New To Me 74 Norton 850 Lives

I have finally gotten over COVID enough where I can actually do some things.

Last week I pulled the tank and reset the carb needles for flat land running and also changed the main jets to 260s. I have always run 260s and it had 210s in it. We will see what it will really take when I can actually get it warmed up and really ride it.

I drained the sump (FULL). I fitted a new battery after I figured out Debby's attachments. I gave it a few kicks and it fired right up. It goes really well. I even rode it down the street a few times (sans license plate) and the jetting feels good enough for 1st and 2nd gear.

Last Monday I got all my paperwork and most importantly a check sent off to Vermont to get a plate and a registration. I will breathe a sigh of relief when the check clears.

Good luck with Vermont! Tried their system, Filled everything to best of my ability. Forms returned with a bunch of yellow hy-liter. I'll take it to a professional! They tell me in PA you can get a title from a Maine Bill-Of-Sale. Some day I'll try this

I sent one of the Vermont bill of sale PDFs fully filled out. I sent a copy of the original bill of sale signed with odometer reading. I sent a copy of the NADA online valuation from the current "fair" market valuation. I sent pictures of the engine number, the frame ID plate, the odometer and right and left side views. I sent a cover letter detailing how the bike was purchased and detailing what was included in the packet. I wrote a check for $48 to cover the registration plus I added $241.80 which is 6% of the NADA "fair" valuation of $4030.00. (Fair means the bike is together but needs work and this one does.) This is the same packet I sent for my T100 and I have my new plate and registration on my desk. We shall see. It really is up to them what they will accept. I try to be a though as possible and answer all their questions. I do not seek to buy bikes with messed up title but somethings it happens. When you buy from an estate, people with terminal illnesses are unlikely to care much about bureaucratic details.

Oh. . .they used to require a personal inspection but they have waved that requirement due to COVID. This is why I always send hard copy pictures.

I have also gotten Texas bonded titles. A bonded title in Texas requires the purchase of a security bond ($100) just in case someone has a claim against the bike in the future. The DMV has to run the paper work. You have to get it insured and inspected. It takes a lot of time and you end up with a bonded title. After 5 years you can renew the title and get a clear blue Texas title.

It's all up to the Government worker who processes the request!

Virginia is well known for being very strict, so I was shocked today. Two weeks ago, I sent in two titles with each having the correct form properly filled out and the proper amount of fees and sales tax to get Virginia titles and nothing else. Today, I received the titles along with standard registration, plates, stickers and a bill for $47.50 each. One problem, I didn't ask for or pay for registration - only titles. Since you have to fill out two additional forms and send them to a different address for historic plates, I always do that after I get the required titles (besides, you can't fill out the forms without the title number). You can do it all at once if you go to the DMV but not by mail (that I've figured out). Even though these plates cost less, they are illegal to use without state inspection stickers, they cause you to have to pay county personal property tax, and they expire in two years. Historic plates never expire, the county is not allowed to charge personal property tax, and no inspections are needed.

So, now I have to figure out how to get this fixed with the state and county - probably a lot of work for me caused by a government worker not doing their job properly!

marshg246 said:

It's all up to the Government worker who processes the request!

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I am sure you are right. This is why I try and take all the guess work out of it if I can.

Every old bike I aquire, I register it FIRST, before investing time, money & more into it. Goodness only knows the ancient history on these old bikes

concours said:

Every old bike I aquire, I register it FIRST, before investing time, money & more into it. Goodness only knows the ancient history on these old bikes

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Absolutely! I only made that mistake once about 50 years ago - never again - that was on a 20-year-old car, certainly not taking a chance on a 50-year-old motorcycle today when so much is computerized. Give me a clean title or keep the bike unless I'm buying it for parts.

concours said:

Every old bike I aquire, I register it FIRST, before investing time, money & more into it. Goodness only knows the ancient history on these old bike.

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That's the way I feel. I want to own it and I really mean OWN it. I want a title in my hand and a tag to match. It was nice to ride it up and down the block even without the tag. This is the first time I have heard it run. I bought it as a non-runner and it's pretty cool. I told my wife but she didn't seem impressed.

Are they not requiring the letter head from police that the serial number was run and nothing showed up? I had a retired police chief run the numbers on personal letter head and that was one of the hy-lite's if I remember.

mean gene said:

Are they not requiring the letter head from police that the serial number was run and nothing showed up? I had a retired police chief run the numbers on personal letter head and that was one of the hy-lite's if I remember.

