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Home Motorcycle Home Triumph Home Export Home Norton Info Home Contact Us! Special Parts Updated 04/03/24 Norton Projects Blog Updated 08/31/24 850 Commando Recommission Updated 08/21/24 Customer Combat Partial Rebuild July 24 Updated 09/15/24 Customer Combat Build Oct 23 Shipped 7/13/24 1975 Norton Wiring Pickup 06/07/24 Combat 5 Updated 06/04/24 Roadster 850 Updated 04/03/24 Blue 69S Delivered 05/17/24 High Mileage 850 Delivered 03/26/24 Mk3 Engine & Gearbox Delivered 03/07/23 1973 Customer BasketCase Build Delivered 07/15/22 1974 Norton 850 Commando Rebuild Sold 01/12/21 Updated 06/10/21 Customer Combat Delivered 09/07/20 1974 Norton Wiring Completed 07/27/20 1972 Norton 750 Commando Rebuild Completed 05/15/19 First Place Norton 05/16/19 Sold 01/01/20 1972 Norton Wiring Completed 07/19/18 Customer Combat and 69S Builds Closed 10/18/23		Monday, September 16, 2024
	July 21, 2024 I generally maintain a more or less daily log on each major project I do. I thought I would put all the smaller project in one "blog". It turns out that the Black Interstate Combat that I thought would take about two weeks has become a big project so this page is for that bike, so... Started on the Black Interstate today. The owner's request: I bought this bike as a re-commission. Fresh engine with re-built front end new main wiring harness, Mikuni vm34 jetted for combat from Map Cycle. Unfortunately, the bike not only came with a 40-year-old Boyer ignition but also all the original electrical components. The bike has become progressively harder to start and no ignition warning light, even after I changed the indicator bulb and new battery. I also believe there might be trouble with the choke circuit and or float height. As it goes I have reached an impasse and would like to seek your professional help. I would like to see the old Boyer go away as well as replacing the Zener diode and rectifier or whatever you suggest. Since the wiring appeared to be messy and I will be installing a Tri-Spark ignition and Tri-Spark MOSFET regulator, I decided to take care of the wiring first. Of course I ran into a weird problem right away! I could not get the tank off! After a long struggle I figured out why. The timing side front tank mount stud is installed about one inch to the right of where it is supposed to be and is tight against the outside of the hole in the mounting ear. The customer Purple Interstate I have in the shop definitely has an original metal tank, and this metal tank does not match - most likely made in India. I finally had to carefully pry it off. Right away I could see one of the owner's issues. The charge light doesn't work because the red wire and the white/brown wires to the assimilator we cut and the wire from the stator was not connected. I'll talk to the owner. I normally remove the silly assimilator and use the red headlight warning light for an oil pressure switch. Also, he was told that he had a new main wiring harness - not true - it's a mess! The old Boyer and old charging equipment have been removed and I'm working on eliminating the excess wires. I also noticed that the bike has the old-style head steady that cracks. It also two frame grounds and no direct engine ground. That may have been a part of his starting/running problems. July 24, 2024 I spoke with the owner today. I will eliminate the assimilator, install an oil pressure switch, and most likely replace the wiring harness. I will also attempt to install the cNw reed valve for 1972/73 750s. I would rather not have to remove the primary and gearbox to get access. Matt (cNw) says it can be done with everything installed. I've installed plenty of them but with the engine on the bench. Also, I will eliminate the check valve in the oil feed line. I explained how to manage wet sump'ing and he should have no problem. If later he decides it's a PITA, he can send the timing over to AMR for their mod. He verified that the tank is made in India. I have a couple of ideas how to mount the tank so it's better. Eventually, he would like to switch it to a Roadster. July 28, 2024 I'm wiring the 850 Recommission and while I'm at it, I'm cutting all the wires for the Black Interstate. The main wires are all cut and I'm waiting for some to be answered on that bike so I worked on this one. See the pictures. I needed the taillight fairing off so I could get the old harness out. While working on that I noticed that the rear fender was way out of line. When I got the fairing off it was clear why. The red circle shows the missing mounting bolt. The mean that the fiberglass fairing was all that was holding the rear of the fender up. Then I could see why it was out of line. The luggage rack does not let it come as high as it should (arrows) and forces it away to the right. The oval show the gorilla work to get it all together! The second picture shows where the fiberglass is broken. There are also cracks that are not