Strip her down, or get her motor running first?

Got a '74 Mk IIA that I purchased form a coworker. In pretty good overall shape when I bought her, but needed a head gasket and the rubber carb hoses to the air filter box were rotted and had cracks. Needless to say, she was running WAY lean, popping and backfiring all over the place. So I don't yet know how well she really runs.

I've stripped the bike down to the barrel to replace the head gasket, and now I'm torn between tearing her all the way down for the complete restoration that I had planned from the beginning, or just replacing the head gasket and hoses to get her running again and see what shape she's in mechanically before I tear her all the way down.

Any thoughts or advice? :roll:

I guess if you know something about the previous owner history and its good, i.e. cared for, serviced but sat around for a long while, I'd be inclined to do the head job and refit the exhaust sealing rings, carb manifold gaskets and airfilter boots plus the usual fresh oil and plugs and battery. I had what looked like an intact Mk2 850 basket case, laid in a shed for 5 years but the motor and transmission were solid, never had a problem. Just cleaned up and replaced the obvious stuff. Saved me potentially hundreds of $ and months of time.

If it don't run right then at least you know where you are going to spend time and money.

Mick.

Run it to find out any issues, then you will know what a Commando will do and you will be that much quicker restoring it.

I agree that finding out how she runs first is a wise course of action. I just hate to have to tear her down twice if I go that route, but that's probably what I'll end up doing.

I purchased my first norton at a bike shop on consignment paid 1200 cdn in 1978 so you know the owner wanted less the shop made a few dollars for selling the bike "as is".It was a running bike started up sounded ok and I drove off with a big smile feeling good I got myself a norton. Had the bike maybe two weeks driving only in town so it wasn't until I made a trip out the highway before the bike blew up. Busted a connecting rod @ 70 mph jingle jangle back tire locked up I squeezed the clutch and pulled over without injury to myself however bottom end of bike was destroyed. Damage not only to rod but crank as well so I guess what I'm trying to say is you might want to have a look inside to save your self a possible nightmare down the road. Its an old bike has it ever been opened up ? Does it have new bearings ? Have the rods been checked, or the pistons and rings ? Has the transmission ever been serviced if a bearing lets go here the kickstart lever can swing up and hit you in the back of your leg "ouch" the list goes on. From my past experience unless your absolutely sure about the condition I would take my time and have a serious good check of all components. .. just my opinion oh and I still have same bike 69 750 commando roadster.

I'd think of your Norton as a single engine plane. A 1974 Flys-So-Good that had sat for a long time would not be considered airworthy, would it? A Norton or any motorcycle in bad shape can hurt you, bad.

I'd strip it all the way down and see what you've got rather than starting up. It will give you peace of mind. If your find out that the bike is in pristine shape, that's great but at least you will know that. When I rebuilt my 61 Matchless G12, I debated about whether to start it up or not. Bike had been sitting at least 30 years. I decided not to try and start it. Turned out when I got it all apart that big end bearings, crank bearings, bore and rings were all perfect and it looked like the bike had been recently bored 20 over fitted with new pistons and rings just before parking in 1975 or something like that. The tendency of these bikes to wet sump meant that my bearings were covered in oil and preserved for 30 years. However, I would not known ANY of this if I simply started up because I had no history of the bike.

I know part of the bike's history from the previous owner (my coworker). Some work was done by AMR here in Tucson from about 1999 through 2003. I've talked to Mike at AMR about the bike, and he seems to recall that the bike was sound mechanically. However, I don't think Mike ever went very deep into the engine from looking at the receipts, and most of the bike's history prior to 1999 is unknown. So now I'm definitely leaning towards going all the way into the engine. BTW, I've already purchased most all the special tools necessary from Andover and Old Britts.