Commando 961 sport - Year 2014

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Can anyone help me please. I just purchased my first Norton Commando 961 Sport 2014 and what I did not realize is no Norton dealer can fix my issue with the idle control neither can I obtain a workshop manual to try and fix it myself. The issue I have is the bike runs uneven, one exhaust seems to be OK and the other seems to miss a beat. Also, a little oil goes into the air filter after when I have taken the bike for a run. Any help an assistance will be gratefully appreciated.
 
Can anyone help me please. I just purchased my first Norton Commando 961 Sport 2014 and what I did not realize is no Norton dealer can fix my issue with the idle control neither can I obtain a workshop manual to try and fix it myself. The issue I have is the bike runs uneven, one exhaust seems to be OK and the other seems to miss a beat. Also, a little oil goes into the air filter after when I have taken the bike for a run. Any help an assistance will be gratefully appreciated.
Stuart Bodycote at Motorvated Ltd is your man. Seek him out on this site or check out his FB page.
 
The issue I have is the bike runs uneven, one exhaust seems to be OK and the other seems to miss a beat.
Start simple. Check the plugs, check the leads. If you don't know the history - consider the 10 year age and if these have ever been replaced; and potentially should be as service items.

Have a read of some of the threads here - particularly one by iwilson. There will be many opinions, mine would be to seriously consider blocking the balance pipe in the throttle body.
 
Welcome Richard, there are loads of manuals including the workshop manual and alternate parts lists here..

All previous replies are very valid. Oil in the airbox is a common issue, so do lots of reading on here (use the search button top right).

961 owners are lucky to have Stu Bodycote, who works solely on them and Norton V4's so knows them inside out.
 
Can anyone help me please. I just purchased my first Norton Commando 961 Sport 2014 and what I did not realize is no Norton dealer can fix my issue with the idle control neither can I obtain a workshop manual to try and fix it myself. The issue I have is the bike runs uneven, one exhaust seems to be OK and the other seems to miss a beat. Also, a little oil goes into the air filter after when I have taken the bike for a run. Any help an assistance will be gratefully appreciated.
Hello , As others have said , read this forum all these issues are resolvable more or less. If you really like and want to keep this bike your efforts will be worth it. My next question for you is regarding oil in the air box. Does your bike wetsump ? Meaning if you park your bike for a couple days or a week does the oil level drop on the stick (leaking back into the sump) ?
 
Welcome Richard, there are loads of manuals including the workshop manual and alternate parts lists here..

All previous replies are very valid. Oil in the airbox is a common issue, so do lots of reading on here (use the search button top right).

961 owners are lucky to have Stu Bodycote, who works solely on them and Norton V4's so knows th

Start simple. Check the plugs, check the leads. If you don't know the history - consider the 10 year age and if these have ever been replaced; and potentially should be as service items.

Have a read of some of the threads here - particularly one by iwilson. There will be many opinions, mine would be to seriously consider blocking the balance pipe in the throttle body.
Hi Together, I had the bike fully serviced which included an change, spark plugs, oil filter and air filter. I believe I made the bike worse when I adjusted both cables from the throttle. I cant remember where the cable was originally set? I appreciate all you comments so far, thanks.
 
Hello , As others have said , read this forum all these issues are resolvable more or less. If you really like and want to keep this bike your efforts will be worth it. My next question for you is regarding oil in the air box. Does your bike wetsump ? Meaning if you park your bike for a couple days or a week does the oil level drop on the stick (leaking back into the sump) ?
Hi Tony, Yes it does, I don't see any oil on the stick at all after 2 days of being stood. It has the correct measure oil when it was recently serviced. Once the bike has been started for a few mins then the oil is at the right level. what does this mean and how should I rectify the fault? Thanks
 
Hi Tony, Yes it does, I don't see any oil on the stick at all after 2 days of being stood. It has the correct measure oil when it was recently serviced. Once the bike has been started for a few mins then the oil is at the right level. what does this mean and how should I rectify the fault? Thanks
There are more questions now . If you did not get the TSB that addressed this then you need to see Stu or find the parts somewhere. The oil is leaking back through the oil pump to the crankcase sump and when you start up the bike this oil is pushed out through the breather and into the air box. You can probably talk to Stu about the one way valves ( one in the oil pump and the other in the return line from the oil cooler) . This should stop all the wetsumping provided your is oil pump is not leaking internally , where the oil will leak through to the oil pump drive shaft and back into the sump (bypassing the oil pump one way valve) . If this is the case your oil pump should be replaced , Stu may have a repair for this , I am not aware of a repair for this problem. Is your breather coming off the rocker box or the rear of crankcase to the air box ?
I went throgh this same senario and utimately had the oil seepage down to 12mm down on the stick in 2 weeks of sitting . This was much better than a dry oil tank in 8 hours of sitting which is what I had . SO , I replaced the oil pump with a new one and now no (zero) oil leaking into the sump . Once you stop the wetsumping , you can really evaluate your oil in airbox issue. How many miles on your bike ? Have you ever done a compression test ?
 
