Newbie with New Project *EXCITED*

Hi all,

I have just finalised the purchase of my first Norton, a project to work on with my sons, last night - now I have to go through the agonising wait for the transport of the bike to Aus from the UK :roll:
whilst technically a two owner bike my 71 Fastback is in all reality a one owner as the second guy has been living offshore from the UK since he purchased from the original owner 12 months ago. The bike is in original fettle for the day as it was not ridden after 1982 by its orginal owner who toured on it throughout Europe prior to layimg it up. His logbooks which detail EVERY single time he rode the bike and also the fuel and oil the bike has seen since he picked it up from the dealer came with the machine along with all of the paerwork provided to the new Norton owner on delivery. The bike also has period panniers and top box, all of its tools and a number of spares assempled over the years. In the 12 months the second owner held the bike he had work performed to permit MOT and spent quite a bit having the work performed by Norman White Norton. I have been fortunate enough to have my son 'in country' to look at the machine in peron and test ride it for me.

Apologies for the detail but I am very excited to have found this bike and even more so given the incredible amount of history it comes with. I understand that it is a history that isn't worthwhile in a collectable sense but to me it gives a sense of understanding of this machine and its past in detail. If I can work it out I'll post a few pics.

As this is my first Norton I'm sure to have many questions and will be relying on the considerable knowledge base in this forum - so thank you in advance!
I have one technical question upfont though: one of the original peashooter silencers had a rust hole towards the outlet and in order make use of the time awaiting import authority I thought I would buy a used silencer to replace it before transport. I understand the various model differences (in silencer) but when compared to the current silencers the one I purchased has a much smaller outlet which looks standard when compared to other peashooters. The silencers on the bike look large in comparison. Any information as to what is currently on the bike greatfuly accepted!!!

Cheers Doug.

EDIT: I have added a URL as I'm not convinced the pics are working??

https://picasaweb.google.com/113079...authkey=Gv1sRgCPnx5abjo4XU5AE&feat=directlink

Hi Newbe

Welcome and what a buy, I also have owned my Norton since new (but has gone through a lot of changes since), the hardest part for you will be the waiting to get your hands on it and ride it, as for your mufflers the Norton's run better with a big opennings, the faster the exhaust get out the better and they run smoother as well, how long do you have to wait till you can sit on it.

Ashley

Congrates on the high mood swing delivered here. Best plan with a family helper is tear down soup to nuts then build back through the lower moods and hope your relation with son holds up through it. In case you son don't know what Commando life style is like, show him this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CmaMZRRWlo

Thanks for the welcome Ashley,

I will have to wait about 8 weeks before I get to point her into the wind, but thats all good time to start the planning process (i'm trying to see the bright side of course). Given the knowledge we have on the bike I'm a little torn as to what I want to do with it. Initially I was going to go with modernising and building a semi cafe look but I'm now leaning to keeping as much original as is possible - even down to the aged patina of the various pieces... I guess I'll land somwhere in the middle!

The benefit of the larger outlet makes complete sense - I guess I'm asking how do I identify it as all the options I can see for replacement seem to have the smaller outlet like the one I bought and as shown in the photo?

cheers
Doug

Real nice bike man. Hobot that video is awesome, hadn't seen that one.

+1 Hobot that was great. Thanks.

Doug

Welcome Saddlesaw
Don't apologize for giving us lots of info, that's what we like. :mrgreen:
You've come to the right place for free advice cheerfully given.
Saved my butt more than a couple times.

Welcome Aboard .

8 weeks of torcher waiting, it looks good just as it is, if the bike is going then why touch it, I would just ride it and do your thing with it as you go along and you can add the moden upgrades as you go, I'm from the old school when the bike is too clean and shinny means its spending to much time in the shed when you should be out ridding it, my bike gets polished once a year on its brithday or a quick wipe down after ridding in the rain or a wash before any maintenance, there are a lot of moden things you can do to your bike and still look like it was built.

Good luck with it and let us know when it falls into your hands.

