ashman
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- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
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I have owned my Norton 74 850 since buying it new in 1976, it has gone through a lot of changes in the 48+ years I have owned it and the biggest was converting it to the 1957 Wideline Featherbed frame in 1980/82, it has also had a few great upgrade too it in the last 15 years, it has had 3 rebuilds but the last one was just to replace the crank cases as my original cases had hair line fractures around the main crank seal and a broken piece where the front centre stud screwed in the crank case, I am on my first rebore done back in 82, am still running my original vales in the head but the guides are now on my 3rd set and new springs and the head has been shaved.
Most of my Norton has been an everyday rider except for the conversion to the Featherbed and time it was off the road while chasing up a good set of crank cases when money was tight, my conversion to the Featherbed frame back in 1980 was the first time I rebuilt any motorcycles and I was in my early 20s, yes I learned to do all my servicing from riding dirt bikes and my road bikes as I couldn't afford to pay someone else and its the best way too learn about our own bikes.
Every bike I have owned the first thing I do is buy a good bible (workshop manual) and I have 3 for my Norton, I wasn't mechanical minded when I first did the conversion to the Featherbed but did everything by the bible, I built the Featherbed before the internet but taking advice from people who knew what I was planning on doing with the conversion and all major machining was done outside, but before I finish the project I got a new job at a Tec College (TAFE) in early 82 and had access to great tradesmen and teachers and full access to machines, and saved me a lot of money getting things done and 2 motorcycle teachers one was an old school British bike rider and the other has worked for a Norton race team back in NZ and I also became a T/A to the maintenance fitters workshop where I learned a lot from a very good tradesman.
My point to this thread is we all do things differently when working on our Nortons, I learned to do things the way the bible says but I have built a few Norton's, my own and a few others as well for mates and a few paid rebuilds, I have learned a lot just building my own Norton and these days very rare I have to look in the manual, I also have many upgrades no one else has as well I built mine in a way that has made things simple, with my Featherbed and motor I can remove the motor, GB, primary and all bottom engine mounts out of the frame all together and can take less than 30 minutes to do so just removing the head stay and carbs everything else stays bolted together, with my Joe Hunt magneto hanging off the cam on the timing side cover I have all my timing marks scribed on the inside of the points housing and all I do to work on the magneto is set my timing on the marks and can pull the magneto off and work on the bench, so far haven't needed to do so in the 14+ years its been fitted, but if I do it simple to put back on and no need to rest the timing as it all put back on the marks.
I haven't had the need to go inside my timing cover as I am running an auto timing chain adjuster which I installed over 35 years ago and only pull the cover off when doing major work on my motor and the timing chain was replace last time it was off when I replaced the crank cases and installed the JH.
My motor isn't stock and has been built for the Featherbed frame with a balanced crank for hard mount engine in frame, 2S cam grind, head has been machined and ported and I run an open exhaust system with very little baffles and as I say I am still running the original valves and my rockers have never been removed, gearbox has only been rebuilt once when the layshaft bearing blew in 1979 and only replaced the kickstart paw 4 times and the last time it was replace the kick start gear was replace, why the paw kept wearing out and a new kickstart shaft, other than that the GB is still very much original.
I went down the road to belt drive primary but after 3 or more years with problems with belt not running true the last year I have gone back to chain primary, I am still running the original clutch plates that came with my Norton but the clutch centre was replace about 13 years ago as well the pressure plate, I have never had GB oil migrate to the primary as I never over fill my GB and GB oil is measured by what the bible recommends.
As I have said people do thing differently some put their pistons on the rods when putting the barrel on, as I do, some put the pistons in the barrels first and do it differently to how the manual says to do it, some remover the rockers to put the head on, I do it with the rockers in and it seems some have troubles putting the pushrods in place on the lifters, I have always done it the way the book said to do it, I hold the pushrod in-between my fingers before dropping them down, but then most times my motors are on the bench mounted on a engine stand, but have done a head or 2 while in the bike, just do it as the book said, some use rubber bands to hold the push rods, but I find the in between the fingers work well.
We all have our own ways of doing things and after 48+ years of doing things by the bible (book) but I have also built my Norton for do things easy, I have a few secrets in how I do things but one thing most important is to have a well set up workshop to make things easy to work on and have every tool you need to do any work on our Norton's, WW tools very important I have ring, open enders and sockets to fit everything on my bike as well the right pullies special home made tools, good workbench and a few big vices also come in handy and to make my life easier a bike lift table and scissor jack.
So what things do we do to help when working on your Norton and don't matter if you think something doesn't look right or seems right but if it helps, we all have our own tricks and we all do thing differently to others, one of the reasons we have a great Norton Forum to help when needed to keep out bikes on the road, also some may think I know everything, but I don't but what I do know is I know everything about my own Norton and I have helped a lot of friends who have owned Norton's and things do wear and tear, things do break and I have had my share over the 48+ years and it has only been 2 broken chains and one EI that stopped me from getting home in all them years and one bad crash, the bike was good but I wasn't lol.
Who knows our little tricks might help new owners and can learn a lot from us old school owners who have been working on our Norton's for so long.