visible in the picture. Depending on the exchange rate those fairings cost between $90 and $110 delivered! I will try to fix this one. The picture also shows on of the luggage rack brackets pushing on the fender. I'm going to remove the luggage rack, put the rear end together properly and then fit the luggage rack The third picture is actually funny. Rather than the horn being in the proper position (I'm fine with that), an after marked horn was installed as shown. It's plastic and won;t last long stuck in the rear shock. I generally used very small horns that are much louder and cost almost nothing. Depending on how much I take apart to fix the rusty battery box and to get the fender properly installed I may put the small horn in the normal place. they also can go approximately where that one is and not look obtrusive. July 30. 2024 I'm continuing to wire the Black Interstate and the 850 I'm recommissioning. Both are getting Tri-Spark regulators and Ignitions. On my last build I worked out a good way to mount the regulator and I made two mounts today. The standard middle rear fender mount is the basis. The single bolt that secures the fender is brazed to the bracket and then two additional holes are drilled. Then I powder coat it. The bracket on the right is ready for the regulator to be installed and the one on the left has it installed. What looks like a bad spot in the powder coat is just a spear from dirty hands. August 6, 2024 See today's update here to see what's holding up progress on these bikes. I really expected that bike to be gone a while ago! August 17, 2024 I started the 850 Recommission today and that went fine except it wore me out. After a rest, I got a second wind and cleaned up/moved things around so I can fly the Interstate Combat - hopefully tomorrow. Once on the table I intend to work on the Mikuni first in case I need to order something for it - I don't have any Mikuni parts in stock. The last Combat I sold had a Mikuni that I got from cNw. It was surprising, but when I started that bike, NO changes were needed to the carb - even the idle was good! So, I wrote cNw to find out how it was jetted and adjusted and Matt sent me his setup sheet for a sea-level Mikuni on a Combat. So, I intend to set it up just like that - no point in experimenting! Of course, if there are problems I'll figure them out, but I don't expect any. August 18, 2024 I made progress today Black Interstate Combat! The first picture shows the luggage racks. It's mostly there so I know how to put it back together after I sort out the rear fender mess. The rear fender is from an 850 (different taillight) when has been modified (poorly) for a 72 taillight. the red oval show and improperly installed, rusty mess of a fender rear support bracket - I'll fix it. All bikes I work on must fly! The second picture on the left shows takeoff, and on the right, landing. It is comfortably on the table now. The third picture show several concerns: Red Arrow: Terrible oil return line routing, incorrect hose type, and being damaged by the routing - the entire line must be replaced. You can't see it, bur the feed line is way too long and partly kinked. Yellow Arrow: Engine destroyer check valve. I will not start an engine with one of those installed. I've rebuilt two engine destroyed by them. Green Arrow: PCV - people install them rather than a reed valve - pretty much a waste of time., I'll install a proper reed valve. cNw swears it can be done with the gearbox inplace.I have my doubts with my big/arthritic hands, so I may have to remove the gearbox. Also, the hose routing is a mess. Orange Arrow: Terrible clutch cable routing. Took the carb apart to see how it is jetted and the condition: Main Jet: 230; cNw says 240 Slide:2.5; cNw agrees Needle: 6dH3, circlip in the center slot; cNw agrees Needle Jet: 159 P0; cNw says 159-08 - this is most likely a big part of the performance issue. Pilot Jet: 35 - it was completely blocked alone with the rest of the pilot circuit; cNw says 40 Air Jet: Forgot to check; cNw says 2.0 Enhancer (choke): In good condition The carb had some sort of grit in it - need to carefully check the air filter. It also had some aquamarine color substance in it - I have no idea what that is! There is something weird with the carb cable - I had to screw the carb off the top - I could not unscrew the top due to the cable - I'll have to figure that out. It's a shame that it's a brand new carb and the jetting is not good - especially the needle jet. I'm looking for the carb parts... The other thing that bothers me is that the frame paint job it terrible even for a rider-class bike. I'm trying hard to ignore it - my job is to get the bike running correctly and to be as reliable as a 52 year old motorcycle can be - it's starting to look like a lot of work just to accomplish that! August 19, 2024 Today was going great. I was getting things apart to get the oil tank and battery box out. Lots of stainless steel fasteners, no