Journey into the unknown..

Status
Not open for further replies.
Brilliant job Cliff, it looks spot on.
Thanks Auldblue. I cut the disc by hand using a fine fretsaw. I find it very theraputic.

As I mentioned at the end of the last post, I was modifying the Norvil front pully...

For those not familair with the Norvil setup, the outer belt keeper plate is normally held in place by the rotor being pressed against it, but as I needed to machine a 43mm diameter hole in it and the pulley in order to fit over the Alton spacer I decided to drill and tap the plate, fix it on and machine the plate and rotor together. Now by this stage I'd had a couple of sherberts, which explains the following. I drilled and M5 tapped the rotor & countersunk the plates then applied Loctite "forever" liquid to the screws and really tightened them, then called it a day. The next morning I realized I'd forgotten to mark the centers of the puller holes, and they were now completely hidden. :rolleyes: Anyway as (sort of) luck would have it, when I started to machine the spacer recess it slightly broke through the walls of the tapped puller holes, so I knew where they were. I machined the spacer recess in stages and at a depth of 14.85mm the new Alton chain pulleys lined up. I then used an end mill mounted in my pedestal drill to uncover the puller holes. Pulley finished.

And now onto the drive chain and sprag clutch / alternator. I'd already bought an IWIS chain from Andy "The Chain" but when I fitted it, and turned the crank by hand I could here it fouling on two of the mounting points for the alternator armature. The IWIS chain is 1.3mm wider than the Alton chain. That's not a lot I know, but it's also very close the the drive belt behind it. I could have shimmed the mounting plate out But I din't have anything suitable, I could have machined the recess in the pulley deeper, but that would make the chain run slightly out, and the belt may have touched it. In the end I took the decision to use the Alton chain for now. I put the clutch back together & tightened the crank rotor nut then went to fit the the alternator armature. In the video it shows a guy just popping the plastic plates in between the coils and the rotor, then tightening the three fixing screws.Try as I might, I could not get them evenly spaced. As soon as the screws were tightened the coils to the far right would really grip the plastic, but on the left they were a loose sliding fit. I thought maybe that is within tolerance and left it at that as I was beginning to flag (I'm doing all this on the ground in 27°C). To round up the day I got the battery from my Yamaha TR1 and connected the solenoid etc, and the motor span the engine over with gusto I'm pleased to say.:) It's a bank holiday here tomorrow so I plan to do all the wiring and get this project finished. (just in time for the weather to break).
















Cheers,

cliffa
 
Last edited:
Thanks Auldblue.

Unfortuntaley I hit another stumbling block on Tuesday. It seems my bike has a MKIII battery tray fitted ( i.e. battery across the frame). So when I tried to fit the Alton recommended battery, a YTX20-L and realized it wouldn't fit, I felt another tourette moment coming on, so left the bike and tried to enjoy what was left of the bank holiday. The next evening I decided to remove the spot welded battery retainer, and mount the battery along the frame. I managed to drill out the welds (see pic) and that battery will fit, but now I have to re position the Boyer Powerbox which was previously bolted the the spare area on the battery tray, mount the starter solenoid somewhere and leave enough room for a toolkit. Has anybody else done this?

Any advise gladly accepted.





Cheers,


cliffa.
 
Yes the bend over tab washer is a mistake of the past as once the nut comes loose it holds things sloppily in place enough to get you home with an unpleasant clutch. Use a better circlip ,with a lower Torque and Loctite to the nut /shaft threads.
 
Yes the bend over tab washer is a mistake of the past as once the nut comes loose it holds things sloppily in place enough to get you home with an unpleasant clutch. Use a better circlip ,with a lower Torque and Loctite to the nut /shaft threads.
Torontonian, do you mean the clutch centre? If so I had intended to use a Belleville washer but couldn’t get one that size, so for the time being I’ve used the tab washer and locking compound. ( the clutch centre is worn so I’ll be stripping it down again soon).

How could a circlip help?

Cheers,

cliffa.
 
Finished (at last).

I think trying to squeeze everything into the left hand panel has been the biggest challenge.

I made an aluminium plate to hold the Boyer Powerbox and the Alton solenoid...




The battery was still too close to the solenoid for my liking, so I used a piece of 10mm plywood in the battery carrier which allowed me to move the battery higher and further back. I had to remove the chain oiler, and as luck would have it I found that a sidestand rubber stop part number 06.3324 is a perfect fit...



It's a tight squeeze...



but all the wiring reaches nicely..



One push on the button and I was off into the sunshine..



Cheers,

cliffa.
 
By the way my Nort looks the same as yours , same bodywork , paint and seat , bars etc. , only it's the e-start model. The circlip I refer to would be the small one that supports the entire clutch basket , slides over the Mainshaft before fitting the clutch itself. There is a better circlip that provides better support with a tighter fit in the recess , less basket sloppiness. PN 06-8072 . It will need progressive thinning down in size on an abrasive flat surface until it can be slid over the mainshaft then tapped home tight in that slot. Try it next time the primary is apart .
 
