ISO Norton expert mechanic in Boston area

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BrianK

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Title says it all I guess. I'm interested - okay, toying/dreaming may be accurate - with a serious overhaul of my 73 850, including Jim Schmidt's lighter pistons/Carillo rods and cam/followers, etc. plus a Full Auto head. Wouldn't mind upgrading the rear ISOs to verniers while we're at it....

Saving my pennies but not sure I want to take all this on myself. Maybe. But are there options? You don't find a good mechanic doing this work every time you swing a cat, as it were.

Tx - B
 
o0norton0o said:
https://atlanticgreen.com/contact.htm

I'm not sure what Dave is doing these days, but you should contact him and see if he can help you.
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I think Dave is at least 80 years old and was looking to move a couple years ago. I'm not speaking for him but I don't think he does too much work anymore. Contact @ Carl H he has helped me in the past and I think he's still doing some stuff. He's in acushnet Massachusetts.
 
Without knowing your skill sets I should think you could tackle the new isolastics yourself . Pretty straight forward . Lots of instructions available .
The cam / follower bit may prove challenging as the bushings will need line reaming . I can’t say if the Full Auto head is a straight bolt on swap or if there are valve train geometry issues that will need addressing.
There are others here much more knowledgeable than myself that may be able to answer this.
 
Imho you can build a motor that will perform fine with just the stock bits. The pistons might be okay if you need to replace them any way. But everyday replacement parts like JCC Cycle Craft will do the job. Stock rods can generally be reused unless damage. Same with cam and followers. . A quality rebuild on the original head should perform just fine. If you don't plan on racing the bike you are spending a lot of $ for a slight upgrade in performance that you really probably won't notice in regular street riding.
 
BrianK said:
Title says it all I guess. I'm interested - okay, toying/dreaming may be accurate - with a serious overhaul of my 73 850, including Jim Schmidt's lighter pistons/Carillo rods and cam/followers, etc. plus a Full Auto head. Wouldn't mind upgrading the rear ISOs to verniers while we're at it....

Saving my pennies but not sure I want to take all this on myself. Maybe. But are there options? You don't find a good mechanic doing this work every time you swing a cat, as it were.

Tx - B
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Here's the Delima. Those of us who do these things are getting old. Two-three years ago, I would have said ship it here and get it back like a new bike. Today, I'm not sure I can live long enough to finish the projects already in house and I'm selling off bikes I'll probably never have time to rebuilt :(

BTW, I don't want to say too much - but Full Auto heads being available appears as though it has a limited future and the bike will never be worth enough to cover the cost of adding one. So, if you are interested in just being able to say you have one, OK. If you're expecting something great by having one, nope! Restorable heads are readily available (at least in the US) and will save thousands over Full Auto.

One possibility is to find someone to redo the engine and gearbox and you do the rest.
 
Need to add more to the list if you want to actually feel like you made changes that increased the performance. Even then it's still going to be an old Norton when you get done.

Rebuilding Norton engines is not rocket science. If it were difficult there wouldn't be so many experts on the interweb. lol Hardest part of the process to me is getting the engine out of and back into the frame if doing it by yourself. The rest of the process is kind of therapeutic.

If you can't help yourself, I would delete a few things from that list. PM me if you want an opinion from someone that has done it all except for the Full Auto head.
 
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BrianK said:
Title says it all I guess. I'm interested - okay, toying/dreaming may be accurate - with a serious overhaul of my 73 850, including Jim Schmidt's lighter pistons/Carillo rods and cam/followers, etc. plus a Full Auto head. Wouldn't mind upgrading the rear ISOs to verniers while we're at it....

Saving my pennies but not sure I want to take all this on myself. Maybe. But are there options? You don't find a good mechanic doing this work every time you swing a cat, as it were.

Tx - B
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If you are only going to upgrade one set of isolastics do the front ones
They take more of a pounding than the rear
 
Both Dave and Carl are options if they're interested. I'd recommend you contact Classic Bike Experience in Essex, VT https://classicbikeexperience.com/

They're a business, partner of Andover, so will entertain your project.
They had an offering that you could do the work at their shop with guidance for a fee. Sounds like what you would like.
I'll be doing the same in the future to my '73 850 along with the ongoing '71 750 project. As Greg said, getting closer to 80 changes your priorities to what I will live to accomplish.
As for '73 850 heads, I will just use JS intake port reduction to make it a RH10 head for better flow and use Carrillo rods with higher compression pistons. Cam and carbs if you want to spend more, but not necessary for a street bike. In our locale, if you want quicker, just go to a 19 tooth sprocket. You won't be able to use speeds over 80 mph very often unless you ride Northern NE or out toward the Berkshires.
 
