I'm a newbie wishing to know what I have. (2013)

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joel1

joel1

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I had this Norton given to me with a promise that I would restore it. I met the old motorcycle enthusiast sitting on the curb next to his motorcycle at a local gasoline station, smoking a brown cigarette. He was a weathered old man with a bushy gray beard that had stains in it from the years of cigarette smoke. In passing I complimented him on his gorgeous new Harley. He turned and as if in slow motion drawing a hit from his cigarette and said to me in a rasp voice thanks, and he asked, what are you riding? I told him what I was riding and a few minor details about the Honda. From there we talked a good while, maybe an entire afternoon about restoring bikes. Late in the afternoon there became a pause in our conversation and I noticed a long stare at me with those old eyes of his. He seemed to be sizing me up. It was an uncomfortable stare he gave me. Then slowly his voice dropped and he said I'm an old man and I can't restore another bike. But I have one that needs to be restored, and you can have if you want it. I was skeptical. I have had a history of restoring bikes (Honda's). And from that history I have some experience in knowing that some people would have you take there trash so they don't have to deal with it. Nevertheless, I took a chance and went to look at the bike he was talking about. We rode to the outskirts of town. And made our way back to his little metal storage shed. When he opened the sliding doors on his little metal shed wasp were flying in and out and all around us. He didn't budge, he stood his ground and motioned for me to look inside. I looked, and could see what resembled a motorcycle. I had no idea what it was. But he began to tell me it was a Norton. He told me he had it a long time and he loved to ride it in the day. He began telling me of the intricate details that he started doing with it. His voice lightened with excitement and his eyes widened the more he talked about his Norton. A few days past and we began to pull the bike out of the shed along with other Norton bike parts including a frame, and extra transmission, tire and rims, and move it to my house. (My wife was not happy). I already had several Honda projects going and I couldn't start another project at the time. My friend would come over on many occasions and sit on the floor of my garage and tinker with the Norton while I would be working on the Honda's. Well my friend has since passed away. And its time to begin the restoration of this bike. I wish I had him back to answer the many questions I have. So I have to start somewhere and that is how I came across Access Norton. I hope to find help with restoring this bike.

I have some identical numbers from the engine and transmission # 201252 but there is no serial tag on the neck of the frame. Click Link to see the bike. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/709 ... .08.01.jpg

I have a set of numbers off the stripped frame # 137260 (These numbers are on a tag on the neck of the frame).

I have a transmission in a craddle with these numbers # 040122

I would like to know what kind of bike I have? And if the numbers match what the bike appears to be?

Brit bikes are so different from metric bikes. Its almost like starting over.
 
If this is legit, 137xxx frame would be a MK2 fastback, that is not the 68/69 FB, but a later one, like 70. However, the side panel doesn't match a FB. Front wheel is wrong. Chain guard is wrong for the year, FB fiberglass over chrome guard is wrong. It kind of looks like a mish mash of things that have been put together, but looks like a good starting point. I'll give you $50 for it.

Dave
69S
 
I appreciate the offer but I have to keep my promise. As for the front wheel I have a drum front wheel that came along with the parts. I think it might be wise for me to layout the mess of parts I have take a pic and find out what goes with what.
 
Joel, As you have noted, The chassis numbers were stamped on a frame data plate, if your's is missing you can get another one from quite a few vendors and restamp it with the same number as the engine. Norton Commandos had matching chassis, engine and gearbox numbers. There are different styles of chassis plates depending on the year of the machine. Regarding brakes, the front drums look nice but are typically not as good as a well set up disc system.

This looks like a very nice project and the human element of the story is, to my mind, what our hobby is all about. You will find this site a very good resource for advice, parts and enthusiasm. Good luck with your Norton.
 
Gosh ole LAB will likely spank me again but here goes again, appears ya got what could well be a Combat which no real cycler in that era could resist.

200000 > 1972 IV 750 Fastback Roadster HiRider Interstate Breather moved to between gearbox plates behind engine - was on the left hand side of the camshaft. Engine number prefix discontinued. Optional disk brake and combat engine. Revised shape handlebar levers.

If ya trust it enough to hang on past 6800 rpm, if feels like a 3rd piston kicks in then its Combat spec and might even lift the front before next shift up.

I'm sorry to inform you that Honda experience is not much help on Nortons though does help to have some maturity on running into supply and fit and proper tool issues.

I can see myself giving up my stuff near the end so touching tale to take in. Which reminds me have you seen the movie "I Bought a Vampire Commando"?
Just saying...
 
