Anti-Janky-fying my 1974 Norton Commando

DennisMo · Friday at 8:15 AM

The Alton does not specify to use a different oil nor do they say to use more oil.

Either the previous owner put in too much oil or your left side crankshaft seal is leaking engine oil into the primary.

With that much oil in there, it is likely your clutch plates are soaked in oil so could likely use a good cleaning.

Dennis

Elfix · Friday at 11:09 AM

The “dry” clutch that’s inside of a case that has a whirling chain flinging oil everywhere has always seemed a bit off to me- every one I’ve taken apart has had oiled plates. Don’t they all eventually end up as oily as a regular wet clutch?

DennisMo · Friday at 4:58 PM

Norton put a dry clutch design in and they do get oiled up. In the extreme they can drag when disengaged and thus when you select 1st from neutral, it can engage with a hefty clunk. After they are cleaned, it's a light cliquish sound when you engage 1st from neutral.
Lots on this in threads. Some put less oil in than specified, some use ATF.
Dennis

robs ss · Friday at 11:57 PM

Been following this thread from a distance.
Still not clear to me what that process is that you say in the title.
Did you mistakenly type a "J" instead of a "Y"?

Cuppy · 2026-07-11T03:07:20-0600

robs ss said:
Been following this thread from a distance.
Still not clear to me what that process is that you say in the title.
Did you mistakenly type a "J" instead of a "Y"?

Janky is an informal slang term meaning of poor quality, unreliable, broken down, or shabby. It describes something that is loosely held together, poorly made, or functions poorly—such as a "janky setup" on a computer or a "janky" homemade repair

robs ss · 2026-07-11T03:11:33-0600

Cuppy said:
Janky is an informal slang term meaning of poor quality, unreliable, broken down, or shabby. It describes something that is loosely held together, poorly made, or functions poorly—such as a "janky setup" on a computer or a "janky" homemade repair

Thanks Cuppy - my foreign vocabulary is expanded!

Triton Thrasher · 2026-07-11T04:07:46-0600

Elfix said:
Don’t they all eventually end up as oily as a regular wet clutch?

Yes, I think so.

robs ss · 2026-07-11T21:01:55-0600

Elfix said:
The “dry” clutch that’s inside of a case that has a whirling chain flinging oil everywhere has always seemed a bit off to me- every one I’ve taken apart has had oiled plates. Don’t they all eventually end up as oily as a regular wet clutch?

Not with a belt. My plates are still as dry as a bone. Cleaning is a "de-dusting" process.

concours · 2026-07-12T05:41:54-0600

Cuppy said:
Janky is an informal slang term meaning of poor quality, unreliable, broken down, or shabby. It describes something that is loosely held together, poorly made, or functions poorly—such as a "janky setup" on a computer or a "janky" homemade repair

Never heard it before, until this thread. Adding it to my hipster, Buzz words thread.

kommando · 2026-07-12T06:39:11-0600

Changing the J to a W makes it more understandable in the Queens version of English

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Anti-Janky-fying my 1974 Norton Commando

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