Could someone make a video of their engine running, Please?

I was wondering if anybody could do me a favor.
I'm trying to see if my engine is okay or not. I don't have anything for reference. I posted another thread to see if there are any local members in my area (Santa Barbara, CA) who could come see my bike. I went to youtube.com and watched all the videos with "Norton Commando" in the heading to try to figure out if my engine sounds normal. You can see the video I made here: http://accessnorton.com/norton_commando3271.html

What I'm hoping for is if anyone has a few minutes, could they make a quick video of their bike at idle, with the camera up close to the cylinder heads?

I wish I knew what these motors were 'supposed' to sound like.
Want to get out there and put some miles on her, she runs so nice- but don't want to do any damage if it turns out something is amiss.
Thanks alot, you guys are very helpful, I really appreciate it!
-Aydin

The results will be varied and essentially useless.

The vibrations and volume levels emminating from a running engine do strange things to recording systems due to the effect on the various types of microphones used.

In simple terms, they STINK at recording engine sounds accurately.

What you hear when you press "play" will typically NOT reflect the sounds that were actually recorded.

About 6 years ago when I got my first Commando )after 19 years of 750 Bonnie) I had the same strange feelings about what was normal. Its plain to see that Commandos shake, thats a function of the Isolastics and that shaking below 2000RPM can make a whole bunch of things rattle and ping.

Assuming the bike appears to run OK, then its bound to be something minor. If the racket increases when its hot or running at higher revs then you may have an internal motor problem coming on. Best to start with the outside probabalities first.

The regular advice on the motor side is check the rocker tappets. Next check the exhaust header locking rings. Then follow the left header under the primary case and see if it is banging up against the underside of the primary. If it is, slacken the muffler hanger rubbers. Slacken the header locking ring and insert a wood door wedge between the header and underside of the primary. Tighten the header locking ring then the muffler hanger. Remove wedge.

If that ain't the cause, remove the fuel tank and check the head steady bracket bolts and see if there is anything knocking against the inside of the tank, like the front mounting studs, ensure the rubbers are OK and not overtight.

Then do a nut check on all the other frame fasteners, front mudguard, check inside the headlamp, coil mounts, under the seat battery secure etc'.

Your bike will love you for it.

Mick

It's a BRITISH bike not a japanese bike. It WILL break down on you and there is nothing you can do about it. I have taken mine for at least 15 rides and 4 of those it came home in the back of my truck. I hope now that I can get at least 5 rides out of it before something else goes out while I'm riding and have to truck it home. If the noise bother's you that much then remove the three covers on the top of the head and look at the moving parts for any signs of damage. Start it up and look at it until the oil starts going good and flying out. I haven't removed them yet so I don't know how the oil will react with the covers off. Just ride it around the neighborhood and town and take it farther each day and check it out all the time. If it makes a new or different sound you will know and determine whether to limp it home or truck it home.

With regard to taking the rocker covers off and starting the engine - oil will dribble about and some will fly out - don't ride the bike with the covers off - at the very least your trousers will get soaked in oil (I know from experience).
With regard to breaking down - if the bike is well setup and maintained then there is no reason why it should leave you 'stranded'. I've had my Commando 850 Mk2A for 20 years and done maybe 25000 miles on it - it has only 'played-up' on me once when a coil wire broke (fixed at the roadside). Electrical problems seem to cause most problems - I completely rewired my bike a few years ago and soldered most connections rather than use nasty bullet connectors.
I've found that fastidious maintenance, regular oil changes (fit an in-line oil filter if you don't already have one) help to keep these bike sweet.
Bare in mind that the bikes are getting on a bit and it pays to treat them 'gently' (most of the time anyway !!).

could someone make a video

I think thats the key .Be gentle until you have sorted her out. The bike doesn't have a lot on the clock so its probably worth opening her up and fixing the minor problem now. Some one said worn valve guides or bent push rod. Slapping piston or wrist pin you might just get lucky but it will drive you nuts till tear you tear her apart. I know how it is them first couple of rides you don't want to get off her. No body likes down time hey shes up in years and deserves a peek inside if its over your head take it to some one who knows brits. You can always build her back stronger and threw in some up grades . By looking at her pictures she sure is sweet M.C.

chopped850 said:

It's a BRITISH bike not a japanese bike. It WILL break down on you and there is nothing you can do about it. I have taken mine for at least 15 rides and 4 of those it came home in the back of my truck. I hope now that I can get at least 5 rides out of it before something else goes out while I'm riding and have to truck it home. If the noise bother's you that much then remove the three covers on the top of the head and look at the moving parts for any signs of damage. Start it up and look at it until the oil starts going good and flying out. I haven't removed them yet so I don't know how the oil will react with the covers off. Just ride it around the neighborhood and town and take it farther each day and check it out all the time. If it makes a new or different sound you will know and determine whether to limp it home or truck it home.