And I have never, never used those blue disposable gloves to work on my bikes, seem so many are gone soft, sorry but I am old school in everything I do and I don't wear gloves when out riding except woollie fingerless gloves when cold, just clocked over 50 years of owning and riding motorcycles.
So lets hear what little or big tricks we have for keeping our Norton's on the road.
Ashley
Most of my Norton has been an everyday rider except for the conversion to the Featherbed and time it was off the road while chasing up a good set of crank cases when money was tight, my conversion to the Featherbed frame back in 1980 was the first time I rebuilt any motorcycles and I was in my early 20s, yes I learned to do all my servicing from riding dirt bikes and my road bikes as I couldn't afford to pay someone else and its the best way too learn about our own bikes.
Every bike I have owned the first thing I do is buy a good bible (workshop manual) and I have 3 for my Norton, I wasn't mechanical minded when I first did the conversion to the Featherbed but did everything by the bible, I built the Featherbed before the internet but taking advice from people who knew what I was planning on doing with the conversion and all major machining was done outside, but before I finish the project I got a new job at a Tec College (TAFE) in early 82 and had access to great tradesmen and teachers and full access to machines, and saved me a lot of money getting things done and 2 motorcycle teachers one was an old school British bike rider and the other has worked for a Norton race team back in NZ and I also became a T/A to the maintenance fitters workshop where I learned a lot from a very good tradesman.
My point to this thread is we all do things differently when working on our Nortons, I learned to do things the way the bible says but I have built a few Norton's, my own and a few others as well for mates and a few paid rebuilds, I have learned a lot just building my own Norton and these days very rare I have to look in the manual, I also have many upgrades no one else has as well I built mine in a way that has made things simple, with my Featherbed and motor I can remove the motor, GB, primary and all bottom engine mounts out of the frame all together and can take less than 30 minutes to do so just removing the head stay and carbs everything else stays bolted together, with my Joe Hunt magneto hanging off the cam on the timing side cover I have all my timing marks scribed on the inside of the points housing and all I do to work on the magneto is set my timing on the marks and can pull the magneto off and work on the bench, so far haven't needed to do so in the 14+ years its been fitted, but if I do it simple to put back on and no need to rest the timing as it all put back on the marks.
I haven't had the need to go inside my timing cover as I am running an auto timing chain adjuster which I installed over 35 years ago and only pull the cover off when doing major work on my motor and the timing chain was replace last time it was off when I replaced the crank cases and installed the JH.
My motor isn't stock and has been built for the Featherbed frame with a balanced crank for hard mount engine in frame, 2S cam grind, head has been machined and ported and I run an open exhaust system with very little baffles and as I say I am still running the original valves and my rockers have never been removed, gearbox has only been rebuilt once when the layshaft bearing blew in 1979 and only replaced the kickstart paw 4 times and the last time it was replace the kick start gear was replace, why the paw kept wearing out and a new kickstart shaft, other than that the GB is still very much original.
I went down the road to belt drive primary but after 3 or more years with problems with belt not running true the last year I have gone back to chain primary, I am still running the original clutch plates that came with my Norton but the clutch centre was replace about 13 years ago as well the pressure plate, I have never had GB oil migrate to the primary as I never over fill my GB and GB oil is measured by what the bible recommends.
As I have said people do thing differently some put their pistons on the rods when putting the barrel on, as I do, some put the pistons in the barrels first and do it differently to how the manual says to do it, some remover the rockers to put the head on, I do it with the rockers in and it seems some have troubles putting the pushrods in place on the lifters, I have always done it the way the book said to do it, I hold the pushrod in-between my fingers before dropping them down, but then most times my motors are on the bench mounted on a engine stand, but have done a head or 2 while in the bike, just do it as the book said, some use rubber bands to hold the push rods, but I find the in between the fingers work well.
We all have our own ways of doing things and after 48+ years of doing things by the bible (book) but I have also built my Norton for do things easy, I have a few secrets in how I do things but one thing most important is to have a well set up workshop to make things easy to work on and have every tool you need to do any work on our Norton's, WW tools very important I have ring, open enders and sockets to fit everything on my bike as well the right pullies special home made tools, good workbench and a few big vices also come in handy and to make my life easier a bike lift table and scissor jack.
So what things do we do to help when working on your Norton and don't matter if you think something doesn't look right or seems right but if it helps, we all have our own tricks and we all do thing differently to others, one of the reasons we have a great Norton Forum to help when needed to keep out bikes on the road, also some may think I know everything, but I don't but what I do know is I know everything about my own Norton and I have helped a lot of friends who have owned Norton's and things do wear and tear, things do break and I have had my share over the 48+ years and it has only been 2 broken chains and one EI that stopped me from getting home in all them years and one bad crash, the bike was good but I wasn't lol.
Who knows our little tricks might help new owners and can learn a lot from us old school owners who have been working on our Norton's for so long.
And I have never, never used those blue disposable gloves to work on my bikes, seem so many are gone soft, sorry but I am old school in everything I do and I don't wear gloves when out riding except woollie fingerless gloves when cold, just clocked over 50 years of owning and riding motorcycles.
So lets hear what little or big tricks we have for keeping our Norton's on the road.
Ashley
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