended these days?
3) Oil filter - are there any others that fit?
4) Front brake switch / hose - Can I reverse the positions so I can swing the lever down lower ? as the switch hits the bars before I can get right for me.
5) Third ISO mod - Does anybody on here recognise the bike registration number GUT252N ? I would love to find out who did the third ISO mod. I have spoken to the previous owner and he said it was like that when he bought it. It seems it lived much of it's life in the Bristol area of the U.K . I also spoke to Mick Hemmings (via Angela – Hello Angela ) and Les Emery, and they both said it’s a great mod, which was originally designed and drawn up by John Mclaren for the proddy racers. Interestingly both the bikes that "motoalchemist" show on his recent blogs have exactly the same mod.
6) Primary Belt drive - The bike is fitted with a dry clutch & belt drive. The clutch screams as I pull away (sounds like wheelspin). I read you can lightly oil the plates, but do I need to strip the whole plot down? or can i squirt some WD40 or similar between the plates somehow?
7) The outer primary cover - was all drilled out like a Swiss Cheese, presumably to cool the belt drive but I didn't like the look so purchased a good second hand standard one. Is that a problem?
8 ) When I select first gear it's not clean. It clicks up but doesn't fully engage, so I have to keep my foot under the lever as I let the clutch out, then it goes all the way into gear. If I don't it will jump out of gear when I give it some beans. There is no end float in the K/S shaft, neither the chain or belt are too tight, and the clutch is not dragging. I noticed the other night that it has the Maney outrigger (from what I can see). Could that contribute to the selection problem?
Sorry for such a long first post and so many questions.
