Looking for 880 (Dreer) & 850 engine parts

I'm looking to build a Norton 880 "on the cheap".

I've already talked to Kenny Dreer, and he's sending me a set of pistons & cylinders, as well as a set of modified engine cases to take that top end.

Does anyone here by any chance have any engine parts from a previous project or blow up that you aren't going to use or need?

Please let me know, and I'm sure we can come to terms.

Needed:

Crankshaft
Rods
Head (maybe)
Cam (Combat or high performance)
Primary cases
Tranny complete in the case

(I have a belt drive kit and a head I MIGHT use)

Thanx!

having bought a Dreer Bike brand new
4 years ago, don't bother it ended up in a museum in birmingham england
buy one one from Matt at Colorado just like i did and you will be a happy man.
i have just put my name down for one of his ltd edit caf'e racer , result more
smiles.

Richard Barks

Two problems with that angle-

1. mine won't end up in a museum,

2. I'm too cheap to have Matt build me one.

Matt is a great guy and has helped me out a time or two, and I'd dearly love one of his bikes, but it's out of my league. Matt wrote the back cover review for my book before it went to print.

Book? Paul, I need more info on this book of yours.

Also, I sure wish I could just call up Kenny Dreer and get some pistons and jugs.

I don't know, I think anyone can call Kenny or Matt and get anything they sell, as long as you meet thier price!

My paperback book is called "Old Bikes". Non-brand-specific, very general in technicality, and some light humor thrown in. The next revision will include this forum in the reference section, and a chapter on vintage bike racing.

$15 + $5 postage

PayPal to grandpaulz at hotmail dot com

i shipped the dreer bike and one of matts bike's to england so it would be far far cheaper for you in texas, if you have the time i can list all the bad points on kenny's bike (who actualy came to england for the weekend to fix it !) and a few of the good points.
whilst mr rambows bike's are in another league entirely to kennys.
i know i bought a new interstate in the 70's for £666.00 on the road.
and still a norton fan in fact they are building the new rotaries 5 miles up the road ( another disaster !)

Richard Barks

I'm well aware that Kenny's bikes are more high performance and customised in the engine department, set in high performance chassis systems, whereas Matt builds bulletproof mostly stock engines and nestles them in rolling chassis that are more mechanically beautiful than they are all-out performance oriented.

Kenny has jumped a few hurdles in the engine development department, and there are various points along his development program that you can aim for to arrive at reasonably reliable high performance engines. He has been on a quest for power with reliability that can be highly elusive.

If you look at Matt's website, he makes it clear that the have settled on an improved version of the stock engine, using high quality parts and pre-set machining procedures. They are better performing than stock, cleaner and shinier than stock, but not "high performance" relative to Dreer engines.

The engine I'm building is aimed at conservatively higher performance with a leaning toward reliability. It may not appear as gleaming perfection, but should run much stronger than your average 850 without blowing up.

Sure, I'd like to see the list of bad points, know what fixes were done, and I'm especially interested in knowing what outstanding issues are unresolved or without remedy.