Restoration and/or shop manuals for P11(s)

Can anyone direct me to a good P11 manual that focusses on the P11 rather than just a cursory aside?

Thanks,
Ed

I believe the closest you'll get is a download of the original factory Atlas manual that was reasonably comprehensive (though not without error?) in it's coverage of the hybrids....

There is no Norton P11 specific shop/restoration manual as far as I can tell. I've looked on occasion, but not real hard, because I have no plans to do a restoration. Hopefully, that statement will bring out the "you're wrong" experts and they can tell you what you need. ha

The little Red Scramblers maintenance manual is about as close as I've been able to get. Pictures and here's what I've done articles on the web are the only other source for the P11 I've found. This forum has a lot of hidden gems of information in it as well.

The P11 is the Frankenstein's monster of Nortons. Made of many diverse parts and scares the villagers.

I have the much maligned Haynes Twins workshop manual, The Haynes Commando workshop manual, the little Red Scramblers book, the White Master Parts List, and a Roy Bacon book. I've never used the Bacon book for anything that mattered regarding the P11. It has a pretty cover though.

Thanks guys. Today I found this manual on eBay. Can anyone comment on this manual?


Thanks,
Ed

Not being familiar with every model it covers, can someone comment on the front brake shown??

Brakes, hubs, and primary inner and outer cover arrangement are wrong for the '67 P11. I'm not sure what happened after '67 with the brakes and hubs. Hubs are skimmed on my '67. Brake drum sprocket is held on the rear hub with 5 bolts and nuts.

APRRSV said:

Thanks guys. Today I found this manual on eBay. Can anyone comment on this manual?

NORTON Workshop Manual P11 & Ranger 1966 1967 1968 & 1969 Service & Repair | eBay

This is a carefully reproduced FACTORY DEALER ONLY manual for the Competition Scramblers NORTON P11 P11A and Ranger from 1966 to 1969 in approx 240 pages. There are specification and trouble shooting charts unseen in any after market manual.

www.ebay.com

Thanks,
Ed

Click to expand...

I have that "manual" in my library. Not worth $42 in my opinion. It is not a very complete discourse on the P11. Obviously the best thing is to have a restored or original bike close by, but nothing will replace research of Matchless and Norton literature. I have collected every piece of literature on P11 I could find over the last 40 years, and I don't have descriptions or diagrams of everything. AMC owners club has a pretty good collection of Norton technical info. You just have to figure out which articles will apply to the P11. Matchless forks are pretty straightforward and there were basically 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 versions. P11 uses the 1 1/4. The chassis is basically Matchless G85.

If you think restoring a Commando is difficult, then don't attempt a P11!

I agree with Ron 100% about the difficulty factor, and other things mentioned.

I started my P11 hot rod in the early 70's and I couldn't find OEM parts or any documentation related to the P11 back then. I was young and the internet wasn't happening. Impatient and didn't look hard enough with my phone book. And I have never been a club guy, so out of the loop with the guys in the know. It is easier now to search and find information, but parts unique to the P11 are getting rare as far as I can tell.

AMC Classic Motorcycle Spares still use the original part numbers in the White Master Parts List 1966-19667-1968 that are shared with the Matchless and P11, and they carry parts nobody else seems to want to stock. Also very reasonable pricing compared to popular US Norton parts houses. Having the parts in stock in the US does not make them worth a 100% mark up. And on top of that they overcharge for shipping in the US. Sad really

By the way, the brakes, hubs, and primary cases parts that are wrong for the P11 in the illustration examples in that ebay book are illustrations out of the Norton Twins section. So to be expected.

Speaking of puzzling P11 uniqueness. I made the mistake of getting ready to replace my rear tire and thinking I should replace the rear hub bearings while I'm at it. What a fluster cluck design. I looked for days to find the parts for that hub. AMC ended up being the only source I could find for those parts. It's a good thing a few Matchless diehards are still around.

Enjoy the P11 experience, and sharpen your search skills, cuz you're gonna need them.

If I am repeating myself, it's because that second C-word 19 shot gave me a darn headache.

Time for some whining:

I got spoiled by Andover Norton using air mail for some parts I ordered a few months ago, and thought that was how all the mail was delivered to the USA. What a mistake on my part. Apparently AMC Classic Motorcycle Spares uses surface Royal Mail. If you order from AMC, you should be aware it takes a very unreasonable amount of time for the parts to arrive in the USA. Can take as long as 42 days. What a buzz kill.

Schwany said:

Time for some whining:

I got spoiled by Andover Norton using air mail for some parts I ordered a few months ago, and thought that was how all the mail was delivered to the USA. What a mistake on my part. Apparently AMC Classic Motorcycle Spares uses surface Royal Mail. If you order from AMC, you should be aware it takes a very unreasonable amount of time for the parts to arrive in the USA. Can take as long as 42 days. What a buzz kill.

Click to expand...

Opps, eating crow now.

I was wrong about the air mail and the tracking. I wasn't offered any tracking info when I inquired about how long it might take after 15 days had passed, but the box has a tracking label on it, and the box was air mailed. Took 25 days to get here. So now I know what to expect. The mail is slow period and had nothing to do with AMC.