Hastings Rings

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marshg246

marshg246

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I need a set of rings for an 850 and usually use Hastings which I normally buy from The Bonneville Shop. They have increased the price and no longer have the 5% off coupon code so I went looking for others selling them. Map Cycle has two sets. I went to Hastings to see who else might sell them and they are no longer in their catalog so I wrote them. Here's the answer: "We used to offer the following ring sets for the Norton, But now these sets are while supplies last and are not featured in the New Catalog."

So, soon, no more Hastings rings for Norton. They only list BSA and Triumph motorcycle rings now.
 
I got mine from racingnorton on leabay (Carl Hockanson), I know that Goetze could supply good rings , one english member once was able to supply some for me but I do not remember who he is (senior moment!!!!)
 
Its not just the brand of rings - its the Hepolite design - the rings are too thick and heavy. They pound out the ring land, loosen it up and then you have blow by. They need to be thinner like modern rings so they have less inertia. I've seen thin modern rings go 50,000 miles and stay tight but I've seen thick rings in Hepolite pistons loosen up to .004 to .006" clearance and start smoking like a pig. In some cases the gap gets so sloppy that the ring breaks. That's happened to me many years ago and its what just happened to my high milage small block Ford - everything looked beautiful except for the pistons - the top ring in one got incredibly sloppy with a whopping .012" clearance and then the ring broke - taking out a bit of the piston when it jammed and blowing the motor.

The metalurgy is also suspect. Who knows what they're throwing into the JC mix in Tiawan. Some areas of used cast pistons show more ring land clearance than other areas. Or the left piston may have more ring land clearance than the right and visversa. Something is inconsistant.
 
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Just get the 10839 and counting members here to email Hastings to see what is going on. (Most likely lack of sales so maybe time for JCC to do a piston with a modern ring pack, we could all email them too.)
 
jseng1 said:
Its not just the brand of rings - its the Hepolite design - the rings are too thick and heavy. They pound out the ring land, loosen it up and then you have blow by.
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I rebuilt my 850 in 2009, maybe 12,000 miles ago. The recommended parts back then were Emgo pistons and Hepolite rings. Has that changed?
 
maylar said:
I rebuilt my 850 in 2009, maybe 12,000 miles ago. The recommended parts back then were Emgo pistons and Hepolite rings. Has that changed?
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A consistent issue here is that once someone has a problem, whether real or perceived, that product is no good.

I have a set of Hasting rings coming and I have a Hepolite complete piston set. When the rings get here I'll measure everything and report back. I have no way to say anything about the metal, but can at least check the sizes.

When you buy the new Hepolite piston set, they come with pistons, pins, clips, and rings and they are all really JCC.

I've had people tell me that JCC pistons are good but their rings are bad. - but then, where's the technical proof? I think (not sure) that EMGO pistons are JCC.

The only reasons I generally use Hastings are: 1) US Made 2) I've been using them for a very long time and never had a failure.

My guess is that for normal street use any of the available rings, aa long as they properly fit the piston ring slots and are properly installed, are just fine.
 
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marshg246 said:
When you buy the new Hepolite piston set, they come with pistons, pins, clips, and rings and they are all really JCC.
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That's not my understanding for the faux dirty Wassell Hepolite boxes, in the UK at least the clips are not the JCC wire type but the proper seeger clips and the rings started as Hastings but are now an alternative makers but still not JCC.

Trouble is as a Distributor you can buy off Wassell piston boxes with not the full contents at lower cost and add your own rings and clips etc to make the box full. So what's in the box varies by market and by distributor.

Add in the variations of engine eg 750/850, BSA/Triumph/Norton and you can only assume the piston is JCC, the rest is a lottery.

These on UK ebay look to have Hastings rings as they are described as USA made rings.

www.ebay.co.uk

2 HEPOLITE PISTONS std bore NORTON COMMANDO 750cc + rings circlips gudgeon pins | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2 HEPOLITE PISTONS std bore NORTON COMMANDO 750cc + rings circlips gudgeon pins at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
 
kommando said:
That's not my understanding for the faux dirty Wassell Hepolite boxes, in the UK at least the clips are not the JCC wire type but the proper seeger clips and the rings started as Hastings but are now an alternative makers but still not JCC.

Trouble is as a Distributor you can buy off Wassell piston boxes with not the full contents at lower cost and add your own rings and clips etc to make the box full. So what's in the box varies by market and by distributor.

Add in the variations of engine eg 750/850, BSA/Triumph/Norton and you can only assume the piston is JCC, the rest is a lottery.

These on UK ebay look to have Hastings rings as they are described as USA made rings.

www.ebay.co.uk

2 HEPOLITE PISTONS std bore NORTON COMMANDO 750cc + rings circlips gudgeon pins | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2 HEPOLITE PISTONS std bore NORTON COMMANDO 750cc + rings circlips gudgeon pins at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
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OK, let me re-phrase. When I buy Hepolite piston sets from Wassell they contain pistons, pins, clips, and rings and the owner of Wassell told me that they are all JCC.
 

What are the best 850 pistons ?

I’ve had JP 0.40 (made in Australia) RGM for 5,000 miles, 850 MK3, and no problem to date. JCC,news Hépolite (Wassel) do not have the goods rings and circlips for commandos.
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com
 
Comparing cast pistons to cast pistons - both with thick rings is one thing.
Comparing modern forged or billet pistons with thinner rings to cast pistons with thick heavy rings is another.

I've found that sloppy ring lands are the weak link that causes blow by - requiring a rebuild.
 
Jim,

You've posted twice in this thread and have confused me twice. I'm not sure - are you saying that all standard rings for Norton are bad because they are thick? What pistons/rings do you recommend for the masses riding street, not race, Nortons?
 
I think I have some and will have a look tomorrow for you. Got some new pistons too.
(PM me if I forget and don't get back to you)
 
Sorry Jerry, inadequate post on my part...

I was meaning that perhaps the Gandini rings are perfectly good and the lack of Hastings rings is therefore nothing to panic about?
 
The last few sets of rings I got from Wassells were AE Goetze, UK made.
I concur with Kommando's post, the rather unconvincing heritage style 'Hepolite' boxings from Wassells originally had Hastings rings, but more recently they went over to Goetze.
AFAIK the rings were never Taiwanese, but I've been wrong before...
 
AE is the aftermarket arm of Federal Mogul and AE was originally the aftermarket Trademark for Associated Engineering which included the Bradford Hepolite piston factory, AE was first taken over by T&N (Turner and Newall) who in turn were taken over by Federal Mogul who already owned Goetze. AE was continued to be used by FM as aftermarket TM and after the Bradford factory was closed AE used Goetze as the alternative Group source. Goetze have a good reputation so should be no issues with their rings.

T&N was a poisoned chalice for FM, the asbestos mining and manufacturing liability legacy that was hidden blew up after the takeover and forced FM into chapter 11.
 
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