Introducing myself and my 850 advice request.

Hello Access Norton community.

I've owned motorcycles most of my life but I'm only now getting to the point of my life where I am able to afford some of my childhood dreams and I wanted to introduce myself and my 850. This is actually long overdue since I have had the bike 2 years+ but I have a recent surge of enthusiasm to ride and take this bike to the next level and so I figured an intro and subscription to this site is well warranted.

My bike is a 1974 850 Roadster with an original 3900 miles. The tank is one of Even Wilcox' units. I purchased the bike pretty much exactly the way you see it.

I am a vintage car mechanic and engineer by trade so I have an honest 16-20 hours going through some of the basics on this bike such as replacing the isolastics, some electrical cleanup, carburetor work, etc but that is all I have personally done and for the most part she runs very very well.

My future plans are to try and get the forks sorted well- they seem to clunk and bottom out quite a bit-they are probably totally empty and dry.Suggestions for fork upgrades please! I also REALLY want to get a set of aluminum rims on this bike. I'd love some advice on what width to go with front and back since I am the type of guy who rides fast and frequents the Los Angeles Crest mountains. Seems like there is room in the back for more width.....

Some photos:

Howdy!

Very tidy bike.

I'd fight the urge to go with more rubber out back. It takes HP to sling more rubber; plus it's unsprung weight, and the handling won't be any better for it anyway. 110 max.

There’s plenty of more expensive options for fork upgrades, all depends how far you wanna go? But a really good value upgrade is the Lansdowne kit sold here: http://www.tritonmotorcycleparts.com/

However, without stating the blindingly obvious, the first ‘upgrade’ you might wanna try is a service and new oil in your stock forks…

Handling on a Commando isn’t really determined by tyre width. Check out the threads on here for opinions, there are many and varied. If you’re considering changing rims then the world is your oyster in terms of widths and diameters. Personally, I favour Avon Roadriders and run a 4.00 / 18 rear with a 100/90/19 front. But there are those who favour 18” both ends, and those who favour 19” both ends. And they probably all work well. Just make sure you choose the tire type carefully and ensure the right rim width for the chosen tyres.

Thank you for the comments so far. I really like the general look of the bike now and with some minor upgrades that save a little weight and add some period racy looks, I'll be very happy. I love light wheels on my cars/bikes and wondered if once I remove wheels and send them to Buchanan's I should perhaps take the opportunity to add a little width....any further suggestions to width/diameter and target tire size are welcome and appreciated. As the bike sits now it has 4.10-19 Dunlop Roadmasters front and back. In comparison to my Yamaha 76 RD400 the wheels feel just way too heavy. The goal is something sportier with a narrower front.

As for the forks, they are surely tired and have bad seals, once again I am not looking for some blingy modern forks, period correct/original looks with some good working internals are all I need.

Buchanan's Sun Alloy rims are wonderful, very high quality.
The set I had was about the same weight as my Dunlop steel rims.
The flanged Al. Morads from Central Wheel are about 1 lb lighter than the stock chrome/steel rims.
So more for show than actual go.

Glen

A lot of "upgrades" aren't.

For modern traffic/roads, the bike needs better brakes than OEM. That only requires a different master cylinder and good brake pads - Ferrodo's are generally well liked. You can find opinions re mastercylinder changes with a search. I do not like sleeved mastercylinders based on two unpleasant experiences but many folks like them and have had no trouble with them.

A really excellent and inexpensive mod that gets rid of the clunking/topping of the forks and improves damping is the Fauth Fork mod. Do a search. Rebuild the front forks regardless. When I bought my current Commando in '06 from a very well know seller of old brittbikes, they guaranteed the bike was ready to ride across the USA! It wan't ready (or safe) to ride around the block. The forks had NO oil in them at all though there was some tarry substance in the bottoms that might once have been oil! FWIW, that was just one of several serious safety-related problems with the bike...

I agree with other comments re tires/rims. If you want different rims because you WANT different rims, that's fine but you'll get no better handling than what the OEM size rims/tires can provide and the handling could degrade. I removed the wider 18" alloy rims and tires that were on the bike when I bought it because the handling was very poor. I bought OEM 4.10/19 rims/Avon Road runner tires and the bike is extremely competent in the twisties. Main thing if you purchase new rims/tires is to ensure that they are both the same diameter, like the OEMs.

Of course there are a huge variety of mods that you can make to virtually everything and every system on the bike but IMO, the safety stuff is vital with brakes being at the top of the list. Good luck!!

I appreciate the input. I'm surprised that the Sun rims are now much lighter, I will be very upfront about WANTING aluminum rims though haha. I am actually in the middle of ordering a replacement front master, I should probably add better front pads to that order.

The current tires setup on my bike needs to go, they are a little old and I hate the way the bike looks with the huge front tire. Is there a go-to sporty tire? Can someone recommend a staggered front/rear size?

I always disliked the 'large' 4.10 front tyre that many favour.

Modern tyres will increase your riding enjoyment.

A 90/90 x 19 front Avon Roadrider and a matching 100/90 x 19 rear will not only work well, but might just stop the rear looking too skinny, and will lighten the steering a little!

