Green Blobs

ludwig said:

but this speedo is fitted on my N15 , and I think it has a different drive ( 1/2 I think .. )

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Ah.. but that would explain it.

ludwig said:

Of course not the original speedo , but the green blob indicates it was intended for Commando use

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I'm not sure you are right about that. I think what you have is a later Andover Norton replacement part (03A) so it has the green globe, and I don't think it was intended to be fitted to a Commando, but to an earlier Norton model with a different (2:1? BG5330/257?) ratio drive gearbox. The fact that it only reads up to 190 Km/H (118 MPH) instead of 240 Km/H (150MPH which MPH speedos read up to) also leads me to believe it's not meant for a Commando.

L.A.B. said:

.. I think what you have is a later Andover Norton replacement part (03A) so it has the green globe, and I don't think it was intended to be fitted to a Commando, but to an earlier Norton model with a different (2:1? BG5330/257?) ratio drive gearbox. The fact that it only reads up to 190 Km/H (118 MPH) instead of 240 Km/H (150MPH which MPH speedos read up to) also leads me to believe it's not meant for a Commando.

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You must be right .
So we learn something new every day !

Ludwig I know you would already know how to adjust your speedo calibration, I did mine yesterday after I had pulled the speedo down to clean the glass and lubricate and check inside. In good condition and now the dial looks much clearer. I drilled the cover to have access to the adjusting screw which you can see through the lamp hole and after test riding and setting I dabbed the screw with some silastic to retain the setting and covered the drill hole up with some water proof tape. Will find a grommet later. Mounted my Garmin GPS on the bars and set to MPH (Australia metric KM/PH) . After the stripping and replacement of the needle in the position that I noted on removal it was with in half a MPH. I then switched the GPS back to KMPH to note what speed in MPH at a given reading so I do not get pinched for speeding (not that I would :mrgreen: ) It was Sunday when I tested the bike and over here we have a system where in peak holiday periods they double the demerit points for speeding etc. and one offence and your could loose you license. Checked at 60KMPH then 80KMPH then 100KMPH in a 80 zone and backed off to slow down to 80 and looked up to see the Highway patrol coming around the corner. WOOPS :shock: he did not turn around so I must have just slowed down enough as they have to lock onto you for a set time,not long, to book you. Moral of that story is don't test/check things like speedo's on holiday periods. To remove the bezel from the speedo I mounted a piece of Oregon in the lathe and turned a neat fitting hole for the speedo to the depth of the chrome bezel then into the vice and levered it off. Now after that short of subject note my two speedos are 1969 and 1970 marked SSM 3001/02 1000.
Ian

Scruff said:

I mounted a piece of Oregon in the lathe

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A piece of what????

swooshdave Meant to be oregon wood as at the base of Mount st Helens in (1984 I think) not your whole state 8)
Ian

Scruff said:

swooshdave Meant to be oregon wood as at the base of Mount st Helens in (1984 I think) not your whole state 8)
Ian

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That would take a pretty big lathe...

Sorry bad light last night, rev counter reads rsm-3003/10a, speedo reads ssm-3001/02a 1000, the speedo reads in mph
apolagy for the mistake Al

possm said:

Sorry bad light last night, rev counter reads rsm-3003/10a

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Thanks, I have added that one to the list.

Yea my daughter has worked out how to post photo's, any way the above photo is of the instraments that i purchased to use on my 70 that i am building at the moment are these correct?
Al

(Thanks for posting the photo)

possm said:

any way the above photo is of the instraments that i purchased to use on my 70 that i am building at the moment are these correct?

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Well...yes and no!

Yes, they're Commando instruments, but I believe they are in fact later manufactured replacement parts, and not actual original equipment, which I believe is why they both have the 'A' suffix, possibly because they've got the later green globes instead of the solid green spots, but still have the earlier '68-'70 pattern dials.

I believe the original RSM 3003/10 revcounter was superseded by the RSM3003/12 item for '69-'70, and the RSM 3003/12 still had the solid green spot and not the globe.

RSM 3003/12

I would have thought it odd to find a "matched" set of replacement gauges specially here in New Zealand.
Al

possm said:

I would have thought it odd to find a "matched" set of replacement gauges specially here in New Zealand.
Al

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I suppose you could say they are a matched pair, but for 1968 (or maybe into '69?). As the SSM 3001/02 speedo appears to have been the correct Commando item from '68-70 as only the revcounter changed to the /12 type, possibly because a red zone was included (anyone know if the earlier units had one)?

