Wideline -vs- slim line? dimensions? mounts?

Im looking to repair my wideline frame, it has a storied history at one time it was cut up and a corvair 6 cylinder motor was in it, thats a lenthy topic. At one time i debated restoring it as it was and taking it to Norton rallys and club rides to annoy the purists and unnerve those within range of its fiery rage.
But i removed the offending air cooled chevy and im building a special. the problem is the DPO had cut and lengthened the frame. I need to return it back to stock or close to it. (im actually transplanting a buell engine into it)

So, wise pundits,, I have a set of dummy Norton Cases and motor and trans mount plates for a slimline,, are these the same for the wideline? Or were the engine mount plates different for a wideline? if so,, can you detail the differences?

I know Norton Singles and Norton twins had different mount tabs at the front of the frames,, but thats a small detail. Im more concerned about getting the frame dimensions within the ball park. I know Featherbeds of all types were widely variable in their dimensions,,

I also have a slim line we are using as well for measurements. What would be remarkably helpful is a blueprint or line drawing showing dimensions. Have never seen one for a FB,,(Plenty out there for BSA and Triumphs)

We have a jig and looking to do this soon. My buddy and I want to map it out stock, and then we will probably leave my frame lenghtened slightly, perhaps an inch or so for the HD/Buell motor as I know when fitting Vincents they have a tough time. Jerry wants to perhaps make a replica frame for himself as well so we are striving to get it right. ANy help appreciated

Yes, I will take pictures of the frame fab and repair. Ill try and find my old photos of the Norvair as well

A wideline is about 22 inches between top rear and front low engine mounts in the engine bay, for a twin, give or take a few thou.

Iffa ya'd said it had had a Porsche in it, we woulda been imprezzed !

Have a look here http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/show ... 894&page=2
Bear in mind that these dimensions are from a frame the bloke built himself so they may be a little off. If you do need any exact measurements let me know, I've got a 59 wideline for a single downstairs in the basement.

All the best

Webby

Webby03 said:

If you do need any exact measurements let me know, I've got a 59 wideline for a single downstairs in the basement.

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Can you measure it, for a comparison to that twin measurement I gave.

Be a shade less, since the front engine mount for the single is a bit higher (?).

23 inches between centers measured from the rear upper mount hole to the forward mount hole.
Measuring my frame where is twin motor mount should be (about 2" lower) I get about 22 inches, so your measurement seems about right Rohan. The distance for the single mount is greater than the twin due to the bend and angle of the front frame tubes.

Webby

Dang Singles & Twins mightnt be same dimensions .

Can you find the frame number , for clarification .

WHERE are the pictures . WHAT was wrong with the Corvair ? why not leave it as is , and drop TWO 750s in it .
If it worked , it was Historic , easier to get / make another chassis . Depends where the cuts / welds were . :? :|

the Classic motorcycle . April 1994 .

Page 54.

" the Featherbed Inters differ from early
Featherbed Dominators in several aspects.
The frames are about 7lb lighter and made from 16 guage, A quality high carbon solid drawn tube,
compared to the heavyer 14 quage , B quality of the Dominator ,
and were bronze, not arc welded .

Correct, Matt.
And the 531 manx frames were lighter again.
Not to mention the magnesium hubs, brakes, crankcases and alloy rims...

What do we do with this info now...

I heard that the original F`beds were craftsman built for the 'classy' OHC singles, but demand/market forces meant that production for the twins was pushed ahead & farmed out to journeyman-type builders as economically as possible, - so that would tie in with Matts`s garble..

Featherbed twins appeared quite early, and also as ISDT mounts.
OHC featherbed roadbikes came years later, almost as an afterthought ??

That oil dribble again.....

I found ONE of the old pictures of the bike when i was pulling it apart and removing the Corvair engine. I had to saw the frame in half as there was no way to remove the engine otherwise. The frame had already been cut before and lengthened about 12-17 inches or so so i guessed where to cut and sawed it in half.

I will keep trying to find the pix as they are in my office however they are old 35mm prints and i have boxes of them. My priority at this point is getting some important projects done out in the shop and reconfiguring my shop so please be patient.

as to the question of why not keep it as a Norvair,, it was VERY crudely built, ill post soon a story about it and when you see the pics and story you will understand. I still have the corvair engine and many of the parts so if someone is into those things let me know.

I took it over to my friend Jerrys place, He is getting a new frame fixture and building other frames anyway. In exchange for loan of some of my frames and parts he is fixing the wideline for free. I just have too many projects myself and while I can weld and fab, this way it will get done sooner rather than the years its been sitting. Im excited to move this fwd, and Jerry is excited about the project. We are also looking at making a few G-15,N15, P11 type frames for the hybrids as I have a few of those projects as well and would be nice to have a replica of the P11 frame in chrome moly. I have most of the parts to build a replica G45 but using a Atlas type G15 motor So if Jerry and I can help each other out and make some stuff happen we are both pretty happy about it.