By the way my Nort looks the same as yours , same bodywork , paint and seat , bars etc. , only it's the e-start model. The circlip I refer to would be the small one that supports the entire clutch basket , slides over the Mainshaft before fitting the clutch itself. There is a better circlip that provides better support with a tighter fit in the recess , less basket sloppiness. PN 06-8072 . It will need progressive thinning down in size on an abrasive flat surface until it can be slid over the mainshaft then tapped home tight in that slot. Try it next time the primary is apart .
Ah! gotcha. Thanks for that Torontonian, I'll get one when I get the new clutch centre. Will it still fit inside the machined recess in the existing spacer, or will I need another spacer as well?

They look good in Silver don't they? It's also my favourite colour scheme on the 961.

Cheers,

cliffa.
 
Yes it will fit. Just set up a flat plate with some emery paper taped to it. Do circular motions ( wearing light gloves ) to one side of the circlip. Do a few careful slips onto the mainshaft and into the slot test-fits , until the circlip just needs to be lightly tapped (Tight) into place. The goal is a tight fit with no sloppiness like the original one. Really helps with clutch rocking issues. Also helps with mainshaft clutch nut retention.
Silver is a mature good looking colour scheme for mature riders yes.
 
Yes it will fit. Just set up a flat plate with some emery paper taped to it. Do circular motions ( wearing light gloves ) to one side of the circlip. Do a few careful slips onto the mainshaft and into the slot test-fits , until the circlip just needs to be lightly tapped (Tight) into place. The goal is a tight fit with no sloppiness like the original one. Really helps with clutch rocking issues. Also helps with mainshaft clutch nut retention.
Silver is a mature good looking colour scheme for mature riders yes.
Silver, like my hair :(
 
Last edited:
You can mount AGM and other non-acid batteries on their sides, if that helps...
 
You can mount AGM and other non-acid batteries on their sides, if that helps...
Thanks GP, I bought that one as it’s recommended by Alton, however had I known what a pain it would be to squeeze in it would look for alternatives as you’ve suggested. Anyway it’s in now and I’m really pleased with the starter. It only needs the briefest of spins and the engine fires up. Happy Days !!

Cheers,

cliffa
 
Thanks GP, I bought that one as it’s recommended by Alton ... I’m really pleased with the starter.
You need to buy spare shear rods, if you didn't already. From everything I've read over the years, you need to have a set with you, as well as tools to swap out the sheared ones, "just in case".

Brings back memories of renting small motorboats at our local lake, the guy would hand you the lifejackets, oars, a pair of pliers, and a spare shear pin for the prop...
 
The weather was amazing here today, so I decided to do the work outside. The back of my neck is now glowing like an LED stoplight.

Anyway, I digress, As you good folks told me the 1/2" WW for the crank, and a 3/4" a/f (19mm) were the correct for the clutch nut ( which was already fitted with a pushrod seal nut) Hey - Ho. I have a battery impact driver (rattle gun) and that made short work of getting those off. If you don't have one already I can highly recommend them. I have now identified the belt drive as a Norvil variant. This of course is the most difficult to fit, as the front pulley needs to have recess machined in it:( Anyway there was no hardened steel washer under the clutch nut, and when I went to bend back the tab on the tab washer it just fell off !! Before removing the clutch I did notice quite a lot of "wobble" on the outer body. has anybody else noticed this on a Norvil setup? Once I got it off and span it the bearings seemed to be smooth and silent, so maybe this is to be expected? One thing that definitely looks like it need replacing very soon is the clutch center, as it's quite grooved.

Anyway here are some pics of today's progress..












Cutting the case for the outrigger was a pain, but looking at the length of what would be an unsupported mainshaft I really think it's worth keeping it.

More updates tomorrow...


Cheers,

cliffa.

Just looking at your bike photos i didn't realize you have exactly the same setup as me
With the extra isolastic built into the gearbox cradle
Do you know who did the conversion?
Does it have the rubbers in it? What do you set it at?
I also have the maney outrigger and a norvil belt drive, and I'm about to fit an Alton
How do you find the starter chain life? I was thinking of going for an iwis if it stretches quickly
(Oops I just read you already have an iwis chain)
 
I used the tab washer in the past, but I once had the nut come adrift, (fortunately close to home) I now use both tab washer and red Loctite.

I took a page from a long-time Norton rider who advised, when I asked about what (if anything) I should safety wire, replied, "Safety wire any parts you want to keep; don't worry about the others!" SO, when I installed the Alton in late '12, I tossed the tab washer and safety wired that nut...as well as all the others that connect stuff I want to keep! Pretty much the only thing that can fall off my Norton is me! :)
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top