But it's only a minor technical detail and not really worth worrying about.

Thanks for the assistance, yes they will be fine unless a correct set comes along but i had to pay an arm and a leg just to get these ones.
have a good new year Al

Here's the originals from an April 69 S.

Tach is RSM 3003/12
Spedo is SSM 3001/02 1000



Dave

L.A.B. said:

http://www.accessnorton.com/post10109.html (page 4)


SMITHS SPEEDOMETERS


MPH speedos are normally marked; *1000 turns = 1 Mile*

SSM 3001/02 150 MPH (1968-70) Solid Green Spot

SSM-3001/02A 150 MPH (19??) Green Globe Logo (this could be a later replacement part?)

SSM 3001/09 150 MPH (1971-74) Green Globe

SSM 3001/10 240 KPH 600 turns (1972) [1971-74?] Green Globe

SSM 4003/00 150 MPH + Trip meter (1975-on) NVT

SSM 4003/01 240 KPH 600 turns + Trip NVT known to be used on Triumph 750 Bonneville/Tiger 75/76. Possibly also Commando 850 MkIII ?

SMITHS TACHOMETERS 4:1

RSM 3003/10 9k RPM (1968-69) Solid Green Spot. No Red Zone

RSM 3003/10A (added 12/2009)

RSM 3003/12 9k RPM (Commando 'S' 1970) Solid Green Spot. 7,000 RPM Red zone

RSM 3003/15 9k RPM (1971-74) Green Globe

RSM 3003/(21?) 10k RPM (1975-on) NVT


___________________________________________


VEGLIA SPEEDOMETERS (also used in pairs as well as Smiths types but only fitting the deeper black instrument housings used from 1973-on)

1000 turns = 1 Mile

09190919900 (1973-74) 150 MPH + Trip meter, Green Globe and 'Norton'

0919 091 9911 150 MPH + Trip meter (1975) NVT


VEGLIA TACHOMETERS 4:1

09200909900 9k (1973-74) Green Globe and 'Norton'

0920 090 9911 10k (1975) NVT

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I talked to a guy who rebuilds instruments here in Portland. He sells under the name aprivatepeace503 on ebay. He said that the "A", "B" and other letters designated the production run. No letter being the first 1000 units, "A" being the second 1000 units...

But...

He also thought my 1972 should have the Green Dot, whereas it should have the Green Globe...

Also there is this anomoly:



The gauge on the right is a 3001/02A with a Green Globe. Theoretically it should have the Green Dot. So who the hell knows. :roll:

swooshdave said:

He said that the "A", "B" and other letters designated the production run. No letter being the first 1000 units, "A" being the second 1000 units...

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Think how many Commandos must have had those particular green globe instruments '71-'74, certainly many thousands of them, so where are all the C,D,E,F,G, etc...units?

The letter suffix (usually A) denotes a modified or upgraded instrument, as far as I know.

swooshdave said:

He also thought my 1972 should have the Green Dot, whereas it should have the Green Globe...

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Yes, he would be wrong then-wouldn't he?

swooshdave said:

Also there is this anomoly:

The gauge on the right is a 3001/02A with a Green Globe. Theoretically it should have the Green Dot. So who the hell knows.

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I'd guess it's a replacement unit from a later Smiths production run? That's why it has the globe instead of the dot, but it's meant as a replacement unit for an earlier Commando model, that's why it has the "green dot" style of dial.

L.A.B. said:

I'd guess it's a replacement unit from a later Smiths production run? That's why it has the globe instead of the dot, but it's meant as a replacement unit for an earlier Commando model, that's why it has the "green dot" style of dial.

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One would assume that a replacement gauge for an older bike would look like the original gauge, and have the green dot. But we assume a lot of things with these old bikes. :mrgreen:

swooshdave said:

One would assume that a replacement gauge for an older bike would look like the original gauge,

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It does-except for the logo?

I would guess the Norton factory may have been reluctant to sell replacement parts that still had the old out of date "corporate identity" logo on them, or maybe Smiths were only tooled up to print the green globe logo by the time those "A" units were made?

These are my gauges:



I bought them new in the early nineties when I rebuilt my Fastback. The picture was taken in 2002, but the gauges are in great shape, to my knowledge, they have never seen rain, only the occasional wash. If anyone is interested they are for sale, as a pair with the bezels, cables and the speedo gearbox.

Jean