(In race compounds this is a standard Manx Norton set up!)

i like the 90/90/19 front 100/90.19 rear. life is short on the rear as it is a universal . you can change to an 18 WM 4 rear IF you want the fater rear tire look and better wear BUT it can slow the handling. the avon AM26 road rider is the go to tire with 19 wheels. I have the excel non flange rimes and noticed a LOT quicker turn in vs the steel rims.

vespam5 said:

I appreciate the input. I'm surprised that the Sun rims are now much lighter, I will the very upfront about WANTING aluminum rims though haha. I am actually in the middle of ordering a replacement front master, I should probably add better front pads to that order.

The current tires setup on my bike needs to go, they are a little old and I hate the way the bike looks with the huge front tire. Is there a go-to sporty tire? Can someone recommend a staggered front/rear size?

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Welcome aboard. I love your bike but have to agree, the front tyre on a Commando always looks bulky to me and especially on a Roadster spoils the "Dragster" look. I believe the early bikes had a narrower front rim & tyre combo and looked better for it in my opinion. I don't know why they got changed. I think the Avons are slightly better visually.

Just placed an order for the Lansdowne damper inserts, looking forward to that.

Bill what rim sizes did you go with?

Thanks
Dorian

vespam5 said:

Just placed an order for the Lansdowne damper inserts, looking forward to that.

Bill what rim sizes did you go with?

Thanks
Dorian

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I ride with what Fast Eddie noted - Avon Roadrider AM26 100/90 19"F and 4.00x18"R on Excell flanged WM3 and a Landsdowne fork kit and Ikon (old name - Koni). No handling heaviness - very nice. And I also ride a modern Ducati superbike and the Norton compares very well, albeit with about a hundred HP less.

Good reference info here.

That's a nice looking ride you have there.
Love the EW alloy work. Beautiful...

1. A basic service on the forks will do wonders, but won't stop the top out Clunk.
It's a built in feature.
A. The Fauth upgrade extends the travel, stops the clunk and makes it sit higher in static.
B. Here's a link to another mod..https://jsmotorsport.com/js-motorsport-technicalmore-norton-fork-upgrades/
C. Landsowne dampers are a nice upgrade...http://www.tritonmotorcycleparts.com/297620484
D. Top of the line is probably Cosentino. http://www.cosentinoengineering.com/index_files/Page405.htm
There may be others, I have no experience with these other than Fauth. Currently clunking along on well serviced stockers.
2. Rims.
Really need to match the rim size to the tire. Stock rims are WM2/1.85. Very narrow.
Most upgrade to at least a WM3/2.15. However, most newer rubber recommend WM4/2.50.
Do a little research on tire size and match accordingly.
19" vs. 18". That's debated for pages on this site.
3. Fuel taps.
I notice you have what appears to be stock fuel taps. There may be no issues with them, just be aware they can
be problematic or at least 'fiddly.'
4. Brakes.
A/N sells new 'Stock' looking 13mm master cylinder. Better than a resleeve.
Or there are numorous others, Magura, Bembo, Nissan... Regardless, needs to go down to at least 13mm.
Add a braided line, Ferodo pads, and Bob's your uncle... At least it's better.
And of course there is the top of line CNW kit. https://coloradonortonworks.net/cnw-brembo-front-brake-system.html
Our Friend oversees has some nice stuff too. Scroll on down and check it out. http://www.tritonmotorcycleparts.com/297620485/category/146825/online-store

The money can go on and on... Welcome to the 'Norton World'.

We have somewhat similar tastes. This is what mine looks like with the rims/tires noted above.

Good front brake, an LED headlight, and a good head steady (i.e. Dave Taylor type) are things not to be ignored. Those would be my top 3 for your bike.

FWIW

I run WM4/250 Borrani flanged rims with Avon Roadriders Mark 2 front and rear. I like the look of it and they clear the stock fender brace.M/C handles very nicely.Cosentino fork internals with Ikon rear shocks,Don Pender front brake.

I am running the stock size WM2 rims. I know a lot folks say up the size to a WM3 for the 100/90/19 but it works good for me with the 2s

Yes , I too went with stock size alloy rims ss spokes from Don Pender , OEM size tires as well with Brembo m/c ss hose , ferodo pads , Landsdowne fork kit and DT head steady with spring along with new adjustable ISO’s bike ran down road very nice ….

gortnipper said:

We have somewhat similar tastes. This is what mine looks like with the rims/tires noted above.

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I never have understood why most Commando aftermarket seats have such a huge "fender hump" in them that basically makes the rear of the seat "violate" your rear end. If you follow the fender's actual lines, they've wasted several inches of space there (ok, some has to be for padding)

Otherwise, what a mighty nice bike!!!

grandpaul said:

I never have understood why most Commando aftermarket seats have such a huge "fender hump" in them that basically makes the rear of the seat "violate" your rear end. If you follow the fender's actual lines, they've wasted several inches of space there (ok, some has to be for padding)

Otherwise, what a mighty nice bike!!!

Click to expand...

I always thought that was because the vinyl had lifted from the foam because it wasn't glued ?