Pictures of your Norton 961

TonyA said:
What's the valve in the hose ? And which hose is it , breather ? He has lots of miles on his bike too .
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Air line. From airbox straight into the throttle body. He adjusts tickover on the fly with it.

Offline for a few days; I’ll post some more pictures later.
 
A few more pics of Gary’s mileage munching Cafe Racer.

He controls idle via an air valve in an added air line, between airbox and throttle body. Had to manufacture a spring to hold hose to throttle body, without leaks - trial and error. Operated the valve with engine running to show me adjustment between 950 -1200 revs. Bike seemed happy with either - idle stable. IAV removed.

IMG_3502.jpeg

Oil flow altered significantly to ensure the bike wet sumps - he reckons the oil pump is more than capable of dealing with this approach. One way valve(s) removed, hoses switched around on oil cooler(?). Dipstick removed and frame neck re-engineered to receive an upper union and hose. Oil checked with engine running and observing the oil level in the plenum.

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Tank raised up on rubber posts to provide greater clearance with battery. Battery tray reconfigured. Access to main fuse. Gary reckons the line between tank and airbox is better to the eye - subjective.

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IMG_3523.jpeg IMG_3525.jpegPictures of your Norton 961
 
Gary’s frame is cracked in the upper main tube cross member - 360 degrees. I’d have been stripping it down and looking for a good welder. He’s engineered a rod through the footpeg hanger a-frame/frame cross member and included an inner adjusting nut and outer locking nut (I think) to pull the frame together. Think I’d still want to get this welded. He has two other 961’s, so has options.

Pictures of your Norton 961 Pictures of your Norton 961

Some more unusual stuff - can’t explain the rear brake! With the mileage he does a cruise control is a must - this was modified to fit the 961. Can’t remember what make it is but it looks really well made.

Pictures of your Norton 961 Pictures of your Norton 961
 
Interesting mods. Thanks for posting the pics Steve. I’d noticed the brake pedal before when you posted pics of it on display somewhere. I had presumed he reversed it to stop folks catching their leg on it, but I guess not.
Does he leave the oil filler off all the time?

Re: his mileage. Aren’t the trip meters in miles (regardless of market)?
 
cliffa said:
Interesting mods. Thanks for posting the pics Steve. I’d noticed the brake pedal before when you posted pics of it on display somewhere. I had presumed he reversed it to stop folks catching their leg on it, but I guess not.
Does he leave the oil filler off all the time?

Re: his mileage. Aren’t the trip meters in miles (regardless of market)?
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Interesting indeed Cliff. Gary’s old-old school, self taught from riding old Brit’s since he was a kid.

Fits the cap, minus the dipstick. He’s getting a little emulsification in the cap as you can see. Not sure why he’s reversed the rear brake lever - he runs his own race; he really is’nt interested in what anyone else is doing😂! He’s modified the clutch (and I think gearbox) in some way but I didn’t catch the detail.

Overseas bikes in KM, certainly Australia anyway.

IMG_3508.jpeg
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Gary’s frame is cracked in the upper main tube cross member - 360 degrees. I’d have been stripping it down and looking for a good welder. He’s engineered a rod through the footpeg hanger a-frame/frame cross member and included an inner adjusting nut and outer locking nut (I think) to pull the frame together. Think I’d still want to get this welded. He has two other 961’s, so has options.

View attachment 115613 View attachment 115614

Some more unusual stuff - can’t explain the rear brake! With the mileage he does a cruise control is a must - this was modified to fit the 961. Can’t remember what make it is but it looks really well made.

View attachment 115618 View attachment 115617
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I think the brake pedal mod is because this is where his foot naturally wants to be. It may also give a better purchase with lever and toe peg together . I may try this .
 
Came to the abrupt realisation at the weekend that the ergonomics on my bike are gonna have to change - soon! Only 150km and my right hip seized up, twice! I must have looked like a kangaroo trying to dismount a unicycle:rolleyes:!

The body got a (very) hard time in a previous life and although I maintain a pretty good standard of fitness, the torturous nature of this bike is starting to bite.

The bars are the first target. The Woodcraft adjustable bars look most likely. No doubt there would be engineering options to move the pegs also. I’m hoping the bars will be enough for me. Gonna start doing something about it and stop bitchin’ bout it!

