My new Norton Atlas

I forgot to tell you what a nice find you have there. JS also has the longer rods and lighter pistons to help smooth out those bad vibes that Frank is talking about. I'm jealous though it looks to be all there and a good starting point for a rebuild.

When I ended up picking it up, I was thinking it may have been a 650ss, until I checked the motor and frame numbers, with the help from the experts here. If it was a 650ss, I most likely would've just sold it, but since it's a Atlas, I plan on keeping her in the collection for a while. The main goal is to get her running before the winter really sets in. At that point, I plan on getting the mag checked out/rebuilt, going to stay with the stock one.

I was showing her to a customer last night and he found one crack on the rear fender that I will have to get fixed before it gets any worse. I have ridden a Atlas once or twice before, but I don't remember the vibrations being that horrible, but I don't think I rode it too far.

72westie said:

but I don't remember the vibrations being that horrible, but I don't think I rode it too far.

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I really don't notice it too badly on my '66 Atlas - but then I like the twisty roads rather than major highways, the few times I have ridden on the major highways the vibration has been a little uncomfortable, but only within a reasonably narrow rev range, slowing down or speeding up a bit worked for me (can't remember quite what speeds are troublesome - you'll figure that out for yourself)
Enjoy the Atlas, I enjoy mine.

Makes it a wonder what Dunstall used on his 1 hr record Atlas to enable rider & machine to last that long at that speed - reported top speed of " 143 mph" during the hour [ in which 126.70 miles were done].

Nice Atlas Westie,
I can help you with your mag if you like, I am in Concord Twp. Ohio (about 30 miles east of Cleveland). I am the largest USA distributor & installer of the Brightspark Easycap magneto condensers. For about $20 you can replace the capacitor, which is the most common mag problem. Keep in mind, the original Lucas capacitors were of poor quality & only had a 10 year shelf life when new!!! The armature could be bad, but not as common & fairly expensive, by the time you get it rewound & pay shipping & insurance it can be around $200. The bearings often just need cleaned & re-greased, but are not difficult to replace with the correct tool to remove the races. There are a number of other faults that can occur, but the capacitor is by far the most common problem. I highly recommend going to the website & see what you think, sounds like you could do it yourself & if you get in a jamb I am happy to give free technical advice. In addition to doing all manor of Lucas Magneto rebuilding & repair I own an original vintage Bosch magneto remagnetizer to re-charge the old magnets in the magneto. If you choose not to do your own work, I am happy to do it for you, estimates & inspections are always free.

My thoughts on magnetos:

electronic conversions work well, but when they fail (yes, they do fail also) they fail 100% no spark at all, mags tend to go bad a little bit over time, or only go bad when hot.

Joe Hunt makes an awesome mag, works a treat. Looks good on a race bike, looks silly on a vintage restored bike (IMHO). Oh, & bring about $700 (including S&H, insurance) to the store to buy one.

Lucas mags, when set up correctly, work for many trouble free years if cared for & maintained according to the manual (provided it has had the Lucas capacitor replaced with a Brightspark Easycap of course )

Here is the Brightspark website: http://www.brightsparkmagnetos.com/

my email: sbrolund@yahoo.com

Good luck & nice find!!!!!!

Skip Brolund
Northern Ohio Norton Owners

I hope you are enjoying the Atlas.
I finished rebuilding the engine with new pistons, rings, bearings and seals. I took the crank and flywheel apart and cleaned it as well as the sump was full of a tar like muck.
Here is a suggestion for you, Do not install the engine by itself but do so only as a unit with the gearbox. I learned the hard way as it will not work.
You will only have to take it all out again.
My biggest issue is finding the correct hardware ie studs, bolts, nuts etc. I have had a face full of trying to locate the correct stuff and then paying through the nose when you do manage to find it. Hopefully it is all there for you.
Best of luck with the project and hopefully it will be on the road by the time the warm weather gets here.

Re: My new Norton. Model 88?

Rohan said:

Rohan said:

The /P signifies it was built at Plumsted .

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beng said:

Some Norton featherbed twins of this era have an "M" stamped instead of a "P", so unless someone knows what all the letters on AMC twins stands for, we should not assume we know what any of them mean just because they happen to be the first letter of a word related to the bikes.

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Since AMC mentioned in a bulletin to Dealers of a move to Plumstead, we can probably safely assume they knew what they were talking about.....

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Uh, no one doubts that AMC shut down the Bracebridge Street works and moved production to their Plumstead works Rohan.

The statement was that since Dominator engines of this era are stamped with both "P" and "M" marks, that saying the "P" stands for Plumstead and ignoring the engines stamped with "M" is an assumption and a leap that an ignorant 5-year old would make.

You are saying /P doesn't stand for Plumstead ??

Since I answered what /P stood for, almost 2 years ago !!, seems finished to me.
Nothing better to do than stir up 2 year stuff ??

And of course, we all know what M2 prefix stands for.
Which is at least on subject for Atlas engine thread.

P.S. You remind of Anna someone, who drags the subject onto 650's every opportunity.... !!

The factory is gone now, so that does that mean it should be N for Nothing. ??

You could join Ben in having an argument with himself..... !

Cheers.