Hi Chris,
Yes, Vintage Brake is a bit pricey, but the results are worth it in my book. Their combination of modern brake linings and arcing the shoes and drums produces a stopper that significantly increases the safety margin of riding these old bikes.
The gas tank, oil tank and battery cover were painted by The Fender Mender in Saline, Michigan (734) 429-1820. The red color is a very, very fine metallic flake that really pops in the sun.
The seat was another episode that turned out to be way more difficult/time consuming than expected. First of all, I made the mistake of ordering a setoff of ebay that was advertised as fitting a P11. When it arrived the seat cover and foam looked good, but the seat pan did not conform to the P11 frame hardly at all. Maybe it fit a Commando, I don’t know, but definitely not a P11. By good fortune I was a member the Norton Owners’ Club when Tony Curzon published a three part article on the unique aspects of the Ranger. (Roadholder No.347 Novermber 2016 covers the dual seat). The information in the Roadholder article states that a plate is attached to the underside of the rear of the seat with two arms that extend downward, and whose bottom ends are secured to the top shock absorber bolts. It’s hard to imagine a more rinky-dink and potentially unsafe arrangement.
I showed the drawing of the stock seat pan to a friend and he offered to come up with something better, which he did. The result was a titanium seat pan that closely confirms to the frame and is securely fastened to it. The shape of the seat pad and how it conforms to the frame are shown in the first picture below. Rubber bumpers are secured to the underside of the pan so it will not scratch the frame. The rear of the seat is attached to the frame by bolts welded to the seat that stick down into special brackets that take advantage of the bolt that goes through the adapter for the rear frame rail.
After we had the seat pan design and mounting worked out, we had it painted and then took it to an upholstery shop that is familiar with bike seats (D and J Upholstery, Blissfield, MI (517) 426-5555). They attached the foam and seat cover so professionally, it looked like it came form the factory. The only difference in appearance is that, due to the shape the rear of the seat pad, we could not attach the chrome strip that runs around the lower edge fo the in pictures of the bikes.
Cheers, Norm
Seat pan
Bracket