"Build Thread" for my 1974 850
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gatsby
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Hi,
First update in a while. Making progress, and I test fitted the wheels for fitment. I somehow managed to lace the wheels properly with the correct offsets. My front fender stays will need some persuasion as they don’t fit the fender properly. I also realized I forgot to order fender stay bolts.
Front brake calliper is completely rebuilt, and I realized my front brake hose is too short. I will need to order a new one.
Upon spinning the rear wheel, I had some conflict in my rear brake drum. It turned out I did not screw the brake pad bolts down hard enough, and they were catching. The adjustment was made, it it now spins freely.
Belt drive is installed, I did my best with two pieces of angle aluminum to ensure it is lined up correctly. We shall see when I test it.
With the rear wheel now removed, I’m now turning my attention to the electrical and oil line plumbing. The holidays have been kind with time to wrench!
Also, I was given a picture over the holidays of my family home in Yarmouth Nova Scotia taken in 1975 (2 years before I was born). Check out what my Dad had parked on the lawn!
All the best,
Gatsby
First update in a while. Making progress, and I test fitted the wheels for fitment. I somehow managed to lace the wheels properly with the correct offsets. My front fender stays will need some persuasion as they don’t fit the fender properly. I also realized I forgot to order fender stay bolts.
Front brake calliper is completely rebuilt, and I realized my front brake hose is too short. I will need to order a new one.
Upon spinning the rear wheel, I had some conflict in my rear brake drum. It turned out I did not screw the brake pad bolts down hard enough, and they were catching. The adjustment was made, it it now spins freely.
Belt drive is installed, I did my best with two pieces of angle aluminum to ensure it is lined up correctly. We shall see when I test it.
With the rear wheel now removed, I’m now turning my attention to the electrical and oil line plumbing. The holidays have been kind with time to wrench!
Also, I was given a picture over the holidays of my family home in Yarmouth Nova Scotia taken in 1975 (2 years before I was born). Check out what my Dad had parked on the lawn!
All the best,
Gatsby
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KiwiShane
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gatsby
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Thanks! And happy new year to you as well!Happy New Years to you...
Beautiful work and a beautiful bike.
gatsby
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Oil line plumbing and breather hoses constructed and installed. Lots of trial and error to get lengths I was happy with. As this bike will not be a daily rider, I did install an anti-wetsump valve, and I am well aware of the potential pitfalls.
I need to block off the chain oiler on the oil tank, and I thinking I should have thought of this earlier in my project. Does anyone have a method to block off the line with the oil tank in-situ? I found an earlier thread where swooshdave used something used for blocking off A/C lines. If anyone has done this method, could you post a link with the correct part and size?
Thanks!
Gatsby
I need to block off the chain oiler on the oil tank, and I thinking I should have thought of this earlier in my project. Does anyone have a method to block off the line with the oil tank in-situ? I found an earlier thread where swooshdave used something used for blocking off A/C lines. If anyone has done this method, could you post a link with the correct part and size?
Thanks!
Gatsby
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I would use some kind of cap with clamp of choice.
Maybe these would work.
www.mcmaster.com
The only real pressure is from the crankcase.
A reed valve breather would help relieving the pressure. Once it purges on start up, virtually no pressure after.
The very best being the NYC version. Plug and play.
nycnorton.com
Build is very Nice BTW!!!
Maybe these would work.
McMaster-Carr
McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
The only real pressure is from the crankcase.
A reed valve breather would help relieving the pressure. Once it purges on start up, virtually no pressure after.
The very best being the NYC version. Plug and play.
Reed Breather Kit
The Norton twin cylinder engine creates a serious amount of pressure in the crankcase as the motor spins. Over the years the factory attempted several methods to reduce this pressure – from a timed breather off the end of the cam on earlier motors, to a crude straight pipe from the timing chest on
nycnorton.com
Build is very Nice BTW!!!
gatsby
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Thank you very much! I will check this out!I would use some kind of cap with clamp of choice.
Maybe these would work.
McMaster-Carr
McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
The only real pressure is from the crankcase.
A reed valve breather would help relieving the pressure. Once it purges on start up, virtually no pressure after.
The very best being the NYC version. Plug and play.
Reed Breather Kit
The Norton twin cylinder engine creates a serious amount of pressure in the crankcase as the motor spins. Over the years the factory attempted several methods to reduce this pressure – from a timed breather off the end of the cam on earlier motors, to a crude straight pipe from the timing chest on
Build is very Nice BTW!!!
gatsby
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Thanks!
The floor is epoxy coated with added grit. What you cannot see, is the embedded in floor heating system. Nice and toasty!
cliffa
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Happy New Year! Loving this build thread. You are doing a great job.
The 06.3324 sidestand bump stop fits nice an tight over the chain oiler pipe. So you can block it with a genuine Norton part
gatsby
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Many thanks for your kind words! I’m glad you are enjoying the thread. I’m certainly learning a lot as I go. Thanks for the tip!Happy New Year! Loving this build thread. You are doing a great job.
The 06.3324 sidestand bump stop fits nice an tight over the chain oiler pipe. So you can block it with a genuine Norton part
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Gatsby,
Regarding Post 125 picture #1
That is a very nice rebuild you are completing. My only pet peeve is the check valve on the suction side of the oil pump. When the Mk III came about the Norton engineers put the check valve on the pressure side of the pump in the timing case. Not the suction side. Now I wonder why they did that? Maybe you should ask that same question. With your system choice of component selection …If there is oil in the lower suction side, down stream of the c/v when the engine is started then all is well and the pump is delivered oil to flow to the pressure side via the check valve ball, but if there is air??? What will tell you when after about 20 miles down the road; and a connecting rod punches a hole in the crankcase that you have a problem. Believe me I have seen it with suction C/V components!