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No, this is not required. I did send the bill of sale with VIN numbers (this is on my T100) frame and engine and pictures of the same.

The Texas tax office refused to accept my Vermont registration. I am sure that he would have accepted it if it were purchased from someone living in Vermont or if the seller transferred the document but he wouldn't accept the document, in my name, as a Texas resident. It was a dead end. I could just ride it on the Vermont tag and take my chances (I did have insurance). Or I could have sold it to someone, had them transfer it into their name and then back to me but I am not into nefarious plots and I really wan the bike to be MINE so it's off to get a bonded title.

The only hard thing I had to do was to make an appointment to have a LEO check VIN. The only hard part about that was 1) I initially called the wrong number and left a message, over and over, with someone who clearly thinks I am insane and 2) I had to load the Norton in my truck for the 40 mile trip to the inspection station. I used to live on a rural property and I just backed my truck into a ditch to load a bike. I lost my ditch and now all I have is old man and old women help to load.

He checked my VIN, gave me a copy of the VTR-68-A form and all was good. I have sent my information packet off to the Texas DMV. I should receive my bond valuation along with my Texas registration acceptance documentation. I buy a bond and pay the tax man and I am good to go. By the way a bonded title stays that way for 5 years and then it can be re-registered as a clear title. I guess I'll just have ride the heck out of it in the mean time!

It was funny, I was discussing the Norton VIN and frame numbering system with the LEO and I said what was common knowledge on the AccessNorton.com web site. He said "I know, I have been looking at that side for engine and frame number identifiers. It's such a small world.

BTW when you have a Norton in a truck it is amazing the number of people that do not know what it is and ask about it.

I've done two bonded titles in Texas. I seem to recall that the bond period was 3 years unless they have changed it.

htown16 said:

I've done two bonded titles in Texas. I seem to recall that the bond period was 3 years unless they have changed it.

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I did a bonded title years ago for a Honda FT500 Ascot. The title cost more than the bike was worth but that was a great little bike and one of my favorites. (I was told 5 years but I could be mistaken.)

When I moved to CA from Canada for work, had a heck of a time getting licensed to drive. Infact it was way more complex than entering the international border to work. These were pre 911 days, and I qualified for NAFTA porfessional skilled worker entry, a letter of job offer in a specified profession, proof of a qualifying degree in same field, a Canadian citizenship proof (drivers license) and $50 at the airport entry point. Good to go for three years.
At CA DMV, they needed proof of citizenship from Canada, but my drivers license not acceptable (what the border agents accepted). I had a birth certificate, but that was no acceptable b/c I was born in UK. I had a Canadian citizenship card, agin not accepted (though a US citizenship card would be fine). They would only accept a passport, which I had never needed for any trips to USA in my life. Basically told me I had show them a passport within 7 days or my temp visitor license would expire. Contacted Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles and they had me send my docs via FedEx overnight. I had a new passport in three days and they even covered the courier charges both ways. Best service i've ever had from Canada. Guess they only dump on us when we're still in Canada, Eh?

Big_Jim59 said:

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Last week I pulled the tank and reset the carb needles for flat land running and also changed the main jets to 260s. I have always run 260s and it had 210s in it. We will see what it will really take when I can actually get it warmed up and really ride it.



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My '74 MK II has 260 main jets and it is way too rich. It won't pull much over 4500 RPM at WOT in 4th gear.

Dan1950 said:

My '74 MK II has 260 main jets and it is way too rich. It won't pull much over 4500 RPM at WOT in 4th gear.

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Something's wrong then. Our bikes are nearly identical and mine will pull the ton with 260's.

maylar said:

Something's wrong then. Our bikes are nearly identical and mine will pull the ton with 260's.

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If the OPs bike was running well on 210 main jets I can't see that going to 260s will help.

Generally speaking the leaner the A/F ratio, the more power as long as one doesn't get too close to 14:1.

A fellow forum member had his bike on a dyno with an A/F sniffer in the exhaust. A/F ratio was 10:1!

Dan1950 said:

My '74 MK II has 260 main jets and it is way too rich. It won't pull much over 4500 RPM at WOT in 4th gear.

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You may be right, I do not know. I have not had the bike out enough to run it hard enough to see how the main was pulling. I had to re-jet the bike from mountain lean to flatland rich. We shall see how it goes.