Advice On Where To Start.

So I picked up my Norton last night.
If any of you get a chance to leave work at 5pm in Albany and drive to Boston to pick a Norton up....knowing full well you have to be back at the office at 8am......just pass.

Today is brought to you buy coffee and redbull.

Okay so now that I have seen the bike and had a brief chance to look it over I am thrilled with the base.
I am not new to vintage bikes so I can see that it is in standard shape for something sitting in a garage for 10+ years.

Engine turns over, nothing is frozen, cant see anything hacked or cut.
I don't feel that it will need much more then the standard servicing to breath some life back into her.

But I am not without some questions.

Seems that the side stand broke and tipped the bike over at some point.
Damaged the side engine cover (I have a replacement) and the speedo.


Is there a place to order the external engine gaskets from?
What are my options for the speedo?

Right now the bike has a single Mikuni on it. Also cam with atleast one pair of Amals.
Any place I can read up on the Pros and Cons of either set up? My goal is to have a good useable bike, but part of me likes the idea of running the original carbs. I also have in my head that going from two carbs to one is a performance downgrade. I am keen to improve the function and performance of the bike where I can.


Tank is fiberglass, but doesn't seem to have fuel in it now. I assume it is a good time to seal it. Options?

What is a good "one stop shopping" type place to get all the service parts I need?
Looking to do the fork seals, drums, ignition, ect ect
Figure order all the parts and then spend a long weekend working my way through the bike.

I want to upgrade the isolastics, but for the life of me I can not understand what "kit" I need and what is involved.
Also plan to order a "head steady" and one or two small bits like that.

Thanks for the help.

The Norton is hiding behind my Seeley.

Welcome, oldbritts website has illustrated parts breakdown for all years and models, you might want to stay with the single carb at first , just to get it going . Some here have had luck sealing fiberglass tanks with caswell products., but there are emgo reproduction tanks that are getting good reviews. You can also get a new chrome bezel for the speedometer from places like andover or rgm . Again welcome

I have a beautifully restored original speedo if you're interested.

First thing is to make everything function.
Then can worry about making it look good.

Probably never going to "restore" the bike anyway.

But thank you very much for the offer.

jaguar said:

First thing is to make everything function.
Then can worry about making it look good.

Probably never going to "restore" the bike anyway.

But thank you very much for the offer.

Click to expand...

good plan!

parts and advise available lots of places.
google search in upper right of AN works well.
there is also a 'for sale' forum on here.
take your time and have fun wrenching AND riding!

jaguar said:

First thing is to make everything function.
Then can worry about making it look good.

Click to expand...

That's my philosophy too. Even though I ended up rebuilding every single part of my bike over the years, my plan was to get it going and have it be ridable, then see whether or not I wanted to have a fully restored norton... I really never did a complete resto' so I have some bolts that are pitted and my exhaust pipes have scratches, and rusty spots, but I don't care. My bike is a mechanically good rider... and fun to ride.

From the looks of your pictures, you have an early bike 69-70. I see the camshaft breather tube which is a dead give away on the model year. I have a '70 myself. The kickstands are known to break on the early frame bikes. Old britts website has a tutorial on welding on a new lug to mount a side kickstand back on the frame... Old britts is also a good place to order stuff from,.. nice people, very knowlegable...

I am glad I kept my amals. When I was sorting out my bike originally and had issues getting it to run (turned out to be an intermittently bad spark plug) I read that mikuni's were much easier to set up than amals and I briefly thought about switching over to them, but I am glad I didn't do that now.

As soon as my bike was working well enough to ride furthur than just around the block, I bought a metal gas tank from a friend who was a norton collector. That tank is still going strong... If you keep the fiberglass tank you have to use a sealant because of ethanol. I tried to seal mine and it always leaked, so I just bought a metal tank.

If I was you I would change these parts right away:
points > electronic ignition
coils > single dyna 3 ohm dual coil
mikuni > I might get it running on it to see if it runs since it's already mounted > then eventually swap over to the amals once the bike is known to run well

I would wait on the isolastics and get it running first. If it doesn't run worth a damn, you don't need to worry about isolastics yet.

anyway,... that's my obnoxious opinion... good luck, It's always nice to have a "runner" to start with so at least the patient you are working on is alive and has a heart beat. I look forward to hearing that it runs...

Dyna coil?
I might have one in the shop.
Didn't think it would work on this?

o0norton0o said:

From the looks of your pictures, you have an early bike 69-70.

Click to expand...

I would have said it looked more like a 1971 model?
I think the second digit of the serial number could be a "5" so is perhaps 20M3S/152254 which would make it a late '71 spec. model.

I never even looked at the numbers... I just assumed that the camshaft breather and the broken side kickstand would make it a 69-70...

