Finished Project. Finally!!!

Hi,
After 11 months, I have finally finished my 74 850. Belt drive and isolastic adjustments are still a work in progress. A temporary front disc is in place as I sort out my RGM lightened disc return. Many thanks to everyone that has helped me along the way with my endless questions. It has been very much appreciated.
All the best,
Gatsby

Looking good.

Well done indeed.

Ken

Looks fantastic, love the color!

That looks terrific, well done !!

You may want to fit one or two "06.3031 clip front brake hose" as the braided hose will act like a file on your lovely polished mudguard. ( ask me how I know )

gatsby said:

Hi,
After 11 months, I have finally finished my 74 850. Belt drive and isolastic adjustments are still a work in progress. A temporary front disc is in place as I sort out my RGM lightened disc return. Many thanks to everyone that has helped me along the way with my endless questions. It has been very much appreciated.
All the best,
Gatsby

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Beautiful man......This is great, 2 '74 850 Roadsters back in the hunt in the same week...........

Great lookin bike, the metallic effect very nice. Well done.

Beautiful bike and great metal flake colour. Love it!
My only critique would be the: "850
Commando" on the side pannels, which are not parralel to the z plate top. This is my only pet peeve....IMHO. Some may agree also, and I may be ridiculed. A common painter's mistake who is not familiar to a Norton Commando, unless they see it on the bike after it is painted. As I see it ....It's climbing a hill!
But carry on.
By the way....I forced my painter to redue mine on my Interstate the first time. It was climbing a hill. It cost me.
but now I'm happy.

Very nice indeed- now get out and dirty it up !

CanukNortonNut said:

Beautiful bike and great metal flake colour. Love it!
My only critique would be the: "850
Commando" on the side pannels, which are not parralel to the z plate top. This is my only pet peeve....IMHO. Some may agree also, and I may be ridiculed. A common painter's mistake who is not familiar to a Norton Commando, unless they see it on the bike after it is painted. As I see it ....It's climbing a hill!
But carry on.
By the way....I forced my painter to redue mine on my Interstate the first time. It was climbing a hill. It cost me.
but now I'm happy.

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Hi - I agree. Unfortunately I had to ship my tank out of province to get painted. My painter friend gave my tank and side covers to a local artist for the painted stripes and decal application. An original fireflake blue hand painted side cover was also given for a guide, along with instructions. I don’t know where it went wrong. My friend put a lot of work into this job (over 25 coats of clear and flake squeezed in between jobs over 6 months) and I did not have the heart to address. In an ideal world, they would have been applied by me while installed on my bike to match the angle of the top of the Z-plates.

gatsby said:

Hi - I agree. Unfortunately I had to ship my tank out of province to get painted. My painter friend gave my tank and side covers to a local artist for the painted stripes and decal application. An original fireflake blue hand painted side cover was also given for a guide, along with instructions. I don’t know where it went wrong. My friend put a lot of work into this job (over 25 coats of clear and flake squeezed in between jobs over 6 months) and I did not have the heart to address. In an ideal world, they would have been applied by me while installed on my bike to match the angle of the top of the Z-plates.

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I've seen the transfer/side cover level issue before and can be semi cured by putting a rubber packer under the top of rear of the cover on the oil tank...my 2 cents
Your bike looks excellent

Blue ones are best!
Well done...

I'm jealous!!

gatsby said:

Hi,
After 11 months, I have finally finished my 74 850. Belt drive and isolastic adjustments are still a work in progress. A temporary front disc is in place as I sort out my RGM lightened disc return. Many thanks to everyone that has helped me along the way with my endless questions. It has been very much appreciated.
All the best,
Gatsby

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Nice work! I hope you get a lot of satisfaction from finishing it up.
Mike

gatsby said:

Hi - I agree. Unfortunately I had to ship my tank out of province to get painted. My painter friend gave my tank and side covers to a local artist for the painted stripes and decal application. An original fireflake blue hand painted side cover was also given for a guide, along with instructions. I don’t know where it went wrong. My friend put a lot of work into this job (over 25 coats of clear and flake squeezed in between jobs over 6 months) and I did not have the heart to address. In an ideal world, they would have been applied by me while installed on my bike to match the angle of the top of the Z-plates.

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When I was about 50, I got into a discussion about the man in the moon. I mentioned that I didn't understand why it is depicted as a smiling face since I had always seen it as a king in a throne. After being laughed at for a while, someone outlined the face on a picture of the moon – then I saw what others saw.

In other words, it can be a matter of perception. The "Norton" aligns with the stripes. Generally, that's what I see when I look at your cover without the angle being pointed out, and I've seen originals that way, or with the lines more tilted, and of course with the "Norton" more level. Some say the "Norton" needs to be level on the center stand, some say level off the center stand, some say level when sitting on the bike, some say aligned with the "Z-Plate" – all are different, and none look right if your perspective is different. Going by brochures, it's wrong but the bikes were not built to brochure pictures! In fact, the lines were pinstriped and then sticker put on by humans - not very consistently - I really double that they used a level or even a template - too much variance. To me, there is no way to make it look "right" since there are too many angles in the area to catch your eye.

I would be interested in seeing a picture of the other side. When I look at your picture of the timing side, it appears to me that the cover itself is crooked. The bottom does not align with the "Z-Plate" and the right side does not appear to align with the frame tube. It may be that the spacers between the oil tank and cover are reversed, or the oil tank is not sitting properly. As KiwiShane said, you may be able to improve the look with spacers.

Wow just beautiful a real credit to the breed. Love the color it is both subtle but pops. And you have so many tanks to choose from!

Edit: Did you purchase your fresh console buttons and flip switches from Eurotrash? Not sure I've seen the red flipper in that position. Also, where can I purchase those console wire clips? Such a clean and tidy job - Chapeau!

you might want to ride it down to Florida/ Miami, as colour scheme would fit right in! Nice job.

Jdub said:

Also, where can I purchase those console wire clips?

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Triumph part 97-4112 from most Brit bike part suppliers.

Jdub said:

Also, where can I purchase those console wire clips?

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Pretty sure you know a US supplier who has them

Very well done Joshua ! absolutely gorgeous