Broken down in Nova Scotia

o0norton0o said:

An ammeter has it's risks too, the entire wiring goes through it, so if it fails, you are dead in the water... My point was that I can see where the rpm's of the charging system begin to charge the battery and yours now sounds like it's working properly

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When I run an ammeter I put a link with a fuse holder between the posts with out the fuse. Tape the fuse to the inside of the HL shell and if the ammeter shorts out plug the fuse in and get home.

N0rt0nelectr@ said:

When I run an ammeter I put a link with a fuse holder between the posts with out the fuse. Tape the fuse to the inside of the HL shell and if the ammeter shorts out plug the fuse in and get home.

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Nice, I will be stealing that idea....

bud from the states on a goldwing, had an alt go bad on the way here,
bought a car batt & strapped it down, gets u where u wanna go, if really far, charging up as required

three years or so ago, I was wandering around the Pacific Northwest when the stator and other parts on my Hinckley Triumph failed. I bought a battery charger and begged the use of an electrical outlet from businesses and gas stations for 500 miles.

Supercat said:

Thanks for the charging comment too, very much. Yeah, last night it wasn’t charging at all and the battery dropped below 9 volts, which I think accounts for the crap running and cutting out etc. We found several bad connections, including a sketchy ground, and also the wire from the stator to the assimilator was worn through against the gas tank. I wonder if that was the root of it.

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I forwarded this conversation to a friend in NS, thinking he and his vintage motorcycle riding friends could help.
Haven't heard back.

Travel with another Norton rider. The
stator on my 71 crapped out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. My riding companion Concours suggested we swap batteries as needed for the remainder of the trip. Worked fine.

Back in the day this stuff was routine for a bike rider and indeed often for a car driver. Today I think of repair
tricks days after recovery.

Couple of updates:

Took her out for a test ride after getting her to charge again, and after putting primary cover back on, adding oil etc. Was going great for about two minutes and on my way back she died as a was slowing down to let some people pass me. Totally dead, with blown fuse. Heart sunk. Pushed bike a kilometre back to new friend’s shed, and started looking for short. Realized we had disturbed the rear brake switch during primary work leading to a full on metal on metal contact situation. Unplugged that switch and tied wire back, replaced fuse and had second test ride, which was a success. Felt much better. Packed her up and rode to Halifax without any issues . Now I’m talking to the awesome folks at British cycle supply about primary chain etc. They are open today, which is great. Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions everyone!

I have changed my ferry reservation to Wednesday, so the question now is whether to go to wolfville to replace primary chain, or to try to press on to the ferry. Replacing the primary chain will involve redoing timing and pulling the clutch right? Do I have time to do all of this? Any advice would be most welcome. Mark at BSC has been great and said I can use shop space and tools.

N0rt0nelectr@ said:

Did the chain cut the lead off of the stator? Did it smell real bad when you opened up the primary? Dead give away that you have a bad stator.

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No, didn’t cut lead, and it smelled like the inside of the primary to me - not delicious, but not too bad. Seems to be charging but will know for sure shortly when I head down to parking spot.

Tornado said:

The modern tip is to run a voltage monitor like the charge warning LED from https://improvingclassicmotorcycles.com/
rather than an ammeter.

Be sure to assess max voltage at 3k to 5k rpm...should not exceed 14.8-15.2...if it does, suspect the zener diode, eithers its grounding on the z-plate, its wire connection or an actual diode failure. Had mine not controlling volts, bloated battery up...limped home on just the alt output and 2MU capacitor.

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Thanks tornado! Yes I remember seeing and wanting one of those lights before but thought they were no longer available - I will try to get one if I can make it home.

Supercat said:

Replacing the primary chain will involve redoing timing and pulling the clutch right? Do I have time to do all of this? Any advice would be most welcome. Mark at BSC has been great and said I can use shop space and tools.

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No need to redo timing after replacing the primary chain. Yes the clutch needs to be removed as well as the alternator, rotor and drive sprocket. If you install a new rotor, you'd need to re-verify the timing mark for future ignition setting, but that's about it.

hhh said:

No need to redo timing after replacing the primary chain. Yes the clutch needs to be removed as well as the alternator, rotor and drive sprocket. If you install a new rotor, you'd need to re-verify the timing mark for future ignition setting, but that's about it.

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Cool, I figured taking the rotor off would disturb the timing. How serious a job is the clutch removal? I have not had it off before.