Ashley

Flickr says the pics are currently unavailable.?
But I'd comment that peashooters come in about 10 different varieties, that I have seen anyway - so what is presently fitted to your bike is anyones guess until you examine them first hand.

Even the internals of peashooters vary greatly - seen them straight through with flutes in the walls, and with complicated solid internals not really visible at all. And stainless ones, with nothing in them....

Hey thanks Rohan, are the pics not showing as they come up on my post? I'll try again.

thanks

Your link to pics page works.
Nice looking bike - and lotsa paperwork.
Happy waiting. !

Don't know about those mufflers, the 2 together look different in the outlets ?
Some of the Dealers in UK offer bigger bore pipes, does that extend to mufflers as well ?
Bigger isn't always better, for street use ?

Rohan said:

Don't know about those mufflers, the 2 together look different in the outlets ?

Click to expand...

As far as I know, the original peashooters had 1 3/8" outlets. Later, mutes became available to reduce noise.

http://www.nortonmotors.de/ANIL/Norton% ... 24&Part=35

Late peashooters (850 MkII) had reduced diameter (1 1/8"?) outlets.

The 1 3/8 outlet type (with the fluted inner tube) are the ones to use and I think are what AN currently supply. As you said, there are often variations between the pattern peashooters.

Saddlesaw said:

. Initially I was going to go with modernising and building a semi cafe look but I'm now leaning to keeping as much original as is possible - even down to the aged patina of the various pieces... I guess I'll land somwhere in the middle!

Click to expand...

Gooday Saddlesaw,

Keep it original but with a few internal upgrades.

Torquay puts you on the GOR. One of the Worlds great rides. Get the bike, get it running, clean it up and get through engineering for full rego. You do not need indicators on pre-74. They were a Norton option. The bike will need to be running but there are no noise regs pre 73.

Read up on Trispark and Amal Premiers. Carbs are probably shot and Trispark is the local electronic ignition and arguably the best.

Dynodave Clutch seal and easy pull clutch setup will give you an easy slip free clutch

Search the site for crankcase ventilation, this and the above items will give you a bike that will run better and more reliably.

Keep the front drum brake and get a local racer to "Arc" it for you. A well setup front brake makes a hell of a difference.

This site will give you everything you need.

Good luck

Gee, how do you know all these miscellaneous things, LAB ??!

I had an 850 Mk1, with peashooters with those removeable mutes - 30+ years ago.
Very quiet with the mutes fitted, and somewhat rorty without (town and country exhausts ?).
(You had to change the carby jetting though, depending on mutes fitted or not).

However, I have never seen another peashooter which would accomodate them - do AN supply a peashooter that will take them ?
[P.S. AN list a pn and price for suitable peashooters, so the answer must be yes. Hmmm].

I have subsequently fitted little bits of stainless tubing into various mufflers, to quieten them down sometimes (for noise purposes). Hard to pick any actual performance difference...

Rohan said:

However, I have never seen another peashooter which would accomodate them - do AN supply a peashooter that will take them ?

Click to expand...

A question for ZFD perhaps?

Just added a PS to previous entry - there is a pn and price for what seems a suitable peashooter (on same diagram as mute) so the answer could well be yes.

Nortiboy said:

Saddlesaw said:

. Initially I was going to go with modernising and building a semi cafe look but I'm now leaning to keeping as much original as is possible - even down to the aged patina of the various pieces... I guess I'll land somwhere in the middle!

Click to expand...

Gooday Saddlesaw,

Keep it original but with a few internal upgrades.

Torquay puts you on the GOR. One of the Worlds great rides. Get the bike, get it running, clean it up and get through engineering for full rego. You do not need indicators on pre-74. They were a Norton option. The bike will need to be running but there are no noise regs pre 73.

Read up on Trispark and Amal Premiers. Carbs are probably shot and Trispark is the local electronic ignition and arguably the best.

Dynodave Clutch seal and easy pull clutch setup will give you an easy slip free clutch

Search the site for crankcase ventilation, this and the above items will give you a bike that will run better and more reliably.

