Treasure!

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Boxerfan

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I was outbid on a 'beehive' tail light assembly at the weekend that I wanted to replace the great lump of a thing fitted to my mk3. Anyroadup, it went beyond my budget - drat. Then I remembered something, and a brief search in the 'that'll come in handy' pile produced this beauty!


Treasure!


At first glance, the mtg hole & cutaway for the frame loop line up; I think we could be on to a winner! Anyone else used one of these on a Commando? Any pictures to share? It uses the stock 750 style 'Madonna's bra' light unit BTW, not the earlier, flatter light beloved of custom tail-light bracket makers.

Cheers, Jon.
 
Jon, can't tell that well from the picture but it looks like the aluminum tail piece as sold by Old Britts?

I bought one from them and it was a very nice fit.
 
Jon,

To me it looks like you have one of the original Bates taillights. I used that on one of my builds and thought it looked pretty good. It had to be modified quite a bit to get the right angle ( as is, it points up a bit ) but it can be done with some material removal and patience

Treasure!


Matt / Colorado Norton Works

http://www.coloradonortonworks.com
 
I know your talking beehive but, this is from OlBritts.. Maybe they do a beehive casting also? !!!

Treasure!
 
That alloy tail light casting is a BSA part from the late 60s, I had one on my Commando cafe racer and really like the look of them.
 
I got a similar one from ???? I had to relieve the frame loop cutout and make spacers from a block of plastic I had laying around. Much nicer looking than the stock 71 taillight. Not near a camera or the bike right now. I can post later if you need it.
 
I have that tail light on my Norton 850. The one I have came from a late 70s Triumph 500. It is a pretty common part. Below is a link to the picture.
On this bike I had a Harley XR750 seat. I think it is one of the nicer solo seats available. The only trouble is I usually have a passenger now so this bike now has a dual seat an luggage racks, but I am still using that tail light. By making a small triangular plate with three holes I was able to mount the light without drilling any additional holes in my fender. I didn't modify the light or the fender at all.

http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac21 ... 0d857a.jpg
 
Thanks for the replies, here's another picture of it -

Treasure!


I seem to recall it is a BSA part - I think I bought it in error when looking for one for my late 650 Triumph. The BSA one has a larger slot, and looks like it'll fit the Norton without too much trouble. Splendid!

I'll post pictures when I've cobbled it together.

Cheers, Jon.

PS Matt, that is gorgeous!
 
CNW said:
Treasure!


Well...uh, sorry..... I think.

....but I appreciate the feedback.

Matt
Click to expand...

Okay, it's beautiful! Are you happy now? (Really it's gorgeous; I'm just jealous, but it's also great inspiration)

Whew! Okay, back on track; my son was commenting (joking) about how much the tail lamp flails around at low speeds, and I can't help but think that its sheer mass has a lot to do with this. That, and the stock '74 looks ugly to me, as it totally dominates the back of the bike.

tricatcent said:
I have that tail light on my Norton 850. The one I have came from a late 70s Triumph 500. By making a small triangular plate with three holes I was able to mount the light without drilling any additional holes in my fender. I didn't modify the light or the fender at all.
Click to expand...

As there's a total lack of all things British around here (Mountain states area), I have nothing I can get my hands on to compare mounting options. Any help from my brothers across the pond would be greatly appreciated. Or Matt...

I want to save the rear fender from cracking, and avoid drilling new holes at the same time.

I can see where this is headed; rather than trying to make this bike more "modern" and user-friendly, I should try to make her a show piece, then I'll have to buy another bike to modify as suits me. The Spiral has begun!

Nathan
 
Sooooo.. Nathan, you do know how to use the Ebay???? If you have a C/Card and an address, it cant get much easier than that, regardless whether your in Nigeria or Portsmouth.. Work out what you want , source it on EBay and just buy it.. Its only money that you wont have to divie up between others later on..
 
Sometimes buying one isn't an option.
I doubt if there was ever an aftermarket bracket made to make a BSA taillight fit on a Norton.

The next course of action is of course to make one.
I wouldn't think that it would be that hard to whip something up.
 
Mark said:
Sometimes buying one isn't an option.
I doubt if there was ever an aftermarket bracket made to make a BSA taillight fit on a Norton.

The next course of action is of course to make one.
I wouldn't think that it would be that hard to whip something up.
Click to expand...

olChris has a nice looking unit on his ride:
olChris said:
I know your talking beehive but, this is from OlBritts.. Maybe they do a beehive casting also? !!!

Treasure!
Click to expand...

but the question still remains on whether or not it'll fit to the '74 without major corrective surgery. Do all years of Cdo's have the same hole pattern on the rear fender? I have no problems building an interface bracket, but not something that couldn't be hidden underneath the lamp assembly. I don't want it looking cobbled together. My intention all along for this bike is to not make any mods/upgrades that can't be unbolted later. No cutting/welding/drilling.
As stated earlier, I have nothing around here to compare to. No matter what I buy, it'll be a crap shoot unless it's something specifically made for the '74. Old Britts has this assembly http://www.oldbritts.com/17_100030.html that looks like what olChris is using, but the instructions read "Then file out the bolt hole and tape over all the holes with duct tape." That's kind of what I'm wishing to avoid. Maybe I'm just being too anal...
 
Nater_Potater said:
but the question still remains on whether or not it'll fit to the '74 without major corrective surgery. Do all years of Cdo's have the same hole pattern on the rear fender? I have no problems building an interface bracket, but not something that couldn't be hidden underneath the lamp assembly. I don't want it looking cobbled together. My intention all along for this bike is to not make any mods/upgrades that can't be unbolted later. No cutting/welding/drilling.
.
Click to expand...
Maybe I missed something, but..... is there a reason that you can't just hold the taillight up to the fender and actually see for yourself what amount of corrective surgery it is going to take to make the two pieces fit together?

I don't know if all commandos have the same holes drilled in them.

I wouldn't wan't to do something that couldn't be undone either. That's why I think that making a one-off bracket is the way I'd go.
Looking cobbled together or not is totally up to you, your ability and ingenuity.
 
Mark said:
Maybe I missed something, but..... is there a reason that you can't just hold the taillight up to the fender and actually see for yourself what amount of corrective surgery it is going to take to make the two pieces fit together?
Click to expand...
Only that I don't have the housing in my pudgy little hands, and I'd rather not go to the trouble of ordering something, holding it to the fender, then returning it if it doesn't align. That's why I'm hoping someone could tell me if there's one out there that aligns with the '74s fender mounting holes, but I've run this thread wa-a-a-y too long. Stepping back into the shadows...

Nathan
 
Hi Nathan,
If you aren't in a tearing hurry I'm happy to share details of fitting the light to my mk3. I couldn't swear by it, but I think the one that fast Eddie posted a link to suits a Triumph better - the cutout looks smaller & in a different position to the one I posted pictures of.

In the meantime, here's a picture of the one I fitted to my 74 T120 - sorry about polluting the Norton forum with a Triumph!

Treasure!


Cheers, Jon
 
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