Exhaust Lock Ring

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They fit between the exhaust gasket and the exhaust nut. once you've got the nut down tight, after a short ride, retighten nut, then you bend down the tabs in the gaps of the fins of the nut. helps hold the nut from UNdoing
They work for me and will add to any of these beasts that fall into my possession..

hope this explains it. regards Chris
 
Rattle rings. Most Norton owners have dicovered that anything that lets the nut come loose but not spin off is bad. That's how all the people doing thead repairs stay busy. If that nut comes loose during a ride you need to know so you can tighten it. I carry a little lazer cut wrench with me and I have loaned it out on every group Norton ride. These heads are getting harder to find.
 
Loose nuts

To keep the exhaust nuts tight: Drill a hole in a head fin, and one in a fin of the nut. Use safety wire to keep it pulled tight. You can also get an exhaust spring from a dirt bike exhaust system in place of the safety wire. If you're paranoid, do both :wink:
 
Don't drill holes...she's not a Punk rocker. :lol:

Fins break too.

Just do the safety wire around the fins on the nut, and up to the bottom bolt head on the exhaust rocker cover , around the bolt head one time and back to the other end of the wire and twist tightly together with a pair of plyers. Been doing that for thirty years. :wink:
 
I ditched the lock wires years ago and switched to the bronze type from Norvil,once tightened they DO NOT loosen,paint them alum. / silver if you wish. Ride safely, James
 
I've done it already and looks strong and tight. Hope this lasts. I finally got them from BSA Regal.
 
Which solution did you use, and why? I will be doing mine up new, with new exhaust parts before the weekend, and I would be happy for any new insight. Just because I have always safety wired them, doesn't mean it is the best solution... :wink:
 
Well, I've used the lockrings following the instructions that Chris "Captain" explained. I've used them because it's the original thing, which doesn't mean it's the best. I've put two gaskets (washers) in every exhaust (one of them thin copper made and the other conical which is thicker). As Chris said, before bending the tabs I went for a 10 min ride and retightened. That was all. I've also noticed theres less engine noise (this could be more psycological...).

Maybe you can help with this: My exhausts are not balanced on my 850. Could anything happen?

Cheers!
 
I just had both exhaust ports redone to original look on my 1973 850. No inserts, just rewelded in aluminium & I have chosen to drill two holes inside/underneath the head while it was still off the bike. I refitted the exhaust with new exhaust nuts & went for a ride to heat the head up.

When I got back I retightened the exhaust nuts using the norton tool & then marked where I thought the hole should be drilled in the exhaust nut. This was positioned to keep tension on the wire once inserted.

Most people over the years just drilled a hole in the top of the head, which can look ugly. Now that it is underneath, it is difficult to see & is not really noticable. Hopefully this will keep the exhaust nuts tight for many years to come.

My bike was off the road for 6 weeks while the head work was done & it was great to jump back on & go for a blast yesterday. My wife & I will be heading off to Cairns in nth qld shortly, a round trip of some 3500 klms. There is a bloke on this forum that rides a norton in Cairns ?? It would be good to visit you & say gday while we are up your way :)
 
I do have the perfect solution for loosening lockrings which solves the fundamental problem that the exhaust fixing in the head takes all the stress from the movement of the engine. The solution is to make an extra support for the header pipes under the power unit fixed to the engine/gearbox cradle. This takes all the stress off the exhaust nuts which on mine did not work loose in 10 years right up to recent head overhaul. 2 lugs are bolted to g/box cradle & welded to 3/8 inch diameter bar, which has T pieces welded on to ends under exhaust pipes to allow clamping to popes with jubilee clips. Forget all other solutions, they dont solve the cause of the problem, only the symptoms!
 
pictures please, maybe you've found the solution the bedevils so many of us.
 
I don't hold out much hope for this fix. The motor is isoed so is the exhast system fixing it to the frame will be asking for problems.
 
I don't believe the problem is one of undue stress on the exhaust nuts, but that the standard nuts are steel screwed into an alloy head, the alloy expands much more than steel when subjected to heat and the rings come loose. I have fitted three sets of bronze nuts from Norvil without the locking rings and have had no problem with loosening whatsoever. I note that there are also alloy nuts available which will obviously also have the same expansion properties as the head but I have not tried these.
 
I just did a new exhaust and used the funny looking rings with tabs to bend and hold the exhaust nuts. Had to give them a try as I never have before, have always done the safety wire thing.

Crap........:x

No matter how you bend them, they just won't be snug enough to avoid musical accompaniment as you go up through the gears. Sounds like a bunch of Buddist Monks on Holy Day. The Jingle Jangle of the rings as they rattle around is just not my style, there's enough noise on the bike as it is, and no one needs another reason to worry that it might be getting ready to send a piston to the moon..strange noises just aren't conducive towards a relaxing assault on the bug population of our wonderful country roads.
New exhaust has a total different tone too , from the old one, somehow quieter, and I swear the horsepower has been reduced. But worst of all.... my wife couldn't hear me coming, five minutes before I got home last night like she always does, and she didn't even have time to run out and open the courtyard door and the door to the barn for me before I got there. If it wasn't Mother's Day....I'd surely be tempted to say something about it, but I will probably take the chicken way out and just put the old rusty exhaust back on. Better sound, better power, happier wife, and last but not least.......better door service.... :wink:

Shame though...the new one looks so....nice.
 
NorBSA is quite correct! shaking and non shaking don't play well together.. I have seen the results........
 
Captain & Norbsa you are both right, and the standard set up does just that because the shaking of the engine is carried to the exhaust and all the leverage happens at the exhaust nut, I know the exhaust is rubber mounted to the frame but this is inadequate due to the length & inertia of the exhaust.

My mod locks the downpipes to the gearbox cradle which is part of the vibrating power unit so there is no attempt by the exhaust to move relative to the head

Believe me it works & it is 10 years since I did it

I do not have a digital camera as I am stone age but the support bar passes under the power unit about 1 inch back from the drain plug on the primary chaincase. It must not touch the frame. It is a little tight to get the correct position & I had the bike standing on its wheels ie not on the centre stand when I fitted it so isolastics were in their normal working position. It also passes very close to prop stand, but with careful positioning it can be made to clear everything, & bolt to engine / gbox plates using 2 m8 nuts & bolts. The precise design doesnt matter as long as it locks the downpipes to the power unit and avoids contact with the main frame
 
Captain & Norbsa you are both right, and the standard set up does just that because the shaking of the engine is carried to the exhaust and all the leverage happens at the exhaust nut, I know the exhaust is rubber mounted to the frame but this is inadequate due to the length & inertia of the exhaust.

My mod locks the downpipes to the gearbox cradle which is part of the vibrating power unit so there is no attempt by the exhaust to move relative to the head

Believe me it works & it is 10 years since I did it

I do not have a digital camera as I am stone age but the support bar passes under the power unit about 1 inch back from the drain plug on the primary chaincase. It must not touch the frame. It is a little tight to get the correct position & I had the bike standing on its wheels ie not on the centre stand when I fitted it so isolastics were in their normal working position. It also passes very close to prop stand, but with careful positioning it can be made to clear everything, & bolt to engine / gbox plates using 2 m8 nuts & bolts. The precise design doesnt matter as long as it locks the downpipes to the power unit and avoids contact with the main frame
 
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