To add insult to injury, the lower image is of Gary pulling away from my place after we fixed up his CR, on his 2000km trip home. He’s adjusting his tickover there, before blasting off up the road without a care in the world! Gary’s a decade or so older than me and leaps on and off the bike like a teenager!!🤬 That said, he’d probably fit in my back pocket!

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When I swapped the clip ons for sport bars it TRANSFORMED the bike ! Seriously, so much better to ride. It improved the handling of the bike as it gave me so much more comfort and feeling and control.

I’ve used Woodcraft (and others of that type) clip ons on a few bikes and they’re very good. Guess it depends how much you need it to change.

FYi the factory used the same top yoke for the sport bars, just machined it to take the bar risers.

I personally found the footrests ok, and definitely so when looking at the work required to change!

But… my issue was numb hands, not hips.
 
Fast Eddie said:
When I swapped the clip ons for sport bars it TRANSFORMED the bike ! Seriously, so much better to ride. It improved the handling of the bike as it gave me so much more comfort and feeling and control.

I’ve used Woodcraft (and others of that type) clip ons on a few bikes and they’re very good. Guess it depends how much you need it to change.

FYi the factory used the same top yoke for the sport bars, just machined it to take the bar risers.

I personally found the footrests ok, and definitely so when looking at the work required to change!

But… my issue was numb hands, not hips.
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I’m hoping for the same FE - the reason I haven’t changed over so far is the aesthetic. I bought a Cafe Racer because I enjoy the history behind it and replication of that. Daft really if the damn thing is crippling. No doubt I’d be quicker through the twisties with the change also - better handling as you say.

Don’t have dodgy hips - but for some reason that position triggers my right into actually locking up. It’s always interesting trying to stay in control, slow and stop when it occurs :oops:!

Gonna try and stick with clipons of the fully adjustable type - I should be able to find a sweet spot👍.
 
Stephen I have the wood crafts but to fit between top yoke and head lamp bracket I had to get them machined to the bolt clamp heads, about 4mm I think of top and bottom. They are basically too large to fit in the gap, otherwise great. I went with 2 inch rise and now have 3 inch. I also changed from chrome bars to black. You will also need to get longer hoses. Skiddy
 
I bought some (pretty expensive) European adjustable raised clip ons for the R9T some years ago (LSL perhaps?) which were much better than the Woodcraft offerings…

Pictures of your Norton 961


Pictures of your Norton 961


Pictures of your Norton 961
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
I’m hoping for the same FE - the reason I haven’t changed over so far is the aesthetic. I bought a Cafe Racer because I enjoy the history behind it and replication of that. Daft really if the damn thing is crippling. No doubt I’d be quicker through the twisties with the change also - better handling as you say.

Don’t have dodgy hips - but for some reason that position triggers my right into actually locking up. It’s always interesting trying to stay in control, slow and stop when it occurs :oops:!

Gonna try and stick with clipons of the fully adjustable type - I should be able to find a sweet spot👍.
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Steve, I like the look of these, and they are TÜV approved which means that should be a quality product…


Edit: and come in two height variations.👍
 
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skidmark said:
Stephen I have the wood crafts but to fit between top yoke and head lamp bracket I had to get them machined to the bolt clamp heads, about 4mm I think of top and bottom. They are basically too large to fit in the gap, otherwise great. I went with 2 inch rise and now have 3 inch. I also changed from chrome bars to black. You will also need to get longer hoses. Skiddy
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Hey Skiddy, long time no hear - hope you’ve been getting out on your Norton. Been doing the same up here on the (not so) Sunny Coast now the perpetual rain has ceased. I’d appreciate a picture of your Woodcraft setup when you get the opportunity👍!
 
That’s the adjustable clip-on type I’ve been looking at guys. That level of adjustment is great - the ability to ‘trial an error’ adjust in this way until an (as close to) perfect setup is found is fantastic.​

LSL stuff looks top quality FE - certainly look good on the R9T. Had’nt seen the Revo bars before Cliff, good find - they also look great quality. Spent many years over there - made in Germany is still synonymous with quality I think. TUV certifies that. The beer was pretty good too🥴!

Certainly reckon I’d ride the Norton much more when I sort this out, rather than opting for the armchair KTM!!

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