Another Commando back on the road...

Finally got her put back together and on the road. First time on a Norton for me and I was very impressed. Smooth, quick, just "feels" right. The shifting wasn't as clunky as I was expecting, and was especially smooth from 1st and up. Got her up to about 60 on a nice straightaway, still seemed smooth and capable of more. Took her around town for about 20 minutes. Idle held up nicely, that was my main issue going into this project. Stalled once off the line due to my own ineptitude, but with one seated kick she fired back up (I hadn't been able to do that before). The clutch seemed stiff in the garage, but on the road I didn't notice it, that might change on a longer ride. The bike did what I wanted her to. Totally blown away. I guess I was expecting more of a fight…

The only issue when I parked her and checked her out was the loss of my left rear turn signal. A test revealed no current to the line in the back. Tank off again. I had been suspicious of the big rubber block of connectors before, and this one ride confirmed that. The aluminum in the connectors has shown to be brittle elsewhere on the bike, and here the green/white connector failed. Mystery solved, but now I'm going to replace the whole block because I'm sure more will fail.



There is a question here somewhere, so please bear with me… The wires and bullets seem fine in general, so I don't want to mess with the whole harness, just want to deal with this particular block and get back on the road. For the time being I'm going to make a block of 5 double bullet connectors held together with some electrical tape. But something caught my eye in the British Wiring catalog… Does anyone know if the "Jaguar Application" block of connectors from British Wiring http://www.britishwiring.com/CAT12_15.PDF (Item 336 Ten-way) works in this spot? Just wondering if anyone had experience with this, because I don't think the block is something that is commonly available elsewhere. No biggie as I'll make do with my custom block for the time being, but since I've had good luck with British Wiring in the past and am sure I'll have an order for them in the future, but I'm also imagining that the Jaguar block might not fit in such a tight space. I think I understand the concept behind using the large block - fewer individual pieces to vibrate apart from each other. It might be overkill, but for $13, just curious.

Anyway, thanks again guys for all the help with my minor issues, I'm excited to be a part of the Norton family and pleasantly surprised at what a great and accommodating bike this is so far. I guess I got a good one. Go Commando!

Nice bike.

Go with the 5 way, unless you call them for a recommendation.

Unfortunately, I do not have an answer to your specific question (though I'm sure others do), but I wanted to congratulate you on a gorgeous bike! I have a nearly-identical 1974 850 Commando in the same Royal Flake Blue, of which you do not see very many survivors. The turn signal issue will soon be sorted out, and I look forward to seeing you bike at one the of the upcoming California rallies!

Thanks guys - I'm going to take a closer look at that block. I was assuming that it was 5 pairs of isolated doubles, but now I'm questioning that... I have singles, doubles, and triples so maybe I'd be better off just cobbling something together. The diagram has been spot on so far, aside from the reversed RH/LH. Guess I overlooked the extra white line.

The old block was indeed 5 isolated doubles. So I still think that the part from British Wiring would work if it wasn't too bulky. The other triple connectors that were next to this block look okay, and so far the connectors that have been failing seem to be the doubles. So I'll leave those triples alone for now.

Here's my solution for the block, I used a couple old singles to replicate the size and wrapped the whole thing in a few layers of silicone tape. Seems to be okay. Back on the road!

Thank you for the update.

nomadwarmachine said:

Unfortunately, I do not have an answer to your specific question (though I'm sure others do), but I wanted to congratulate you on a gorgeous bike! I have a nearly-identical 1974 850 Commando in the same Royal Flake Blue, of which you do not see very many survivors. The turn signal issue will soon be sorted out, and I look forward to seeing you bike at one the of the upcoming California rallies!

Click to expand...

Thanks very much for the kind words. I'm a fan of the color too, just hope the paint holds up! It's not perfect by any stretch, but I don't want to repaint if I don't need to. I'm sure I'll turn up at a rally at some point... Take care!

Just wrapping up this post - I bought the block from British Wiring to satisfy my curiosity - and what do you know, it is a spot on match for the scrappy mess that I pulled out of my '74. Will keep it in reserve in case my custom block breaks apart, but wanted to let everyone know that the "Jaguar" block is really an exact match: 5 isolated double connectors in a nice rubber block. Hope this helps anyone trying to patch up their harness.

Soldered, dielectrical-greased, shrunk-wrapped connections are your friends. Those bloody bullet connetors are NOT.

Coincidentally or not, I ran my Commando through a flash flood today, water about a foot deep in parts and the splashing at speed was such that I couldn't hold my feet out straight enough to keep them out of heavy spray.

I was SURE the ignition system would be quenched. How could it not be?

It wasn't.

New wiring harness some time back, every bloody connection hand soldered by yours truly. The Boyer held up too. Ignition module was somewhat above the waterline and shielded under the tank but the points cover itself was submerged. Water was like a pressure washer on the whole engine for 16 or so miles at speed.

I was nothing short of amazed.

I know I now have to go in there and deal with corrosion issues but THE BIKE GOT ME HOME!

I'm still a little awed. Can you tell?

By the way, first time I applied the brakes in these conditions, not a danged thing happened. Word to the wise....

Re connectors, I like the crimp connectors as used for marine wiring. I installed a new harness in my commando a year ago but changed the Lucas soldered bullets/receptacles to the same type of crimp connectors specified for marine use like these: http://www.marinco.com/product/snap-plu ... -insulated However, you must use a rachet-type crimp plier, NOT one of those cheapo things that you see in auto parts stores in a kit of assorted crimp connectors A tool like this is what is needed: http://www.amazon.com/Ancor-701030-Mari ... B000NI3EMK

apply dielectric grease to all connections before making.