Sweet sound of the Norton

katzboo · Mar 24, 2009

After about ten years I replaced my original mufflers with some that were made in Japan. They were louder than the originals but still had the tone. Twenty years later I just purchased some new pea shooters made in England that are nothing but LOUD. Nothing that resembles that unique throaty tone of the Norton. Where can I get my hands on the real thing.

Corona850 · Mar 25, 2009

I am just bumping this message really, because I want to know the answer too. I need a pair of new silencers as well.

What is the make of the 'LOUD' ones you just bought? You say they're made in England. Are they Wassell, Armours, Andover-Norton, what? I would like to know so that I can avoid them. I prefer to leave overly-loud exhausts to the overly-tattooed v-twin riders.

RoadScholar · Mar 25, 2009

I looked high and low for silencers that had a quality finish and that would last a long time. There are some beauties made of SS that cost a fortune, then there are the Wassells, for me the perfect match. Beautiful finish, nice construction, the cone blends superbly (and concentrictly) with the body of the muffler. Not inexpensive, but a real good choice for a road going Norton.

The Emglo and other Pacific rim parts look cheap and (my guess) won't hold their finish (which is crude enough) for more than two seasons.

WASSELL!

RS

BrianK · Mar 25, 2009

I have Wassells on my Commando and they're fine but if I were doing it again I'd get a set of stainless ones from Epco. I have a set of Norton-style peashooter mufflers on an 84 BMW R100RT and they look and sound great.

steven wardlaw · Mar 25, 2009

I just replaced my cheaper peashooters (with the welds showing) with a set of non weld showing pipes off ebay. The finish looks great and they have a much smoother tone. Not quite, but rounded and smoother (less crack). They were at a price I couldn't pass up, about $120.00 with free shipping.

debby · Mar 25, 2009

I have Wassells on my 750 and have been happy with them. They look good and sound good but are not excessively loud.

Debby

katzboo · Mar 26, 2009

Thanks

I looked at my mufflers and could not find a name or any kind of a manufacturers logo. Haven't been able to get and answer from the shop about who exactualy manufactured them. They have a weld around them were they taper towards the end. They seem solid but like I said to much noise.

Katzboo

Ron L · Mar 27, 2009

Apparently there are two different styles of Wassell mufflers. Old Britts lists a Wassell and a Wassell "smooth".

The factory-supplied peashooters changed over the years. I recall the '71 style that had a slightly smaller exit opening and tended to "whistle" at times. In '72-'73 they supplied a larger opening with a "mute" that was removable for more noise. I still have my original mutes (put in a bag at the dealer in 1973 and never been installed!), although the original mufflers rotted out years ago.

And the "S" style mufflers seemed to have a sound all their own. Of course, part of that may be due to the headpipes.

There was a time when TOGA mufflers were well thought of. I haven't seen many lately. I have a couple still in the boxes but haven't used them yet. Is anyone using them?

What is Andover supplying these days? Is Campbell still in business?

DogT · Mar 27, 2009

Silencers

I have the original silencers that came with my 69/70 S. They were fine sounding silencers, if a bit loud. Not as loud or sharp as the Hooker set I got that was 2 into 1 and messed up the carburation. Bike has been apart for many years and I got a set of UK S style silencers from Walridge. Originals had a baffle near the end and the new silencers don't. I will be interested in hearing them. Might be a year before I get it together. The measurements on the new silencers are pretty close to the original.

Dave
69 S

dparcell · Mar 28, 2009

Anyone familiar with the big bore (1-1/2 inch) pipes and mufflers offered by Commando Specialties? Is there a performance advantage with an otherwise stock engine or does it match better with higher compression, improved head, etc.?

Scheffy.G · Mar 28, 2009

big bore pipes

I've got a set of the big bores on my bike. Got mine as a basket case and rebuilt it with those though, so I can't really compare performance to a stock exhaust. Certainly sounds nice though, and not really any louder than other Nortons I've heard.
I think theoretically the biggest benefit is high-RPM running where the larger pipes have less restrictive flow. In lower RPMs I think the typical Commando exhaust is pretty sufficient. 850s would probably see slightly more of a benefit.