WET SUMP VALVE RECALL

Hi all,

Well what I have seen has promted me to react to this problem the only way I know how. With a wetsump valve recall. There has been to many recent issues with the valves coming apart, and they do so in the same place on all the reported cases. This tells me that the valve does in fact have a problem with regards the the assembly.

Heres what CNW is doing. Other vendors may offer this as well but it really up to them, not me. We are all getting the valve from the same source but its still up to each individual company to deal with this however they choose.

- Please contact the dealer you purchased the valve from and discuss the problem with them. What CNW is doing is what we have decided is the best approach. Your specific vendor may not agree with this.

- If you purchased the valve from CNW, we will do one of three things (your choice)
1- Replace your valve with the latest version which is using a tighter interference fit and also a different glue to assemble the valve. We have these in stock and have not been able to make them come apart. We have used some serious pressure, far more than it could ever be put under when installed, without any failures. We will be using this type on our own machines.
2- Replace your valve with a different version once it becomes available. Al Miles is currently looking at some options but I dont know when these will be available. It may be that he is satisfied with the results of the style mentioned above.
3- Refund your money in full.

I will keep using these valves as I am confident that the functionality of the valve works as its supposed to. Its the actual assembly that is failing, not how it operates.

I believe that the assembly issue is related to the more recent batches of valves made but I am not putting a time limit on the actual age of the valve in regards to the recall. In other words, I dont care when you actually bought the valve from us, we will still let you choose what option above you want to go with.

CNW will contact every one that has bought a valve from us by e-mail, phone or regular mail depending on what information we have on file. Feel free to contact us at the shop with any questions. 1-970-882-7163 or nortonworks@fone.net

I truly apoloogize for any problem this may cause and we'll try to make this as painless as we possibly can.

Thanks

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

Impressive, Matt...nice!!!!!!!!! It's what makes CNW what a company SHOULD be.

Class. CNW has it, in what they do and how they stand behind it.

Old Britts Customers:

We just started selling the Miles valves a little over a year ago, since we sell our own aluminum valve, but customers were asking about the Miles valves, so we started to stock them. We have only sold 46 of the Miles valves and are going to contact all the customers that we have sold them to. I just talked to Al Miles and he thinks that he has seen only a hand full of failures, but that is way too many. He said that it looks like the valves fail after a ride when the bike is idling. It looks like the hot oil and a tight oil line with the idle vibrations could be what caused the failures. I guess this is more of a concern than I originally thought since we have not had any customer complaints. If the line that your valve is in has some slack in it, I would think you are OK. Al said that if you grab both ends of the valve and twist and pull and it does not come apart, then it should be OK. Our aluminum valves screw together, so they would not have this problem. If you want to replace your valve with a new tested Miles valve or upgrade to our aluminum valve, let us know. If you just want a refund, let us know.

Fred & Ella at Old Britts

Another great company that I have done a lot of business with and recommend them highly!!!

NO, I am not associated with and am not lobbying either CNW or Old Britts for price breaks!

If Toyota reacted like these guys, they wouldn't be in such deep doo-doo. Customer confidence is everything.

Danno said:

If Toyota reacted like these guys, they wouldn't be in such deep doo-doo. Customer confidence is everything.

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The brakes on my Norton aren't working very well :lol:

"The brakes on my Norton aren't working very well "

Yeah but they weren't supposed to in the first place!

The brakes on my Norton work great! That's because I had Fred at Old Britts do his "full monty" rework on them. All the myriad gearbox and other parts I've bought from Old Britts have been top-notch also.

My wheels, alternator, modern chain, FCR carbs, etc. from Matt at CNW work great too.

In other words, "ditto" to what folks have said above about Old Britts (Fred and Ella) and CNW (Matt, and his colleagues) being first class people to deal with.

Great vendors like them, and great fellow riders like you guys who answer all my dumb-ass questions, are what enable me to own, maintain, RIDE!, and love the heck out of my Norton. I thank you all again, and always.

For those of you who bought your valve from Jim Noll (BBC) like I did, he was not aware of this problem. He did not state if he would make good like Matt and Fred are doing. I think he wants to speak with Al MIles first. Over the years I've bought many things from all three vendors for my 72 Combat with never a problem. Glenn in CT

I just received a full refund including shipping costs from Stan Smith at Rocky Point Cycles. Stan is another recommended dealer and is very good to do business with. It was my valve that came apart several weeks back.
Tim

Once again, Matt from CNW setting a high standard in the way business should be conducted! Other companies should follow their/his lead!!
Foxy

Foxy said:

Once again, Matt from CNW setting a high standard in the way business should be conducted! Other companies should follow their/his lead!!
Foxy

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I would say good things about Old Britts, too. I ordered the unfinished cast aluminum tail light. It had some deep voids. Too deep to sand out. Fred sent me one suitable for polishing. No hassle.

I've dealt with six of the Norton parts suppliers. Never had a problem with any. I did get less than great advice from a couple.

I see Old Britts has posted a recall of the Miles check valve on their website.

after market wet sump valves

i fitted one these about 7 years ago and it failedand seized the engine luckly for me i was not travelling at high speed.
note norvil to not sell or advise fitting these aftermarket valves
ride safe

If the nevwer version of the antisump valve has proved reliable I want to order one. I really do not want to remove my timing cover and ship it out to resolve my problem. I guess I would order one directly from you??? How much??--Thanks Mark Cigainero

I heard back from Jim(BBC) today about my valve. He had talked to AL Miles and since the failures are only with the new ones ( mine is 2 yrs. old), I should not worry. It seems to me any failures no matter how old should be a worry. Like Matt said it's up to each vendor on how they will handle this. As for me I've pulled my valve off and I'll think twice when it comes time to buy modified parts. I've spent a lot of money on upgrades, especially Al's things. Our Norton's love these things and so do I. Not bashing, just telling you the way it is. Glenn CT

I will send my valve back to Holland Norton Works (CNW dealer) and definitely will fit (the newer) one back!
Thanks to CNW and HNW

norton in japan said:

after market wet sump valves

i fitted one these about 7 years ago and it failedand seized the engine luckly for me i was not travelling at high speed.
note norvil to not sell or advise fitting these aftermarket valves
ride safe

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I still recommend a lever type shut off valve mine is a gas (as in household)one with a 4" lever that stops me from kicking the bike over if it is in the closed position.

Kudos to CNW and Old Btitts for their responses . I talked with Ella at Old Britts this morning . I plan to swap out my Miles Design valves for the Old Britts screw togather type . Also going to get one of their oil pressure gauges . I've also gotten parts from CNW before and they are first rateas well .

Ron

It seems like there is a simple and easy fix for all these potentially catastrophic problems with anti-sump valves. Don't run one. To me, this whole issue reminds me of why I wouldn't touch ANY one of these valves with a ten-foot pole and why I am not running any of them on any of my British bikes. Because the risks ain't worth it! I have spent hours rebuilding the engines on my bikes and I am not going to throw that all away on some crappy valve that is supposed to make my life easier. How about just draining the sump, throwing the oil back in the oil tank and going for a ride? Hell, if we all rode these bikes more often, wet sumping wouldn't be an issue at all!