The key thing I found with my 2012 bike, not fitted with anti wet sump valve, was to check the oil while the bike is running. As soon as it it turned off, it starts to wet sump. You then fill it up & put too much oil in, which then has to vent out to the air box.
 
Ollie Thiel can provide a much improved non return valve, which goes in the passageway from the pump to the filter. The only problem is you need a shortened M17 tap to fit it. More details here…

 
The key thing I found with my 2012 bike, not fitted with anti wet sump valve, was to check the oil while the bike is running. As soon as it it turned off, it starts to wet sump. You then fill it up & put too much oil in, which then has to vent out to the air box.
I accidentally started the bike with the oil cap off and it POURED oil everywhere. Daft question, but I assume you get it running and take the cover off to check?

Sorry for the potentially stupid question....
 
There are more questions now . If you did not get the TSB that addressed this then you need to see Stu or find the parts somewhere. The oil is leaking back through the oil pump to the crankcase sump and when you start up the bike this oil is pushed out through the breather and into the air box. You can probably talk to Stu about the one way valves ( one in the oil pump and the other in the return line from the oil cooler) . This should stop all the wetsumping provided your is oil pump is not leaking internally , where the oil will leak through to the oil pump drive shaft and back into the sump (bypassing the oil pump one way valve) . If this is the case your oil pump should be replaced , Stu may have a repair for this , I am not aware of a repair for this problem. Is your breather coming off the rocker box or the rear of crankcase to the air box ?
I went throgh this same senario and utimately had the oil seepage down to 12mm down on the stick in 2 weeks of sitting . This was much better than a dry oil tank in 8 hours of sitting which is what I had . SO , I replaced the oil pump with a new one and now no (zero) oil leaking into the sump . Once you stop the wetsumping , you can really evaluate your oil in airbox issue. How many miles on your bike ? Have you ever done a compression test ?
The bike has done 7000 miles and I have only purchased it recently from a private sale. I'm not that technical therefore what does TSB stand for? Regarding your question about the breather pipe, its connected to the rocker box. Lastly, what is the part number for the oil pump and valve. Thanks
 
The bike has done 7000 miles and I have only purchased it recently from a private sale. I'm not that technical therefore what does TSB stand for? Regarding your question about the breather pipe, its connected to the rocker box. Lastly, what is the part number for the oil pump and valve. Thanks
TSB = Technical Service Bulletin.

This is the one referring to the oil in the airbox fix..


Crank breather to rocker box is the original setup that some folks have actually reverted to.

Unfortunately I think only Norton could tell you the part numbers you require.
 
I accidentally started the bike with the oil cap off and it POURED oil everywhere. Daft question, but I assume you get it running and take the cover off to check?

Sorry for the potentially stupid question....
Not a stupid question and I think the owners manual states this. Have oil cap screwed in , start the bike and let I dle for some 3 minutes . Then shut off and immediatley check the oil level .
 
The bike has done 7000 miles and I have only purchased it recently from a private sale. I'm not that technical therefore what does TSB stand for? Regarding your question about the breather pipe, its connected to the rocker box. Lastly, what is the part number for the oil pump and valve. Thanks
If you call Judd Racing in UK , they are a Norton dealer and can give you part numbers .
 
Can anyone help me please. I just purchased my first Norton Commando 961 Sport 2014 and what I did not realize is no Norton dealer can fix my issue with the idle control neither can I obtain a workshop manual to try and fix it myself.
Did you download the workshop manual on this site (in Resources) . After having had gone through this already , I would advise you to go the route of plugging the throttle body cross passage and set the idle with the stop screw (like you would on a carburetor) . I have done this and many others and this works superbly . Read about how to do this on this site look for the iwilson thread (idle problem solved) .
 
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I accidentally started the bike with the oil cap off and it POURED oil everywhere. Daft question, but I assume you get it running and take the cover off to check?

Sorry for the potentially stupid question....
Never had anything like that on the 961 or any other bike when you take the oil tank cap off - only took the cap off once it's running.
 
Never had anything like that on the 961 or any other bike when you take the oil tank cap off - only took the cap off once it's running.
Was on startup - came flying out. About a litre poured out and down the bike.

Cleaned up NP and when I replaced the tank last year I got the remains of it from under there.
 
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