Norton parts availability, through the decades ?

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Shelby-Right

Shelby-Right

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Hi , I have mainly been into Honda off road bikes and the Norton and classic bike etc is something I always wanted to do ,mortgages to pay , anyway I can't help being very impressed with the parts that you can buy all over the world , has it always been like this or have Andover stepped up since the internet got sorted , was it ever hard to get bits through the years ? . Cheers.
 
It's far easier - as in orders of magnitude - easier/faster to get Norton parts now than it was when these bikes were actually being produced. And when they were new (pre 75)...you couldn't buy an electric starter for one! ;)
 
MexicoMike said:
It's far easier - as in orders of magnitude - easier/faster to get Norton parts now than it was when these bikes were actually being produced. And when they were new (pre 75)...you couldn't buy an electric starter for one! ;)
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Agreed
Back in the day we would sit up at night and make toll calls to England to get our specialty parts or stuff that our national suppliers didn't stock...
 
KiwiShane said:
Agreed
Back in the day we would sit up at night and make toll calls to England to get our specialty parts or stuff that our national suppliers didn't stock...
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Even the spares available from AMOC or AMC for my matchless, nothing has been too hard , I think the internet plays a big part , it is great what parts they still make , can't say that about some older 75 honda models .
 
Not too long ago, under Stuart Garner's ownership, parts availability on the new Nortons was a bit tight. Fortunately bikes in for repair could be used as a source of spare parts. A solution, but not for everybody.
 
From the early 80's onwards RGM and (look away now!) N*rvil did sterling service regarding parts supply and 'upgrades', Burton Bike Bits, RJ in Coalville (?) and another who's name escapes me from Hertfordshire way were always worth a phone call (or SAE) too.
The generic 'pattern' parts could be a bind though, when trying to find stuff for my P11 in '89 (pre internet) if I'd had a pound for every part I sent back, I'd have a fair few pounds :-)
Not sure if Russel Motors did Commando stuff, but definitely an AMC treasure trove back in the day.
 
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What's SAE ? , an old retired English teacher lived up our street when we were kids , dead now, I bought my Boxford lathe off his wife , was ordered in the seventies , I can imagine how difficult that was then ,and shipped to NZ , ordering the correct model and paying via bank transfer I suppose .
 
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Most mail order payments by cheque (but you'd have to wait 'til the vendor's bank cleared it), postal order which was as good as cash, or cash in a registered envelope.
All three used to be common and acceptable methods of payment by post...
 
Brian Slark and other state-side expats were tremendously helpful to me in the '80's. I also joined the Northern California Norton Owners because there was a great wealth of knowledge and used parts (Art Sirota, etc.). Otherwise yes it was on the phone to Fair Spares or similar. AN is a godsend to me now especially given you can build a new Commando from scratch thanks to them!
 
Brian, Old Britts and Classic British Spares were the pre internet mail order businesses for parts I couldn't get out of either Pokes or Dewey’s.
 
I have owned my Norton from new in 1976 old new stock 74 Commando, have never had any problem getting parts, been getting my parts from BJ's here in Brisbane since 1978 always has everything I need, but lucky my Norton hasn't need to many parts more upgrades to me and of course since the internet things are easier to source worldwide and so many upgrades now that were not even thought of back in the 70/80s, most of my upgrades are sourced overseas now and only use BJs for things I need in a hurry and lucky that is rare and it's been sometime since I had parts sent from OS, not since the last major build/upgrade about 12 years ago, for some reason my Norton just keeps going and is very reliable in the way I have built it and keeping on top of the maintenance plays a big part in that, was a everyday rider till 2013 and is now semi-retired, it's been retired from everyday riding.
But it's great we still able to source our parts and great upgrades that wasn't around in the early days of ownership, my Norton is showing it's age but it has some great upgrades and is always a one kick starter even when it sat for a bit.

Ashley
 
Parts are far easier to get now than back in the day, but seem to require more fitting time...

I confer it appears evan from AN that parts are copies of copies!
 
YEP, I find that many new parts need a bit of fettling to fit properly. This even includes nuts/bolts which often seem to be a tiny bit oversize (or too thickly plated?) which causes them to be somewhat "tight" all the way in. But at least the parts are available!
 
EstuaryBoy said:
.... and another who's name escapes me from Hertfordshire way were always worth a phone call (or SAE) too....
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JH Motorcycles in Watford? An old fashioned shop with piles of stuff surrounding a counter that only had room for one customer at a time. Not far from me, but I always found them a little frustrating as he never had everything I needed / wanted in one visit.
 
EstuaryBoy said:
Most mail order payments by cheque (but you'd have to wait 'til the vendor's bank cleared it), postal order which was as good as cash, or cash in a registered envelope.
All three used to be common and acceptable methods of payment by post...
Click to expand...
Postal Money Order - great in the day - terrible today. Customer gave me one. Can't mobile deposit, can't ATM deposit, went to PO to cash, line was about 25 long. Will eventually get to the bank when open or the PO when not busy to see if I can get rid of it. I won't accept one again - already spent more in time than the thing is worth!
 
daveforty said:
... but I always found them a little frustrating as he never had everything I needed / wanted in one visit.
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Tough job having everything everyone wants. Today, I have 1603 distinct parts (6474 total parts) and two people have called wanting things. In both cases I had everything but one each wanted. About 85% Commando, 10% Triumph, and the rest common to both or BSA.

Think of the cost or maintaining that inventory - what I have today cost me $73594.96, and I have no doubt that over half of the parts I have now will never be sold.
 
Way before the internet, I would get up at 4:00 am, Canada Eastern day light time, before work to make a phone call to Fair Spares in Rugeley staffs back when they were Fair spares.
get a total and then send a mail order cheque.
Some of the parts were not up to snuff but not worth sending back.
I had a sneaky suspicion he knew that.
YMMV
Tom
 
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