... also, maybe my preference for electronic ignitions is a bias I have. Once I changed over from points to an electronic ignition, it's been a maintenance free aspect of the bike. I also like the 3 ohm dyna coil vs the use of 2 metal jacketed 12 volt coils in parallel or 2 metal jacketed 6 volt coils in series... A swap to a boyer ignition and a dyna coil has been a simple worthwhile improvement which simplified the ignition system. Perhaps my suggestion is jumping the gun...

I have to look at the title again, but I think the bike is a 1971

I normally just run points on my vintage stuff, unless really going all out with the motor (think Dyna 2000 CB750)

jaguar said:

I have to look at the title again, but I think the bike is a 1971

I normally just run points on my vintage stuff, unless really going all out with the motor (think Dyna 2000 CB750)

Click to expand...

Title is not a good indication of actual year because imports to US were regularly registered as one year newer.

For reliability, low maintenance, smooth idle, smooth power, nothing better than EI. Trispark worked wonders for my '72,

Anyone have a link to an owners manual?
All the switches on the bars just say "LUCAS Made In England"
I find that funny.

jaguar said:

I normally just run points on my vintage stuff, unless really going all out with the motor (think Dyna 2000 CB750)

Click to expand...

Maybe keep the points ignition then, at least for the time being?
Note the coils are likely to be 6v (Lucas 17M6) even though the electrics are 12V (see manual, section J12, "Ballast Resistor", also wiring diagram Fig.J10)

http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Repai ... mmando.pdf

1971 Parts book:
http://bigdcycle.com/tempbooks/nor/1971.pdf

jaguar said:

All the switches on the bars just say "LUCAS Made In England"
I find that funny.

Click to expand...

:!: :?

Points are fine once you get them set correctly. But the mechanical advance can be erratic at higher rpm. Electronic ignition can be set with more advance (POWER!) due to more precise timing control since the advance curve it not dependent on a whirring cam flopping back and forth according to centrifugal force, inertia and spring pressure. Lost of things to affect outcome there.

Carb-wise, it'll run better (POWER!) with properly-sorted Amals rather than a single, more reliable, higher-quality Mikuni. Bore the mixing chambers and sleeve the slides, new jets and needles Say-up floats, Viton-tipped float needles and some fiddling is all it takes.

There are a plethora of mods you can make to improve the reliability and rideability of your old nail. Coat the tank if you want, but when you're done, put it on a shelf and get a metal tank to save headaches down the road.

L.A.B. said:

jaguar said:

All the switches on the bars just say "LUCAS Made In England"
I find that funny.

Click to expand...

:!: :?

Click to expand...

Yeah, no idea what any of the switches do....lol

If the tank is clean and hasn't been already been coated then I'd recommend using the Caswell 2-part epoxy tank sealer.
The stuff is hard as nails and cures quickly. It'll only cost you around $75 for the supplies. New Emgo tanks are great but the cost of the tank added to the expense of a new paint job can add-up fast. Clean the old tank out with some acetone and some drywall screws first. Do this outside in a well ventilated area and be sure to protect the painted surfaces with plenty of tin foil, plastic wrap, painters tape, etc.

jaguar said:

Yeah, no idea what any of the switches do....lol

Click to expand...

:roll: :wink:
See manual, section J19.

You may find the clusters are fitted the opposite side to how they are described in J19 and also how they are drawn on the Edit: Fig.J10 wiring diagram?

what-controls-left-and-right-t17314.html

Where do I start?

You can start anywhere you want. If you are anything like me, it is more about the process then the end result. Even though I seemed to have reached an impasse, the imagination still has me looking for any possible upgrade.

Here is the point. I see this as an assembly of assemblies. The front wheel is an assembly, the gearbox is an assembly, the rear wheel, the primary, the head, Swing arm, on and on and on, all assemblies within themselves. Grab one and do it, then go to the next. The order will reveal itself depending on the need of the bike and you own personal priority. It all needs to be done but don't get caught in the "where do I start" trap. It will overwhelm you and then nothing seems to get done.

Each assembly, as you see them, becomes a building block of knowledge and a source for success and accomplishment that moves you to the next assembly, then the next and on and on.

Start on something simply, relatively speaking. Replace the front wheel bearings and going over the front brake as you go. You have to be safe on the road so go with things that compliment safe riding and vehicle integrity.

Keep it simple and keep us posted. PICTURES PLEASE!

Before I'd spend a ton of money on old Amals, sleeving, new slides, floats, jets ect, I'd add up the cost and compare that to a set of new Amal Premiers. They have all the good parts plus a removable idle jet for easy cleaning.

Looks alot like mine when I got it.
Make it run an then access what you need.
I thought my engine was sound. It was not. And so it goes.
Buckle up. 3 years later I am on the road and still working on it.
A not so small investment but I am glad I did it.
Good luck to you.