garage fire

Last april my garage caught fire, with my Norton in it!
I was grinding a piece of metal, left to do something else and when I came back about a half hour later it was too late to do anything apart from call the fire brigade.
They arrived and soon got the fire out and heaved the bike out from the mess looking like this





it previously looked like this



but now it's back to nearly it's former glory, I'll get my photos sorted out and let you have them

Bad luck Geoffrey. It looks as if they got it out just in time. A workshop fire is a nightmare scenario.

Do you think that there was a smouldering spark somewhere ?

As 79x100 suggests there must have been a stray spark that started something smouldering, mig welders cause me most concern in this respect. Glad to see you're getting it all back together mate,
regards,
Dave.

Sorry to see what you had to do but glad you are bringing her back.

Geoffrey Chapman said:

but now it's back to nearly it's former glory, I'll get my photos sorted out and let you have them

Click to expand...

Argh, you tease!!!!

You have to post them all at the same time!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

I think that sparks must have found some old cleaning rags and smoldered for a while before catching fire.
Incredibly he bike had a nearly full tank (fiberglass) of petrol which didn't explode. The heart of the fire was on the right hand side just near the back wheel, hence the state of the seat and rear light. I was also surprised to see the alu cases had not melted.
I left the bike with a tarp on it for a month, too demoralized to do anything about it.
Then I though I had to do something, I'd had the bike since new from 1971. I decided to do a repair rather than a restore to get the bike on the road asap.
First thing was to strip off the seat, tank and rear light and other stuff that had melted or burned.
Then gave the whole thing a going over with a degreaser and Karcher to get the soot off. The engine cases were really tarnished by the heat and I ended up using a chunk of wire-wool to get them in a reasonable state.
I then started the parts ordering (good business for Norvil and RGM)



The front tire was ok, just stained with dregs of paint like the rest of the bike as old paint cans exploded with the heat!
The rear had to be changed, I tried a Metzler 18" for a change and easier availability here in France.



Then I gave the tank side panels and front mudguard a good rub down and took them to a local bodywork shop to be painted, cost me 200euros but looks great.
I've been wanting to change the color scheme for years as the metal-flake finish on the tank had become very faded on the top with the sun.







time for breakfast, get back to you later

79x100 said:

Bad luck Geoffrey. It looks as if they got it out just in time. A workshop fire is a nightmare scenario.

Do you think that there was a smouldering spark somewhere ?

Click to expand...

Bad news reminded me of the day I parked my bike and came back 4 hours later to find that someone had set it alight!! All rear end and up to side panels was severely damaged and that included an original Dunstall seat unit that had been modified with a removable leather cover and a beautiful Dunstall tank. Both beyond repair :cry:

How can anyone do that plj850, envy?
Just been out on my first trial run around the block. It backfires on the RH cylinder, I can even screw in or take out completely the airscrew with no effect!
This what they looked like after the fire.





What if I steeped the carb in acetone would that clean out the drill ways?

To continue with my saga;
I picked up a set of handlebar switches from a Ducati (60euros) and wired them into the existing harness with the help of a set of barrel connectors from
http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk. I have since discovered that RGM sell a kit of wires, bullet connectors, etc to fully wireup a Norton! part no. 050307 for £11 which I think is very cheap.





The joints and level glass had all melted in the Nissin (Kawasaki) master cylinder, but I found one second hand on e-net for 40euros.
The headlamp I painted for the moment, and changed the indicator lamps.
The clocks got new glasses, and bezels from e-bay, which I glued on with super glue.

I had kept the old original seat from 1971 and though damaged I could recover the base which I repaired with fibreglass and also kept the foam.
I built into the foam a gel panel that I got from Butt Buffers in the US, what a difference!



Anyway I'll not keep you waiting any longer, here's the end result

Way to bring it back!!

I like that butt buffer. Gotta git me one of those. After a half hour ride it feels like I'm sitting on a granite slab.

Russ

Buy a Buell S1. Once you're used to its seat, any other bike's seat will feel like a couch.

Fantastic restoration Geoffry ! It really was word all the work - but I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to start it.

Great job.

Looking real good, a credit to you.


What if I steeped the carb in acetone would that clean out the drill ways? No it will not clear a blocked pilot jet, this will need drilling out with a #78 drill which is 16 thou diameter or 0.4 mm. The drill will be too short to get to the pilot jet, I glue mine into a WD40 red tube which will allow full depth penetration.

might i ask what handlebars you have on your bike, i see they are adjustable?

Tragic story with a happy ending. Great work!

Great restauration and great color, looks fantastic.

Jean

GavinJuice said:

might i ask what handlebars you have on your bike, i see they are adjustable?

Click to expand...

Aren't those just upside down Ace bars?

The gel pad is really worth doing, but careful about leaving the bike out in the sun, it seems to conserve the heat a long time, I keep having to stand-up on the footrests to cool off for a overly long while!
The handlebars are "ace bars" which I bought in england a long time ago, I'll try to find out where, gives a great riding position, not too low, a little bit forward and has room for long levers. Just have to make sure the allen bolt adjusters are tight so they don't move.
I made up a battery fixture while I was at it, simple cheap and works well (the nice arrangement in inox proposed by Norvil is a bit expensive for me).
It's basically a bar of 6mm threaded rod bent twice and passed through two holes drilled in the corners each side of the battery and insulated with my old petrol pipe (a bit blistered by the fire). The brackets are galvanized roofing timber fixings riveted together.

Good work bringing the bike back from how it looked after the fire...and I like the color