Hello from another newbie!

Resucitation is nearly complete on my '74 and I want to thank you all for the information I've borrowed/stolen while lurking in the wings!
The idea about probing out the idle jets was enormously helpful as I was torturing the poor engine making it idle with less that 1/4 turn on the air screw....

I would really appreciate some advice on one more thing before I hit the road with her: The engine seems to be off-center!
Looking at the bike from the front, the engine looks like it's about 1/2" to the right (riders' left). I don't remember it being that way before I replaced the iso's, but I prolly didn't look that close before tore it down (that happens sometimes ). I did have the engine completely out, as the head had to go to Phil R. for exhaust thread repair.

Has anyone else notice this after renewing the iso's? If not, I'd be grateful for any ideas on how to center it up. I'm a little concerned that the misalignment could to unspeakable things to the primary drive...
Thanks!
Ted

Welcome Ted,

T.C. said:

The engine seems to be off-center!
Looking at the bike from the front, the engine looks like it's about 1/2" to the right (riders' left).

Click to expand...

All perfectly normal then, Ted.

Whew! Thanks, that's a major relief. I wasn't looking forward to tearing it all down again. Will try to get a pic or two in the album later.

Thanks again for all the help!

Actually 1/2" does sound a little excessive, but it depends what you are looking at, as the engine offset is normally around 3/16", but it can look as if it's more than that?

T.C. said:

I'm a little concerned that the misalignment could to unspeakable things to the primary drive...

Click to expand...

As the engine, gearbox, cradle, primary drive, swinging arm and rear wheel on a Commmando are all separate parts that bolt together to form a single unit that connects to the frame by the Isolastic mountings, it's not really possible to offset any one part of that unit without offsetting all the other parts as well, so if the offset is around 3/16" then I don't think you need to be too concerned.

Thanks, LAB.
Just for grins & giggles, I went to the garage tonight and trammed the offset properly. Apparently, the more I looked at the offset, the bigger it got - in my head.

Measured from the inside of the front frame rails to the center of the "V" in the fins, I measure 9/32" difference; so the actual frame centerline to engine centerline is just a bit over 1/8". I'm thinking I was optically deluded by the breaker wires and tach cable running up the right side of the frame. That's my story, anyway!

So... is the left side bias built in just for clearance to the primary case? Or just because it's a Norton, and that's how it's done?

Thanks again for the tips, this place is an incredible resource!
T.C.

There are many reasons why the engine may not be centered in the frame of a bike - clearance issues, balancing issues, offset to counter torque reaction - you name it. Of my three bikes, only the Yamaha engine is essentially centered in the frame.

I guess you could also look at the rocker cover in relation to the head steady. There are 3 bolt holes on top of the head that should line up reasonably well with the box bracket when it is in place.

hope that helps
Mick