Keep the front drum brake and get a local racer to "Arc" it for you. A well setup front brake makes a hell of a difference.

This site will give you everything you need.

Good luck

Click to expand...

Many thanks Nortiboy ,

the good news is that most of what you recommend has already been done and as I said in my post the work was completed at Norman White Norton in Andover. The previous owner spent 1800 GBP on the engine/carbs and modernisning (tank slosh etc) and I have all of th erecipys for the work which was completed only 6 months ago. So the bike is a good runer as she stands and should not be difficult to get roadworthy and registered here (famous last words!)
I will look into the front drum work definitely.

The GOR awaits
both carbs completely rebuilt

You can do the front drum arcing yourself if you want. Some #60 sandpaper glued to the drum and turn it by hand while running in the brake adjuster. It will make a world of difference, but not a racing brake.

Welcome,
Dave
69S

The 1 3/8 outlet type (with the fluted inner tube) are the ones to use and I think are what AN currently supply. As you said, there are often variations between the pattern peashooters.

Click to expand...

Dunstall and others like Norton developers found 1 3/8" all around best dia. with 32-33" length. LAB is valuable store house on scope of Commando data bases, you'd thinks he was an original NOC member. I like my factory Combat with factory size headers and reverse cones but like the constant tapper pea shooters w/o the step down to header dia. There is not that much difference in the performance of the various internal baffling, as long as still basically a straight through 'Cherry Bomb" type muffler. Main thing is the sound quality, which seems to depend on the shape/style of the inner tube louvers. Maybe LAB can check-correct my memory of historic nit picking NOC owners, that original peashooters had 3 rows of curved/crescent/big toe nail clipping shaped louvers, that gave a neat ringing-trill on let offs. After market -Peeshooters have 3 rows with squared off or slight V-shaped contours.

Ms Peel was an odd ball that did better and deeper with 1 5/8 OD - 1 1/2" ID 32" headers into a single megaphone, BUT only in one accidental combo of 28mm head and 34mm carb. With Combat CHO head dual Amals, she fell back to mediocre normal standard 750 power. In her prime combo though I'd think she could run with the real 750 racers and 600 inline 4's. At idle with the big tubes and empty megaphone the throbs were felt as much as softly heard. WOT gave Rip-Roaring sound that'd reflex startle. Once knocked a TV film crew backwards from camera and microphone, when they were doing a big twin Harley noise annoyance segment but no Harley's around just then, so from soft kettle drum lullaby they gave the nod to nail it, hehehe. I won all rev up constants with inline hot rods even spotting them 4000 rpm starts to Peel's 2000. Peel would rev so fast you could not snap WOT and let go w/o sending needle to red zone. One gulp of fuel was all it took. Lightened smaller dia. flywheel helped.

Which brings me back to present EXCITED father/son team. These Commando were the hot rods of the era and did get used that way, which can use up their endurance tolerance which is main reason we still find em set up for decades after a glorious time prior. Cdo's can take WOT pretty well as long as not into red line much or innate weakness can occur, brittle cast iron flywheel, jump rope crank shaft bending and bearing busting, valve float and point float/mis fire. Expect the front brake to be rusted up inside and fork springs inside stanchions. Check brake fluid in case blowing away unknown, for 1000 miles at each gas up or leaving home. Primary change is rather loose set when cold as tightens way up warm and only takes once to jerk on all the shafts and drive train bushes to murder. Check hot to know for sure. Worth while to top off everything to factory level then see the mess till they seek their natural levels to maintain. Can add up to 175 ml in forks for bit better action near limits, but no more of can hydrolock, after air pumped out in 1/4 mile or so fine.

OH yeah fiber glass tanks are dissolved by ethanol gas and older Kreme and POR coating don't resist new gasolines so can resin can end up in carbs and engine besides ruining the tank paint. Very thick Caswell epoxy and similar coatings is only way I know that's held up for me and my buddy most a decade now. Filters will not catch this crap either. Check oil regularly as Cdo's seem to go through phases of how fast the oil goes away but shouldn't need extra oil till a few tanks of gas.