The engine number may be more informative, it's on the drive side just below the barrels. But it's never known if the frame or engine are swapped for another, they all fit between the years. But yeah, it doesn't appear to have the breather off the cam which may or may not be a good thing. Combat would be nice, I think they came with special carbs and cam but I'm not the expert there. The GB number is nearly irrelevant as long as it works or you want all the numbers (frame/engine/GB) to match.

Is that rear fairing metal? That seat looks awfully new.

I hope you have about $10K to spend.

It will be a completely different experience than Honda, but wait until you feel that torque in 2nd gear.

Dave
69S
 
acotrel said:
I would really like to find a bike like that.
Click to expand...

+1 with acotrel 8) It looks like a great start, and fairly complete even. These Nortons are a blast to ride and much different than any Honda I've ridden. Good luck and have fun with it. :D Cheers !
 
The tank, seat and fairing are Fastback dress. The side panel is from a roadster. The disc brake is 1972 or later (post fastback) and the pipes have a balance tube which was an 850 item. Most 850s you see these days do not have that balance tube any longer and have gone to 750 style pipes. Looks to me like you have a green light to build what ever you want without regard to correctness by year or model. This can be a great thing.

Basically, I would read up on all the cool stuff you can and might do, then decide how much money you want to throw at it. The tank will be fiberglass, you will want to research issues with fiberglass tanks. There are some alloy replacements being made but I have no experience as to whether they are a good fit. Where is the breather located on the crankcase? If it is off the rear, then you are already set up for one of the Comnoz crankcase breathers. Don't worry, lots of reading to be done on those.

These bikes are actually pretty easy to work on for anybody who isn't afraid to pick up a wrench but they do have some peculiarities. Get a workshop manual, or go to the tech section here and download one to your desktop, or do both for that matter. It takes a bit of time to acquaint yourself with the manner in which it is written, not only is it British but it is from an era when language was used differently. I got my first Norton as a teenager and discovered I didn't speak English.

If you plan to tear down the engine and gearbox then you might consider spending 90 dollars on Mick Hemming's DVD set. He takes you through the process in a few hours time. It is a great resource.

Enjoy the time spent on the bike, it will be worth it!

Russ
 
so am i understanding correctly, you have two frames? the one shown in the photo, and one thats stripped down?

To me it sounds like the bike is a 72 roadster (combat motor) based on the motor and gearbox number you mentioned, and the side covers on it. and the other frame would be a 70 fastback like someone mentioned. Maybe what you posted there is an amalgamation of the two?
 
The photo of parts laid in a driveway was from one of my recent scratch build projects that became a Production Racer replica.

It sounds to me like Joel was blessed to be in the right place at the right time, for one of those "once in a lifetime" deals that are as rare as pregnant mermaid dreams.

It also sounds like he has enough spare parts to be able to pick and choose the best of each duplicate, another very good thing. Plus, he can then sell off the spares to help finance the build as it goes along.

As was already mentioned, since it's not necessarily a "matching numbers" bike, it can be anything he wants it to be. In my opinion, it is highly likley that the original owner was building his "vision" of what HE wanted in a Commando, a Fastback with a front disc (and maybe a Combat engine); not a bad vision.

Have fun Joel. I'd like to contribute some free parts from my spares, in keeping with the spirit of the project.
 
What you have there is a "bitza". Although many parts seem to be 72ish, there "seems" to be evidence of 69,70, 71, 73 and maybe beyond.

One thing is "almost" for certain, they will all fit together.
 
i just read through again. Sounds like the bike in the photo is a numbers matching 72 (guess a roadster by the side cover) with a different tank, seat, etc. That bike has no tag on the frame, but he has a 2nd frame with a 1970 serial number. So i would say assuming that frame is original, it's a numbers matching 72 roadster with a few different parts on it.
 
Looks like that frame in the last photo has been whacked short on the rear loop? Where's the oil tank? I guess that was the other side cover?

Dave
69S
 
DogT said:
Looks like that frame in the last photo has been whacked short on the rear loop? Where's the oil tank? I guess that was the other side cover?
Click to expand...

That was a frame that Kenny Dreer sold me. He was starting to build another VR880 and "bunny trailed" off to do the whole 952 thing; you know what happened after that.

The other parts were various spares, pulls and swap meet parts from 5 or 6 previous builds. I also had most of an engine in pieces; all that, and a lot more, came out to one PR replica.
 
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