anti-seize so all fighting me. Had to use my electric impact on some of them. Got the timing side apart and start to the other side, feet tangled in cord, down I went. Lots of clear shape - should have been fine. However, I was lazy and didn't fold up the engine hoist and put it away. Fell full for on the corner of the steel leg with the back of my shoulder joint. Cannot lift my right arm, hurts too much to let it dangle. Tried to keep working but gave up. My goal each year is no ER. I'll get cleaned up and once there's time for the illegals to clear out, I'll head there. At least I was able to pickup my right arm and lay it on the table with my left arm so I could write this. Hopefully, nothing is broken and no ligaments, tendons, or muscles are torn, but I'll be shocked if not. Anyway, will be OK one way or the other - no other damage. Just got home from the ER after five hours. Nothing broken or out of place so hopefully just muscles which I can rehab myself. I may take a day or two off - I can lift my arm with the other one but cannot lift it by itself - much like a rotator cuff tear but I'm pretty sure that didn't happen. I was concerned that I broke my shoulder blade. August 20, 2024 No work today. My cleaning ladies were here today and one of them was a licensed PT in the PI and is working on getting licensed in VA. No cleaning for her today! All three of them "mother" me and she iced my shoulder for a while and then worked on loosening it. It has helped some, especially since my neck tightened up over night. There are certain motions my arm will not do on it's own, but my arm can hang straight down now without pain - that's very helpful. I'm 99% sure my bicep tendon is re-damaged, my triceps tendon is newly damaged and probably one more rotator cuff tear. However, I can now rest my elbow on the table and scratch my nose without a lot of pain - could not do that at all last night so the bicep damage is nothing like a few years ago. I'm having a bit of trouble getting genuine Mikuni jets. Thought I has it all figured out a MapCycle.com but as I tried to go to checkout, the page closed and the cart was empty - annoying - I had just spent a LONG time putting the five parts in the cart! I could go out and do some light work, but I'm not going to until I can put the engine hoist away. I have to partly pick it up to pull the pins to fold the legs (poor manufacturing). It's heavy steel and all I can do to get it done with both arms. I have flat jacks - I'll probably use them instead of just lifting. Had I taken the time to put it away when I should have, I would have no problem now :-( August 21, 2024 My arm is working a little and doesn't hurt too much if I keep it below my chest. I figured out how to put away the engine hoist without my right arm doing much, so I was able do a few things today. I mentioned before that the hoses were run wrong and might not be the correct material. The feed line was a fuel line - really bad idea for hot oil. The original herringbone return line being run wrong is now damaged so has to be replace - it's a shame - those original lines last basically forever and are no longer available. Both will be replaced with transmission oil cooler hose which is very safe for the purpose. I noticed that the oil tank, besides being ugly was weeping at the bottom and at each hose connection. None of the hose clamps were more than finger tight and the bottom of the tank has already been fixed once and is weeping. I generally send oil tanks to cNw for their service. The take them to bare metal inside and out, seal off the chain oiler, cut off the bottom mount and weld a plate over the bottom so it cannot crack, and powder coat them. I happen to have one already done because I send them in batches so I'll use that one on this time. It's a $170 service but the potential wreck caused by the bottom of the tank spilling oil all over the rear wheel at speed and the potential engine destruction in the process makes it an important and worthwhile upgrade. I was shocked at the amount of sludge in the bottom of the oil tank. Nortons always have some but the oil wouldn't even drain through it - I had to keep sticking a screwdriver in the drain hole to get it to flow. On top of that it stunk - sort of like gear oil but much stronger. The battery carrier is a mess and I need to provide a way to keep the battery in place - both are much easier to do with it out. With the battery tray and oil tank out, I could see even more problems. The gearbox quadrant spindle and selector spindle are both leaking. to fix those and to not fight the breather, I'll take the gearbox out and replace those seals, clean it all up, and replace the breather. Of course, the entire primary must come apart, but that's not really a big deal and it will be nice to be sure it's all good. Many bikes I work on have most fasteners way over tightened. This one is the opposite. All the head steady bolts and nuts were barely