Other threads on this forum will debate the use of these c/v or shutoff valves on the suction side but I’m dead set against it and for good reason. This suction sides check valve is to stop the main bearing seal from blowing out because of too much oil in the crankcase when the engine is started up from a long period of inactive use, and the owner is too lazy to drain the crank! Remember this c/v system is a cheap fix. Now replacing an oil seal or replacing an engine… so much for a cheap quick fix. Murphy’s Law is introduced here. Do you really want him in the mix?
YMMV and others will surely pipe in, but if you use this C/V as it is, then I would highly recommend you use Madass140’s oil pressure switch idiot light system with your choice of components. Not so cheap now is it?
Oh and your swing arm cap with the oil fitting…. I just rotate the oil fitting to the 12 o’clock position and unscrew it when the bike is on the side stand and just squirt heavy oil 140wt in until it just starts dribbling out then recap the oil fitting. No need for special oil/grease guns. Now that is a cheap fix.
Cheers,
Tom
Regarding Post 125 picture #1
That is a very nice rebuild you are completing. My only pet peeve is the check valve on the suction side of the oil pump. When the Mk III came about the Norton engineers put the check valve on the pressure side of the pump in the timing case. Not the suction side. Now I wonder why they did that? Maybe you should ask that same question. With your system choice of component selection …If there is oil in the lower suction side, down stream of the c/v when the engine is started then all is well and the pump is delivered oil to flow to the pressure side via the check valve ball, but if there is air??? What will tell you when after about 20 miles down the road; and a connecting rod punches a hole in the crankcase that you have a problem. Believe me I have seen it with suction C/V components!
Other threads on this forum will debate the use of these c/v or shutoff valves on the suction side but I’m dead set against it and for good reason. This suction sides check valve is to stop the main bearing seal from blowing out because of too much oil in the crankcase when the engine is started up from a long period of inactive use, and the owner is too lazy to drain the crank! Remember this c/v system is a cheap fix. Now replacing an oil seal or replacing an engine… so much for a cheap quick fix. Murphy’s Law is introduced here. Do you really want him in the mix?
YMMV and others will surely pipe in, but if you use this C/V as it is, then I would highly recommend you use Madass140’s oil pressure switch idiot light system with your choice of components. Not so cheap now is it?
Oh and your swing arm cap with the oil fitting…. I just rotate the oil fitting to the 12 o’clock position and unscrew it when the bike is on the side stand and just squirt heavy oil 140wt in until it just starts dribbling out then recap the oil fitting. No need for special oil/grease guns. Now that is a cheap fix.
Cheers,
Tom
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gatsby
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Hi Everyone,
I have been slack on the picture taking, but I have been making good progress.
- Wiring is mostly complete (horn went in first).
-Tail fairing and rear fender installed
- Tail light and indicators connected to loom (New LED Light)
- belt drive and clutch installed (with Dyno Dave seal)
- Sealed EK drive chain installed
- Timing scale checked against degree wheel (4 degrees off).
-Headlamp wired with Cyclopes LED light and tri-colored voltage LED light from improving Classic Motorcycles
- New front and back old stock indicators installed. These will be upgraded to LED once I have bike running. Will need I need to order the proper LED flasher.
I decided to swap out the rear shocks for some Ikon Dial-A-Rides. I'm pretty excited to see how they feel. Tri spark installation, switchgear wiring connections, and new Amal Premier installation is next on the books.
Cheers,
Gatsby
I have been slack on the picture taking, but I have been making good progress.
- Wiring is mostly complete (horn went in first).
-Tail fairing and rear fender installed
- Tail light and indicators connected to loom (New LED Light)
- belt drive and clutch installed (with Dyno Dave seal)
- Sealed EK drive chain installed
- Timing scale checked against degree wheel (4 degrees off).
-Headlamp wired with Cyclopes LED light and tri-colored voltage LED light from improving Classic Motorcycles
- New front and back old stock indicators installed. These will be upgraded to LED once I have bike running. Will need I need to order the proper LED flasher.
I decided to swap out the rear shocks for some Ikon Dial-A-Rides. I'm pretty excited to see how they feel. Tri spark installation, switchgear wiring connections, and new Amal Premier installation is next on the books.
Cheers,
Gatsby
Lineslinger
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I have enjoyed viewing your images on a very nice build. Please, keep them coming.
Fast Eddie
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Looking very clean there sir!
What colour and style of tins you going for?
Nice looking SL too …
gatsby
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Thanks! I may piss off the purists, but I’m going to deviate away from stock with my choice of colour. I have always liked the lighter sea foam flake of the early Ducati GT 750’s, so I’m going to try similar on on my Norton. I’m going with a light silver as a base coat before the flake. The Norton script will be light silver like the fire flake blue bikes, (not the outlined script in the below picture), and the stripes will be hand painted. If I don’t like how it turns out, it will be going classic black and gold.
German cars built by engineers (not accountants) is my other affliction.
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Fast Eddie
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That metal flake will look fabulous. The purists can paint THEIR bikes as original as they want.
I assume the BMW is the wife’s? Apart from that… great taste…
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Nice. Yes.
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