Supercat said:

How serious a job is the clutch removal? I have not had it off before.

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Not difficult but you must use the diaphragm compressor tool (made or bought).

If you also remove the engine drive sprocket then you will need a puller.

L.A.B. said:

Not difficult but you must use the diaphragm compressor tool (made or bought).

Andover Norton - CLUTCH SPRING COMPRESSOR TOOL C 4805 (COMMANDO) - 06.0999

CLUTCH SPRING COMPRESSOR TOOL C 4805 (COMMANDO)

andover-norton.co.uk

If you also remove the engine drive sprocket then you will need a puller.

Andover Norton - EXTRACTOR ASSEMBLY FOR ENGINE & CAM SPROCKET & CLUTCH HUB (061037) (06.0941) - 06.4297

EXTRACTOR ASSEMBLY FOR ENGINE & CAM SPROCKET & CLUTCH HUB (061037) (06.0941)

andover-norton.co.uk

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Thanks! Yes, I believe both are available in wolfville.

So probably best for me to go to a wolfville to try to replace the primary chain I’m thinking at this stage.

Reminds me of a trip from British Columbia, Canada, to Ashland Oregon for the Norton Rally. About 1500 miles, there and back.
Buddy rode his 1971 Triumph and discovered on day one he had no charging system. The bike still had points, and would run for about 5 or 6 hours before it started to crap out. When we stopped for lunch he would carry the battery in with his charger, and by the time we were finished eating, the battery was good for the rest of the day. Couldn't do that with an electronic ignition.

Supercat said:

So probably best for me to go to a wolfville to try to replace the primary chain I’m thinking at this stage.

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You need the clutch spring compressor...either hte proper tool or do as the Haynes manual suggests...make one up from some 3" ABS/plastic water pipe doomed end cap...drill a hole and fit the proper thread bolt/nut/washers....you now have a very low cost a reliable compressor. You will also need a puller tool for the crank sprocket removal...I bout a "steering wheel puller" kit from crappy-tire which has a series of different bolt in pair...two fit the commando sprocket perfectly...again a low cost setup compared with the proper UK tool. Doling the chain swap is not hard but you should consider replacing the primary "o-ring" and fitting a clutch pushrod seal (DynoDave's original product; AN sell them now). Otherwise just do as the manual states, lather the pushrod in grease to help reduce gearbox oil from contaminating the clutch plates. Clean all with brake cleaner or even oven cleaner etc to remove any burnt oil build up on the plates before reassembly.If you pull the clutch rod out...be sure to check the operating arm in the gearbox has not dropped lower during the rod removal...needs to be lift up to reset it.

Other replaceables will be the clutch location circlip:

and the clutch tabbed washer:

Do not use the book's torque spec'd 70 ft-lbs on the clutch center nut...this will distort the location circlip...no more than 50 ft-lbs and a dab of blue locktite is what OldBrits recommended.

Maybe a BELT DRIVE primary , if your going $ $ $ $ . Numerous advantages , for the well healed . Well Wheeled ! .
An old ' classic Racer ' mag. ( No 2 ) goes ino maintanance . " RACE PREPARED " is their view . Aircraft Standards = minimum standard .
The Nortons not got a lot a parts - so knowing it , isnt too big a deal .
Seperated into ' systems ' , helps as far as logic goes . Decent tools arnt a bad idea , either . Not to mention Loctite .

WIRING !

Inspecting the whole loom - if its tatty - something wants to be done . The Alternator wire is often gazooked at the bends or grommet .
the hot oil tends to harden the insulation so it cracks . Carving into the resin and soldering new wires on , if say a 60 watt iron is used ,
works .

A custom wiring loom is pretty basic . The best '' heavy duty '" colour coded stuff ive purloined is Hillman Hunter ( Chrysler Cricket , I think )
wireing loom , ' repurposed ' . As in you flog the wires & conectors . the switches & warning lights on olde pommie auoto's are often identical .
60's B M C stuff .

But : PRIMARY OIL is a first order of maintanance . If its not init , KaBoom , as youve noticed . Checking the covers flat & a correct spacer twixt ,
So you can haul the fastner down without twisting the mating faces , is about the foist fing yadoo .

Made it to wolfville. At British cycle supply now. Have gotten old chain out, but having a very difficult time getting new one in. Rotor is being very tough to remove. Mark is looking for another puller now. I managed to get new chain on front sprocket without taking rotor off but getting it around the clutch after that seems pretty unlikely…