more than finger tight so it was doing nothing to speak of. I also noticed that the rear ISO appears to be the original non-vernier type. If that's the case with this much taken apart it's time to fix that - I haven't checked it carefully yet but the rubber boots are certainly not on correctly for a vernier version. So, all that said, sometimes you have to make a mess to clean up a bigger mess! August 23, 2024 Well, all I could think of for a while was the old saying: "Greasy, Grimy, Gopher, Guts!". The battery carrier had about 3/16" of road grime on the bottom and supports. You cannot blast grease and grime - the media just sticks. Scraped, cleaned with WD40, cleaned with denatured alcohol, washed in hot water and soap and finally got it clean enough to blast. Then, how do you blast one armed? I figured out that I could put my right arm in the hole using my left hand and once it was in the resting it could work without problem. I blasted the battery carrier, rear fender loop, head steady spacers, and head steady. The battery carrier has so many nooks and crannied that it will have to be washed a couple more times in hot soapy water and then blasted again. It is coming out nice however. Since not much oil came out of the tank, I was curious and removed the engine drain. Even though it had the dangerous feed line check valve, it certainly wasn't working - the sump filled a 36 ounce coffee can to the brim! Since I decided I have to take the gearbox out, I started on the primary. Finally, something was tight - WAY too tight. The outer cover nut was extremely tight - I'm hoping that the cover is not ruined. There was absolutely no gap between the inner and outer covers and the slot was filled with gray sealer before the cover was put on - both of those things ensure leaks! The primary was a testament to how to not do things: The primary chain is supposed to be adjusted for a 3/8" total up and down movement. I measured it at 1-3/4". The chain has been slapping in the inside top of the inner primary! Disassembled the clutch. The center nut used the 850-style tab washer - good thing, I unscrewed it with my fingers! The rotor nut was on so tight that I could not get it off with my longest breaker bar so I used my electric impact. Besides holding the rotor on, it forces the front sprocket onto the taper and usually the sprocket is very difficult to get off as it should be - wait for it!. The stator nuts were barely tightened. The rotor came off very easily and the rotor spacer was installed correctly. However there were spacers between the rotor spacer and sprocket. These caused the rotor spacer to have no pressure against the taper and for the first time ever, the sprocket just slid off. That was an total engine destruction waiting to happen! The three screws that hold the inner primary to the engine had no sealer so the wet sump was draining into the primary. The crankshaft seal is weird. It's either in backwards or a all rubber seal - I was to tired to look at it further and I had already overdone it with my arm. Other than taking the rear wheel off so I can replace the hoses and taking the gearbox out, I think the taking apart is done. August 24, 2024 Lots more wrong today and only got in about five hours before my arm/shoulder started hurting too much, Today's progress/discoveries: Took the inner primary off. the three mounting screws and the crank seal are were all leaking badly. Will have to change the crank seal - it is not the correct seal and not installed all the way so it was cut by the key. Took the rear wheel off. Lots of watery grease on the axle, seals in wrong, cush drive rubbers worn out, heavy grime, so far, can't get the backing plate separated from the hub and the bearing seals are installed wrong in the drum. Noticed that the swingarm is leaking - at least needs new o-rings. Jacked the bike up so I can take the gearbox out but noticed that although the center stand is new, it has the old style pivots and the cradle is wallowed out - will have to remove the cradle to fix that so will now take the swingarm off - hopefully the spindle and bushings are good. Took the oil filter housing off so I can change and properly route the hoses. The "in" hose simply fell off! The "out" hose easily slipped off without unscrewing the clamp - yet another disaster that was waiting to happen! I let the owner know that this is going to take much more time than originally expected! August 25, 2025 Another long, filthy, one-arm day! Too tired for all the details so I'll cut to the chase. Until today, there wasn't going to be a lot of parts expense. Well, that has changed. I thought the swingarm was leaking based on the tracks leading down from the caps. Actually, the leaking stopped LONG ago! The first picture shows what I saw when I removed the cap. Grease! OK, let's pull the spindle and see what damage was done - nope! OK let's try a slide hammer - nope! OK, rig a puller - it will either come out or