Commando let me down. First time.

gjr · Apr 2, 2011

Two thoughts: Broken ground wire or bad Hardly Ableson coil. Both have stopped me. The coil was not fixable at the side of the road.

Greg

montelatici · Apr 2, 2011

I am getting good strong, clicking noise spark. Next step is to check intake valves and whether they are opening or not.

gjr · Apr 2, 2011

Intresting. Do the plugs fire ? What kind of numbers do you get when you check your compression ? How many miles on this rebuild ?

Greg

Carbonfibre · Apr 3, 2011

Why not remove the air filter and squirt a little fuel into the inlet port? If you have a spark and compression, the bike will then at least fire, and maybe even run for a few seconds. This test quickly tells you whether the carbs are causing your problem, and can be carried out very quickly and easily.

montelatici · Apr 3, 2011

Carbonfibre said:
Why not remove the air filter and squirt a little fuel into the inlet port? If you have a spark and compression, the bike will then at least fire, and maybe even run for a few seconds. This test quickly tells you whether the carbs are causing your problem, and can be carried out very quickly and easily.

Unfortunately, when the inlet valves aren't opening there is no way fuel can enter the cylinders.

maylar · Apr 3, 2011

Spark at the wrong time can wreak havoc. Check that the ignition rotor is still aligned correctly.

montelatici · Apr 3, 2011

maylar said:
Spark at the wrong time can wreak havoc. Check that the ignition rotor is still aligned correctly.

Yes, that is my hope!!!

montelatici · Apr 3, 2011

montelatici said:
maylar said:

Spark at the wrong time can wreak havoc. Check that the ignition rotor is still aligned correctly.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is my hope!!!

Yup, loose rotor. Set it parallel with the Norton insignia on the case tightened it (with blue locktite), put the stator at the middle of the measurement slots and it started right up. I'll see how it runs before looking for my timing light which hasn't been used in decades.

RoadScholar · Apr 3, 2011

bwolfie said:
montelatici said:

No it wasn't wet, a nice cold sunny day. It had plenty of fuel. I am thinking Boyer although I am hoping coil as I have the two original coils that were working fine 25 or so years ago when I put the single "high performance" coil made for harleys for some strange reason at the same time I installed the Boyer. Maybe someone from the Norton Club suggested that particular coil. Do they still make Boyers?

Click to expand...

You will find endless discusssions and opinions on ignition systems. Boyers are out. TriSpark and a few others are in.

Nothing wrong with a Boyer, especially with their 5 year bumper-to-bumper warranty and their price which is over $100 less than Tri-Spark.

RS

montelatici · Apr 3, 2011

RoadScholar said:
bwolfie said:

montelatici said:

No it wasn't wet, a nice cold sunny day. It had plenty of fuel. I am thinking Boyer although I am hoping coil as I have the two original coils that were working fine 25 or so years ago when I put the single "high performance" coil made for harleys for some strange reason at the same time I installed the Boyer. Maybe someone from the Norton Club suggested that particular coil. Do they still make Boyers?

Click to expand...

You will find endless discusssions and opinions on ignition systems. Boyers are out. TriSpark and a few others are in.

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with a Boyer, especially with their 5 year bumper-to-bumper warranty and their price which is over $100 less than Tri-Spark.

RS

I'll say, mine's been on the bike for at least 20 years and until this problem (and this had nothing to do with the Boyer) I have never had ignition problems.

SteveMinning · Apr 3, 2011

Glad to hear that you found the source of the problem. The great news is that it's a cheap fix.

I should have mentioned this to you as I have seen this before with Boyers. I was on a ride with a friend on his Triumph Daytona. His started running rough, then wouldn't run at all. We started checking basics, spark, timing, etc. and found the rotor had slipped. We fastened his with Locktite and it seems to have held since.

I've been running a Boyer for the last four years with absolutely no problems. My bike starts on first or second kick when cold and first kick when warm. Once it's warm it idles reliably. I have no complaints with Boyer so far.

EDIT: Oh yeah, your title is apparently a little inappropriate. Your Norton did not let you down. It was the installation of an aftermarket part. Arguably a poorly installed aftermarket part. I'd say that Mr. James Lansdowne Norton deserves your apology (tongue in cheek of course)...

montelatici · Apr 3, 2011

SteveMinning said:
Glad to hear that you found the source of the problem. The great news is that it's a cheap fix.

I should have mentioned this to you as I have seen this before with Boyers. I was on a ride with a friend on his Triumph Daytona. His started running rough, then wouldn't run at all. We started checking basics, spark, timing, etc. and found the rotor had slipped. We fastened his with Locktite and it seems to have held since.

I've been running a Boyer for the last four years with absolutely no problems. My bike starts on first or second kick when cold and first kick when warm. Once it's warm it idles reliably. I have no complaints with Boyer so far.

EDIT: Oh yeah, your title is apparently a little inappropriate. Your Norton did not let you down. It was the installation of an aftermarket part. Arguably a poorly installed aftermarket part. I'd say that Mr. James Lansdowne Norton deserves your apology (tongue in cheek of course)...

Admittedly, I didn't use Locktite 20 years ago when I installed the Boyer, so yes, I apologize for accusing my Norton ofleeting me down. It was my fault. This time I used Locktite!

SteveMinning · Apr 3, 2011

You know, I've sworn not to use the modern form of communication: "LOL"

However...LOL!

Commando let me down. First time.

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