Undertaking a 1975 MkIII Project

Hello to all from a new member. Thanks for running a great site with a lot of knowledge. I joined recently prior to picking up a 1975 Norton 850 Commando MkIII from a second owner a few miles up the road, a real find in my humble opinion. I've wanted a Norton since I was about 13 so this was only 24yrs in the making. I seem to recall it was after an episode of Hill Street Blues where a Norton showed up, I think it was Ep. 139 "Norman Conquest" but I haven't been able to find it online to see what kind of motorcycle Officer Renko had stolen from him. Initially, I'd been looking for a 750, but it turns out this bike is a better fit for me given I won't have to re-learn controls, among other features.

9406 miles on the odometer, it hasn't been on the road since about 1990, and despite being dirty it's pretty intact. The amount of dirt, and its location, seems to me to indicate some oil weeping from seals, but we'll see. The first owner installed the bars and seat "to pick up women" I'm told. I can't tell why the right silencer was removed, or why it was pretty much torn off to leave the jagged metal. I definitely need a new seat, lower handlebars and some maintenance items. I also have a pair of new-in-box Toga (?) Black Caps to replace the rusted and missing silencers. The gas tank is in surprisingly good condition but it will be repainted after a visit to the radiator shop. I drained the fluids and they looked excellent. It's possible the previous owner replaced them after getting the bike home about 3-4 years ago. It did have transmission fluid instead of 20w50.

My intent is to fire the bike up, take it for a short spin, see how it runs and then consider a complete teardown and rebuild. If I do that, I'll consider powder coating the frame and going from there. Things I'm thinking of, planning of, considering, etc., in no particular order:

Layshaft bearing
Sleeve Amals or mount Mikunis taken off of my Triumph
Seat (Found a local Norton rider who has a 1975 seat - what's it worth? I need to re-key the seat lock as well)
CNW Oil Tank service
Mag wheels - what to use? I hate polishing rimsm and by the time I re-chrome these I'll be out enough to replace them
Upgrading cables to starter
Brake upgrade (Drill out rotors? Change calipers?)
Swap black caps for reverse cones or Dunstall-rep?
Paint tank & side panels (included but missing from photos)
Wiring harness + possible negative ground upgrade
Braided oil lines (I like the looks and would go that route if I do a total tear-down this winter)
UK bars (looking for lower bars obviously)

Thanks in advance for any words.

I think I saw someone here looking for a King and Queen seat recently. Great project; I look forward to the photos of your work.

Welcome to the group.
The bike looks very complete and should turn out nice.
It will be interesting to see if you have a working starter.

Bob

Hey there Adv'96, welcome to the forum.

Looks like a decent survivor project. Not too much out of place there not to be able to get it fired up on a decent grungy weekend thrash. Definitely a good "before" picture!

Nice Bike and welcome. I have the same model looking forward to your restoration.

Welcome adventurer96, Your bike looks like a really nice starting point. I too have the same model and was thinking about many of the same upgrades that you listed. Will be looking forward to your progress. Cj

Thanks for the words.

The pack rat in me wants to keep the seat, but I'll never use it so I'm sure I'll part with it shortly.

I forgot to mention I got a set of Highrider handlebars as well, but I'm not looking to throw them on this bike most likely. My Triumph is close enough to a Highrider for my purposes.

I'm curious to see how the starter works as well. I installed a battery yesterday but couldn't get the lights to work, so it sounds like I need to start electrical troubleshooting.

Lovely job!! Looks fab.

My Mk3 I recently got round to upgrading the existing starter and I've a pretty full understanding of going about this process!!

In terms of brakes - there are many options but the easiest is to sleeve down the master cylinder (or use the Andover Norton replacement MC) and use the standard calipers - they can be made to work surprisingly well. I went for a Norman White dual disc set up which is fab!

In my view using a good (i.e. not the original) headsteady and good tyres are key to Commando handling. Lots of options on the first but surprisingly few effective on the second (not that many good tyre combinations) in my view.

Guys on this board are very helpful - and not a few are barking mad..;-) (in the nicest possible way)

Cheers

Luke

Duluth? You've only 3 weeks of bad sledding there. You gonna get a track for the rear? My wife's from Moose Lake. Notice I said from.

Good project, welcome.

Dave
69S

Luke, thanks. We shall see about the starter.