the cradle and swingarm will be thrown away. It finally pulled out. At first glance, not terrible, but then put on glasses - worst worn spindle I've ever seen. Generally, the bushings are so much softer than the spindle that the spindle does not wear if all is installed right and 140 oil is used as designed. The OD of this spindle is .007” smaller than the non-worn part! It's junk, the bushings are junk, and wait for it… The swingarm will be OK, I think. So, then I checked over the cradle. The spindle is quite loose, the ISO is an original, rusty, worn-out mess, the center stand holes are very worn out - the cradle is toast! Fortunately, I collect cradles so I should have a good used one. New cradles are over $300! It was a real balancing act to get the gearbox and then cradle out one-armed but I got it done. Then I sat there cleaning things for quite a while - I'm tired of filthy hands! August 26, 2024 After cleaning on the frame for what seems like forever, I thought I would cleanup the rear brake. Notice the two screw in the oval. They have been rubbing on the inside of the brake drum. At first I had no idea how. There was a missing thin spacer but that should not have cause this. Also, notice how oily/dirty it is. There should be NO grease and grime there! After loosening the tab washer, the screws came out with fingers only. Then I proceeded to disassemble the entire brake plate with no tools! The result? See the video. Long story short, the brake back plate is trash - it's a shame because it's powder coated so not original and was probably new recently. Also, the shoes appear new but they are soaked with oil. I'll sand them and see if there's good material under the surface but I don;t hold out a lot of hope. The only steps forward today was that I installed the reed valve breather and I identified three cradle candidates. On is from a 750 and needs cleaning/blasting/painting. I prefer to use the later center stand pivots and if I use the first one would have to ream out the holes. The next is an 850 version but I would have to build up the area where the center stand rests when down - not a bid deal. It also needs to be blasted and painted. The last one is excellent except that I think it is powder coated and not well done. Getting powder coat off is VERY difficult. I will try that one first - if the finish comes off then I'll use it. Although I could powder coat them, I never do - I don't like powder coat for cradles because the mounting bolts can loosen. August 27, 2024 Doctor and PT today so not a lot done. Did decide on the cradle. The powder coated one has all good holes so I chose that. After cleaning, I blasted for a long time, I cannot get all the power coat off, but I did get it removed from the mounting areas and I roughed the entire surface. I will go over a few chipped spots with sandpaper to feather those areas. Then I will paint it - it will look and function great. I probably won't update this for a couple of days. I have a couple of small projects to knock out between getting the cradle ready. Since the gearbox seal is bad and I have worries about the sleeve gear bushing, I will disassemble the gearbox and when I install the cradle, I'll install the gearbox housing at the same time - much easier for a one-armed man that way! August 29, 2024 Didn't accomplish much today. Had the podiatrist this morning and cardiologist this afternoon and have been fighting with over hydration all day. I had a steroid shot in my foot this morning and it has not kicked in yet - when to does, I'll be much better able to get things done. I did find two rear brake backing plates on eBay and made offers on both. I made an offer on a NOS one yesterday, but they countered too high. Hopefully one of the ones today will take the offer and it will actually be usable. It will need to be blasted and powder coated but that's no big deal. My offer on each amounted to $50/delivered. I won't go over $60 delivered since it is very hard to tell the condition. August 30, 2024 the seller of one backing plate responded with a counter-offer - silly as I wrote a note with the offer that it was final. The other seller accepted the offer and the backing plate should be here Tuesday. More sanding and blasting on the cradle and then masked it for painting. I convert my powder coat cabinet back and forth for painting. Got it setup for painting but the humidity was too hi even though my shop has AC. Should be fine to paint tomorrow. August 31, 2024 Painted the cradle. That went fine but I did skip a step! I forgot to make sure my suction was working. The vacuum was running but it kept seeming like there was a lot of paint in the air. Fortunately, unlike usual, I was wearing a mask. The air filter in the picture is basically clogged. Didn;t hurt the painting, but I was covered in paint! Anyway, when using the paint shown, all coats mush be applied within on hour and then it cannot be re-coated for two days. I'm hoping when