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I put the oil tank on the 71 Commando I'm fixing up for sale (long story) with new Harley Davidson heavy-duty mount studs, as the originals were broken in half. Cleaning the tank out was a chore; much sludge. But it's clean and painted now. I read up on mods here and put some dense foam on the bottom. Installation is quite a job; the order of assembly is tricky. Loosen this, tighten that. Rinse and repeat.Like many Norton things, you take one step forward and two steps back. After doing it I know the precise order, but holy gawd, what a nightmare getting the bottom bolt in. I eventually figured out that the best way would be to use my borescope, which hooks up to my phone, to see which way I needed to push the tank to get the bolt's hole lined up. It seemed like a job for two people as I had to hold a pry bar strategically located to put pressure on the tank - I held the prybar (tire iron) in place with my armpit (!) to try to recreate the right direction I'd seen on the camera, enabling the bolt to find its hole. I used a magnet to fish in the bolt upside down to the area and feel for the hole (I dropped that bolt several times - once it found its way into the swingarm, other times it bounced into hiding spots in the garage), and mashed my hand into that tiny space with little room to turn the bolt. After many choice words and failed attempts, I got it started, then used a ratcheting box-end wrench to get it tight. Norton engineers: My bad back thanks you yet again!These bikes seem so cobbled together. I like them, but they are punishment to work on. It took me well over an hour, and some tricks to get one friggin' bolt in. Every job on Nortons seems like this.
I put the oil tank on the 71 Commando I'm fixing up for sale (long story) with new Harley Davidson heavy-duty mount studs, as the originals were broken in half. Cleaning the tank out was a chore; much sludge. But it's clean and painted now. I read up on mods here and put some dense foam on the bottom. Installation is quite a job; the order of assembly is tricky. Loosen this, tighten that. Rinse and repeat.
Like many Norton things, you take one step forward and two steps back. After doing it I know the precise order, but holy gawd, what a nightmare getting the bottom bolt in. I eventually figured out that the best way would be to use my borescope, which hooks up to my phone, to see which way I needed to push the tank to get the bolt's hole lined up. It seemed like a job for two people as I had to hold a pry bar strategically located to put pressure on the tank - I held the prybar (tire iron) in place with my armpit (!) to try to recreate the right direction I'd seen on the camera, enabling the bolt to find its hole. I used a magnet to fish in the bolt upside down to the area and feel for the hole (I dropped that bolt several times - once it found its way into the swingarm, other times it bounced into hiding spots in the garage), and mashed my hand into that tiny space with little room to turn the bolt. After many choice words and failed attempts, I got it started, then used a ratcheting box-end wrench to get it tight. Norton engineers: My bad back thanks you yet again!
These bikes seem so cobbled together. I like them, but they are punishment to work on. It took me well over an hour, and some tricks to get one friggin' bolt in. Every job on Nortons seems like this.