You are speaking of many thousands of dollars of restoration work (just to resurrect a stock used bike?) when there are LOTS of
resurrected bikes about whose owners have $15-$20K or more into them and are willing to take $10K because they are old and need to
move on and the market is quite soft now. If an unlimited bankroll, I say go for it, but don’t expect to ever get that money back out.
 
lazyeye6 said:
You are speaking of many thousands of dollars of restoration work (just to resurrect a stock used bike?) when there are LOTS of
resurrected bikes about whose owners have $15-$20K or more into them and are willing to take $10K because they are old and need to
move on and the market is quite soft now. If an unlimited bankroll, I say go for it, but don’t expect to ever get that money back out.
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Amen to that, but it takes some searching skills to find an old guy that wants to give his toys away. I know I will eventually be that old guy, but for some reason I can still kick start my hot rod Norton at 74 years.
 
You could also get in touch with Concours for suggestions on where or who could help you out with your build.He would not steer you wrong.
Mike
 
This is Carl Hokanson, I don't work on customers bikes anymore, But I still ride and enjoy the fruits of my labors. My streetbikes that perform very well and could go to race tracks and do very well. Even My MK3 is a very capable and fast Commando, but it took 50 years of experience to make it great, Low tech and doing all my tricks to make it a CHR Commando.

But before anyone even starts a project, you need to be able to tie up a lot of garage space for many months/ years. And be very organized and be ready to work for many months. Pricing out a list of parts that you will need to do and what Your "dream bike" will have is important. Parts are no longer inexpensive. Basically, you better hope important and costly engine And transmission as well as all other parts are still useable. A full dismantling of the engine and transmission while testing and checking all clearances and end plays, to see what it actually needs. Hopefully little is needed, or you'll be spending big bucks. Shop labor rates are pricey and most people have no clue on how to build a good bike or even get the job done in a timely manner.
 
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Carl H said:
This is Carl Hokanson, I don't work on customers bikes anymore, But I still ride and enjoy the fruits of my labors. My streetbikes that perform very well and could go to race tracks and do very well. Even My MK3 is a very capable and fast Commando, but it took 50 years of experience to make it great, Low tech and doing all my tricks to make it a CHR Commando.

But before anyone even starts a project, you need to be able to tie up a lot of garage space for many months/ years. And be very organized and be ready to work for many months. Pricing out a list of parts that you will need to do and what Your "dream bike" will have is important. Parts are no longer inexpensive. Basically, you better hope important and costly engine And transmission as well as all other parts are still useable. A full dismantling of the engine and transmission while testing and checking all clearances and end plays, to see what it actually needs. Hopefully little is needed, or you'll be spending big bucks. Shop labor rates are pricey and most people have no clue on how to build a good bike or even get the job done in a timely manner.
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Amen to that.
 
So there you are Brian. Nobody thinks it's worth investing heavily on upgrades when the subject just needs refreshing. You won't get that much more performance for all the expense with a street bike.
Vernier ISO's should be on the list anyway as a desirable maintenance upgrade. Best to think of optimizing what came stock with a Commando before buying bling in most cases.
 
Ok, time to come in and bat for the other side…

It all depends what you want out of it Brian.

A good, mostly stock, Commando is a remarkably good fit for most ‘classic’ riders. Fit a single Mikuni and it’s even better.

Gone are the days where most Commandos are thrashed by young bucks, with the needle in the red. Most today enjoy the smooth low end torque and seldom see 5k rpm.

IF that’s you… then you’d be simply wasting your money.

But… there are still some out there who get their kicks above 5k. Keeping a Commando on song in the 5-7k range is a real rush. And you can do it with FAR more confidence than on any other sporty Brit parallel twin.

IF that’s you, then you’re blessed with suppliers of fabulous hot rod parts that could only have been dreamed of in the 70s.

On my 850 I went with the JS#1 cam, JS rods & pistons, FCRs and a Comnoz ported RH10 head. It’s a beautiful set up, smooth, revvy, fast, reliable.

But I replaced it with a more highly tuned 920 motor.

And in the Seeley I built a 1007 motor, all 3 motors have JS rods & pistons but the bigger motors have Maney race cams in ‘em.

The other fun part that has not been mentioned is: the fun in building something like this and the subsequent satisfaction in using it.

BUT… as others have said, you will never see any of the money spent on such stuff back. It is an expense pure and simple… NOT an investment.

You pays your money and …
 
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TTI 5 speed is a good money spinner as well. That part i have done. Excellent gearbox. My original box needed a lot of money spent, so i scrapped it. Both my velos have 5 speeds. Going back to 4 speeds would be a big disappointment. Like driving a car with 3 on the tree. Graham
 

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