Big Oil Leak

I recently acquired a 1974 850 Commando and, as a result, have joined this forum. This is my first post here. I've had experience working on other Brit bikes, but have never owned a Norton. This bike was parked in 1989 with about 11K miles on it. It sat in a dry and seasonally hot garage for 20 years in Yakima, WA USA. My plan was to see if and how well the bike would run before I got too carried away doing a restoration on it. I rebuilt the carbs, changed the oil and filter, put in a new battery, and spark plugs. The bike had good spark, so I didn't do anything with the ignition. I attempted to fire her up today, and she started on the second kick and ran very strongly. The problem is that oil was pouring out of what appears to be the joint between the head and barrels. I ran the bike for a total of less than 3 minutes on two starts and had a big puddle of oil on my garage floor. I'm hoping that there are seals in there that have dried out and are responsible for the spectacular oil leak. Is this a common and easily solved problem on Commandos which have sat for extented periods? What is the best approach to trouble shooting this problem?

Thanks,

Jim Malm
Spokane, WA USA

hi jim and welcome could your leak be comeing from a split rocker feed pipe or banjo on the top of the head it sounds a bit excessive to be comeing from the head gasket

Chris-

I think you nailed it! I didn't realize those oil pipes were just plastic tubing and the ones on my bike were crystallized around both banjos on the head. I thought I had a small oil leak on the right one, but looking more carefully, it appears that the oil line had broken and was dumping oil onto the fins and down the front. I hope the rockers got enough oil to survive this incident. I have replaced those oil lines and will start her up again tomorrow to see if that solved the problem. I'll report positve or negative results.

Thank you for that clue.

Jim

glad to help jim,with less than 3 minutes running time i dont think it will have damaged the rocker gear ,it probably pumped as much oil in there as it did on the floor anyway.good luck and keep us all informed on your progress .chris.

The big oil leak was successfully stopped by replacing the broken plastic oil lines. I now get to turn my attention to a very leaky right carb.

Thanks again for the help!

Jim

Jim, make sure that you've replaced the plastic rocker feed pipe with a correct heat resistant pipe, otherwise when the oil gets hot, the pipe will soften and come away from its fittings with an accompanying severe oil leak..........................ask me how I know although it was 27 years ago.

You can also use braided hosing with appropriate fittings.

Also that hose is at full engine oil pressure, lose a connection on the move and you will lose pressure at the big ends :evil: before you get that wet boot feeling telling you there is a leak :shock: . So stainless replacement is the way to go, these are available from normal Norton dealers.

I agree with Kommando and get yourself stainless steel braided hose.
www.RGMmotors.co.uk do a good set up.

Just be careful withthe braided hose as it will rub and wear its way through anything.
Suggest a clear plastic hose sleeve over top.

Cheers

I use the braided lines too, and second the suggestion. They look the business too.