ISO Norton expert mechanic in Boston area

I rebuilt the engine in my 1970 ex-fastback in the late 70s, then worked my way through the Haynes manual until I'd ticked every paragraph in there, gearbox, brakes, isolastics, etc. every winter it was a new project. Then kids came along, the long bike tours stopped, and the bike was parked in the garage ... for 32 years.

Three years ago, I did a minimal check over everything and the bike still ran beautifully.

But, recognising that every single part in the bike can be upgraded, and now having more money, time and resources, I just finished 2 years of upgrades. AN, RGM, JS, CNW and others are brilliant to deal with, and I've really enjoyed working on the bike again. But, I spent around £10,000 ($13,500) on parts, and haven't started on the engine upgrades. After all this work, the bike is probably worth about £7,000.

However, I've enjoyed the work and feel good about having done it, so it is worthwhile. And this is Fast Eddies point, if you enjoy doing the work, and will enjoy the results of that work, then its just like spending money on golf, holidays (vacations) or whatever else you enjoy. But if you're paying someone else to do the upgrades, then you have to justify the spend by the final result, and what many are saying is that you won't notice much difference in the final result, so its probably not good use of your money.

MichaelD said:

and what many are saying is that you won't notice much difference in the final result, so its probably not good use of your money.

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The key here is your intended (realistic) use.

If you are going to ride around the back lanes, within the speed limits of 50-60mph, then it doesn’t really matter if you have a stock Commando or an R1, you’re still gonna progress at more or less the same rate !

And you certainly will not notice any positive difference between a hot rod vs stock Commando, in fact, the stock one will be better.

And you’ll have enough money left over to buy a used R1 !!

However…

To BrianK

Add a lighter Molnar crank and all those other parts and you'll notice a performance gain if you turn the throttle up high enough.

My advice that you will probably ignore anyway is have your stock tappets/lifters radiused for a JS cam if a JS cam is what you want to use. It makes building the engine much easier and the gains whatever they really are of the lighter weight BSA lifters aren't going to make a big difference on a licensed street bike.

Don't be intimidated and driven off doing the work yourself by the cost of the parts. They go in the engine just like the stock parts do. Try a search and get thoughts from others that have actually built up a Norton engine using the parts you are thinking about using. Advice from people that have never done it is useless, but is the way of the interweb.

Great inputs, all; thanks much.

Who does Norton headwork these days? CNW seems to be out of that business. Leo Goff still around? Others? Tx - B

baz said:

If you are only going to upgrade one set of isolastics do the front ones
They take more of a pounding than the rear

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Thanks Baz. I did the fronts a while ago. Rears is a lot more work (dissassembly/reassembly, the banes of my existence) but I'll get to it. Eventually.

Try Baxter Cycle. They have a guy they outsource their machine work to.

Merci, htown16.

BrianK said:

Great inputs, all; thanks much.

Who does Norton headwork these days? CNW seems to be out of that business. Leo Goff still around? Others? Tx - B

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Jim Comstock.

YING said:

You could also get in touch with Concours for suggestions on where or who could help you out with your build.He would not steer you wrong.
Mike

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Not retired yet... I hate to make commitments and then disappoint.
A year or three from now, maybe.

OP, How fast do you want to go?

concours said:

OP, How fast do you want to go?

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Answer:

“How fast yer got” ??

concours said:

Not retired yet... I hate to make commitments and then disappoint.
A year or three from now, maybe.

OP, How fast do you want to go?

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I'm not sure who coined the phrase, "Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"

concours said:

Not retired yet... I hate to make commitments and then disappoint.
A year or three from now, maybe.

OP, How fast do you want to go?

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Bob,
My suggestion is for information on who might be a good source around your area.
Mike

A stock motor still suffers from a lot of stress. The short rod/heavy piston combo puts a lot of strain on the crank and the short rod angle through the power stroke increases the piston skirt pressure and wear against the cylinders. When the miles pile up those stresses can take their toll. Heavy lifters and valve springs put more wear on the cam and many have seen too much wear on the stock Norton cams. Staying with stock cam lift and duration will keep your motor in the same tune range as stock, but radiused lifters, lighter components and longer rods will give you longer life, more efficiency and fewer problems.

concours said:

Not retired yet... I hate to make commitments and then disappoint.
A year or three from now, maybe.

OP, How fast do you want to go?

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It's not about additional power (not that I'd say no....) but rather increased durability and reliability. Head needs exhaust ports and spark plug holes done, so why not renew the valves/springs/guides while at it? That's job one. Jim's lighter pistons/longer rods/"gentler" lifters seem pointed to the same end.

If you want your head done to stock specs - http://www.enginedynamics.com/ in Petaluma, north of San Francisco, THE go-to machine shop for Britbikes on the West Coast. Fast turn around. Email them with what you want.