Ill get pictures of the reconstruction of the wideline frame. I appreciate the response on dimensions and that link to that other post on JJ.
There are certainly other people making these FB's and it isnt for the average fabricator but its not rocket science either. I have been collecting parts for this Norton Davidson or Norley for many years. I have 5 sportsters here and 2 Buells, I have a cool road race style Avon Aire fairing for a featherbed, 2 tanks, one an old style Domminator tank and the other a Italian tank kinda like a manx but different, Nice shouldered Alloy 18" wheels, late model sportbike forks, a box section swing arm im hoping to use, Instruments, Stainless Supertrapp exhaust and cans and other odds and ends i have been collecting.

Im not sure the frame number still exists, I know on a slim line its on the drive side near the swingarm and footpeg brackets near where that Banana brckt goes. but on mine part of that plate was cut away. For title and registration im likely to weld on the Buell frame number as its titled, but havent decided yet, this is just getting started

Im not sure the frame number still exists, I know on a slim line its on the drive side near the swingarm and footpeg brackets near where that Banana brckt goes. but on mine part of that plate was cut away. For title and registration im likely to weld on the Buell frame number as its titled, but havent decided yet, this is just getting started
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If you have what we call a logbook in the UK it will have the chassis number on it.
If you still have the title, there is nothing to stop you stamping the original chassis number on it.
One wonders if it is worth all the time and hassle as there ids a frame builder who supplies featherbeds specially for the H/D engine.

Wouldn't you be better off making a replica of the early Egli frame and building the bike to resemble a Slater Vincent ?

acotrel said:

Wouldn't you be better off making a replica of the early Egli frame and building the bike to resemble a Slater Vincent ?

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Ooooh thats nice, got any more pix of that bike?

Thats something to consider building, Im sure Jerry can handle it. He is getting tooled up with a fabrication dept/area in his shop and building a new shop in the spring,. (So am i, but theres govt permit issues for my building) so thats something to look at. He liked the idea of a replica P11 type frame, but im not sure how much demand there would be as few of us weirdos building that stuff..

as to Log book, nope, no log book. I might try and get a lost title on the featherbed before i do the Buell engine conversion, or just title it as a Buell as I already have the title for that.

Yes, i do know about the guy building those HD engine featherbed frames. and i considered that. But i already have a frame, and i dont think its TOO much trouble to repair, B) my friend Jerry wants to get into the frame fab business, already has prints and jigs from another local guy for a varietry of applications for race and street C) for the use of my existing featherbeds and other parts and tech support he is willing to fix mine for no charge D) no promises yet, but very likely He will start making replica featherbeds himself as his other business venture soured and looking to build bikes

Most of his interest is racing and has a long history, but has already had some local success with the vintage bike market and the cafe scene is hot around here, I have the basket cases and he has the desire and ability to build some great stuff so why not?

Nice cerrani forks on that one, im going to tell Jerry to look at this thread, he says he has a set of those stashed and they sure would look good on my bike

A Real McCoy ;



more pretty pictures ; http://www.classic-motorbikes.com/Norto ... _DX03.html

good frame to build if you havnt got a Tube Bender . :mrgreen:

Be scrapeing the paint of from around the cut / welds , & inspect . Did the guy just cut it clean , add tube , and weld ??
cleaning up , youd think youd only loose maybe 1/4 inch , IF it had been welded well .

Gives you leeway to increase the rake a iota to match the Manx figures anyway . custom subframe , etc .
Lighter tube plugged into seat frame after rear shocks , to carry guard , acts as crumple zone . :shock:

Matt Spencer said:

Lighter tube plugged into seat frame after rear shocks , to carry guard , acts as crumple zone .

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I probably shouldn't ask this, but act as a crumple zone - from what ?!!?

The guys building a Narley from a beaten-up basket featherbed, and you guys are throwing in Slater Eglis and super fancy spineframe race Commandos.
Somewhat off track ?

" fancy spineframe race Commandos " ? :shock: Maybe he could do one of those too . . .

You probably already have plenty of pictures of Harley powered featherbeds, but here are two more, just in case.

This is an older Dresda conversion.



And this one has a more modern Sportster engine.



Now if you really wanted to get funky, you could build on of these. That's the Fitzpatrick BSA v-twin engine.



Ken

Any featherbed frame is far too good for that purpose. Much better with a two valve Jawa speedway motor and a 5 speed Triumph gearbox fitted. But what would I know ?
I'm just jealous anyway:

I've often thought abpout building a bike using a modern sportster engine. If you fitted a pair of decent cams, they might even sound and go good. I believe you can even get 5 speed gear clusters for them