As much as I'd love to consider upgrading to the brake system you described, it's out of my price range for this bike for right now. But, sleeving the MC or going for the new MC might be the solution. What are your suggestions on a headsteady?

Dave, I'm a transplant. It's amazing what a job offer can do to motivate you to move someplace. The season is somewhat short up here, but at least I've got a heated 2-car garage at the moment for the Norton, the Triumph and my Sunbeam Tiger. If you can't drive/ride things in the winter, at least you should be able to work on them in relative comfort.

I have a seat and handlebars but I've been working so much I haven't been able to roll up my sleeves and start on it. Soon, soon...

Fine project. Sunbeam Tiger eh? Sucks to be you.......Wouldn't mind a picture of that.

Looks like a good solid start. I understand the transplant thing. Moved up here to New Hampshire from the South when my wife got a good paying job. Be careful with that Alpine though... When I was living down South (GA & NC) my MGB was a daily driver, and the Norton a fun scoot for nice days. Up here the good days are so few, the MG hasn't done 500 miles in the past 6 years. I really need to get her out more, but when it's good, the bikes are what I want.

RSR

850cmndo said:

Fine project. Sunbeam Tiger eh? Sucks to be you.......Wouldn't mind a picture of that.

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I'll see what I can do - it's been repainted Carnival Red, the original color, and my favorite Tiger color. I've still got to install the top, the carpeting and finish the doors, as well as install some rims. But, I'm actually considering parting with it as I'm moving in the near future, and as you know the season for a convertible up here is short.

rightshiftrick said:

Looks like a good solid start. I understand the transplant thing. Moved up here to New Hampshire from the South when my wife got a good paying job. Be careful with that Alpine though... When I was living down South (GA & NC) my MGB was a daily driver, and the Norton a fun scoot for nice days. Up here the good days are so few, the MG hasn't done 500 miles in the past 6 years. I really need to get her out more, but when it's good, the bikes are what I want.

RSR

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I doubt the Tiger would ever be a daily driver for me but I have seen it done. It's funny that I have two Brit bikes and a Brit car - I never expected that.

The Paint on the Tank , Id maintain as is , if in half way decent condition . Its Only Original Once .

Dunno if the black cap silencors cause power loss ,there no doubt be 11 opinions for Ea 10 blokes here . :wink:
there fairly tecnical devices , and have a character all of there own . the dreaded chunnter . Swiftly & with Style . ? :|

Rarer in use are the ' Wassel ' Tapered ' mufflers ' . presumably genuine still available new . distinct melodious tone
as from thicker steel than the average ' muffler ' and not at all restrictive :roll: in fact possitively free breathing .

Uprates , yea . But that milage at that age , maintaining its original demenour rather than a show'n shine queen , to me
is a orderly set of priorities .

Also not a lot of dudes state the use to which theyll be put . Presumably Touring ? but boulavarding , raceing & other
options exist to give a bit of direction to the issue . Like Hillclimbing . Dont have to be a money bucket with priorities
organised as to use .

Adventurer96 said:

rightshiftrick said:

Looks like a good solid start. I understand the transplant thing. Moved up here to New Hampshire from the South when my wife got a good paying job. Be careful with that Alpine though... When I was living down South (GA & NC) my MGB was a daily driver, and the Norton a fun scoot for nice days. Up here the good days are so few, the MG hasn't done 500 miles in the past 6 years. I really need to get her out more, but when it's good, the bikes are what I want.

RSR

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I doubt the Tiger would ever be a daily driver for me but I have seen it done. It's funny that I have two Brit bikes and a Brit car - I never expected that.

Click to expand...

Too bad you might part with it. Having parted with a '65 Alfa Spider Veloce and a '66 442......well, it sucks.

Some people'd drop a new crate motor in the Tiger .Beats a new Mustang ??

The olde Norton tanks paint looks prety sweet , worth maintaining the original if possible . Character over gloss .

Matt Spencer said:

Some people'd drop a new crate motor in the Tiger .Beats a new Mustang ??

The olde Norton tanks paint looks prety sweet , worth maintaining the original if possible . Character over gloss .

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I'd like to see a crate motor fit in that. Don't know if there's as much room as in an Ace or Cobra but it would be something to see.

If this thing is original and has papers, I wouldn't mess with it. I've seen nice examples go for 40 and up. Now I'm on the wrong forum....