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If I recall from your posts, the failures you've had have nothing to do with the country of origin of the bike. They have been directly attributed to a DPO.

When I got mine - a year ago - it was an assembly of parts, apparently last on the road in 1985.

Started it up at the end of July, with a host of 'issues', but nothing time and MONEY couldn't fix.

Pretty much sorted by October (work kept getting in the way!).

Have put 3000 miles on it since, and have been stranded once (broken Boyer pickup).

Last good ride was three weeks ago, where I put 200 miles on it, with no issues at all. Also hit 'the ton' for the first time .
If I can take the time, I'm thinking of riding it up to Daytona next month, about 600 miles round trip.

It does take a bit of maintenance to keep up, especially compared to the Speed Triple, but it is definitely a lot of fun. Also, the Triumph turns heads, but the Norton draws crowds.

JimC said:

chopped850 said:

It's a BRITISH bike not a japanese bike. It WILL break down on you and there is nothing you can do about it. I have taken mine for at least 15 rides and 4 of those it came home in the back of my truck. I hope now that I can get at least 5 rides out of it before something else goes out while I'm riding and have to truck it home. If the noise bother's you that much then remove the three covers on the top of the head and look at the moving parts for any signs of damage. Start it up and look at it until the oil starts going good and flying out. I haven't removed them yet so I don't know how the oil will react with the covers off. Just ride it around the neighborhood and town and take it farther each day and check it out all the time. If it makes a new or different sound you will know and determine whether to limp it home or truck it home.

Click to expand...

If I recall from your posts, the failures you've had have nothing to do with the country of origin of the bike. They have been directly attributed to a DPO.

Click to expand...

That's my point when buying a bike from someone who know's nothing about them and is led to believe a shop knows more and does what they call work can give you issues until they are fixed. I'm just venting about what happened to me and it should all be good now.

Also I didn't say to ride the bike with the covers if that is what you thought I meant. I would just remove them to have a look. No pun intended! Happy riding.

chopped850 said:

It's a BRITISH bike not a japanese bike. It WILL break down on you and there is nothing you can do about it.

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Huh?? I don't think that's entirely true or fair. Have you ever read "Jupiter's Travels"? If not, you should. The guy took a dead-stock Triumph 500 at the height of their supposed unreliability and rode it around the world for four years. It wasn't a maintenance free trip, but you can't call that bike unreliable. By comparison, McGregor and Borman's BMW sponsored jaunts (with support van and camera crew) seem really lame!

The Brit bike's rep for unreliability comes from folks who don't know whitworth from metric (IMHO). For instance, I have a colleague who owns a Harley, all hopped-up and chromed-up like a pimp-mobile. He doesn't know how to change the oil in it. I'm not making this up! He even took it to the shop to have them hook up a battery-tender on it. To someone like him a Brit bike will be unreliable.

My Norton is idiosyncratic to be sure. I've called in the professional-mechanic cavalry on one occasion. I've spent time and money re-fixing stuff that had been previously "fixed" or "improved" by - er - mechanically challenged individuals :roll: . It doesn't have the brakes, power or electrics of a modern bike. But it isn't necessarily unreliable per se.

Sorry to rant on and hijack the thread :wink:

By the Book

I listened to your video/audio and thought I heard something amiss (no pun intended).

My first advice, as with any run-time problem, is to check all the parameters:

Timing, valve lash, compression, carb sync.

If these are all within spec (or equal and close to spec) then it may be time for you to consider sleeving your carbs, or converting to a single carb, slightly more expensive, but no waiting. The other possibility which is as much a function of time as it is of mileage is your valve guide seals.

OR

Both?!

So what's it like on the road under hard acceleration, at a steady state, or under mild acceleration/deceleration. Does it use oil?

RS

chopped850 said:

It's a BRITISH bike not a japanese bike. It WILL break down on you and there is nothing you can do about it..

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Nortons - like all ancient iron- reliability is directly proportional to the quality of the mechanics than wrench on it and the owners that use it - I've had mine for 24 yrs, it left me stranded twice - both times seemed like a nightmare but were really the result of neglecting the regular inspections and preventative maintenance and were nothing that a nice little tool bag that included extra cables could not fix - i have put over 75 K on it

amazing my 61 BSA is the same

go over your bike right the first time and take care of it properly - and ride the shitte out of it!

aydin what happened i left my #6829533 call me i live in sb 72 combat ibought bike month ago working out some issues myself it fires up and sounds and rides good! mike