I inspect tomorrow, I'm happy with the job or I'll have to lightly sand and try again Monday evening. Generally I get it in one try but normally I start from bare metal. From what I can tell right now, it looks good. Between coats, I restored the speedo drive. It looked a mess and was dripping worn out grease. There is not reasonable way to take them completely apart. I did take the cap, felt and thrust washer out, cleaned as best I could, packed with new grease which pushed out most of the old grease, and reassembled. Then I cleaned it thoroughly on the outside, sanded the paint smooth, and repainted. It looks good now. An interesting thing is that it was installed without the "top hat" so I have no idea how it wasn't destroyed, but it does look OK. Then I tackled the greasy, grimey, gofer guts swingarm. I mentioned before that it was powder coated. That's usually fine. In this case, there are issues. The rear brake cable was improperly routed and a large area is worn through the powder coat and even into the metal. It will be structurally fine but I'll need to figure out how to fix that area. More importantly, it was not masked before coating. The inner surfaces of the pivot area cannot have powder on them and not only do they but it's not even smooth. Apparently whoever had the swingarm powder coated knew there would be problem because instead of the proper o-rings, it had some sort of flat rings and RTV. No way that will work on a pivot. I have to get that coating off and get the metal flat without removing more than a couple thousandths of metal. There were some large areas of the frame tubes near the bottom that were bare metal once I got the road grime off. I spot sprayed them with the rest of the can I used for the cradle. Not trying to fix the terrible frame paint, just prevent rust in those areas. My right arm is working somewhat now. Still can't move it in certain directions but at least I can old things while working on them with my left. September 1, 2024 Got quite a bit done today. The first picture shows the finished product of the cradle. It came out very nice! The second picture shows the bad place in the swingarm after a long time in the kitchen sink getting the last of the grease and grime off it.. There are lots of scuffs but only this one is to the metal. The third picture shows my fix. It's a long way from perfect but the area is hidden behind the z-plate and this will at least stop rust. The first gearbox picture just shows some of the grease and grime. I mentioned that I was suspicious of the sleeve gear seal and bearing. The seal is completely wrong, and you can see that the spring is destroyed. On top of that, both the drive and timing side mainshaft bearings are rough. They are not terrible but must be changed none-the-less. Also, the drive-side sleeve gear bearing is a slip fit in the shell and it should be a heat install so I'll have to install the new bearing with bearing set. The layshaft bearing has been changed to a roller bearing, and it is good. The third gearbox picture shows the case cleaned up. It still needs more cleaning on the inside but I'm being careful of the roller bearing. I may remove it if I can't get the case clean enough with it installed. More on the gearbox: The timing side mainshaft nut was overly tight. I normally can easily remove them with a 18" breaker bar. I was having to hold the gearbox with my bad arm and pull with my good. My chain tool holding the shaft from turning slipped, I instinctively tightened my grip and hurt my should more :-( If this were a bike I was building to sell, the mainshaft, sleeve gear, and possibly clutch center would all have to be changed. Because the sprocket nut was not tight, the sleeve gear splines have wear. Because the clutch center nut was not tight, the mainshaft splines have wear. Once assembled correctly, they should be OK and they are not dangerous, so I'm probably not going to change them - I'll look at it more when assembling. September 2, 2024 There's a thing on social media called "Expectation verses Reality". Today's, expectation: The cradle installed with the new rear vernier isolastic and the gearbox shell,and with gearbox inner cover ready to go on. Reality: Started on inner gearbox cover. The cover was ugly and had a lot of gasket sealer. After working on that for a long time, I decide the time was not worth it and since the shell had the same problem, removed all the and dowels and blasted them clean and then peened. Of course that meant a lot of kitchen sink time as well. Noticed that the kickstart shaft had a lot of play. Turned out that the steel bushing was worn - fortunately I had a good used one in a parts collection I bought. Checked both sides of the inner cover and the shell for flatness on my surface plate. Also, neither surface was flat - they were not bad but making them flat prevents leaks, and it only takes a few minutes per side - not really trying to remove metal, just get rid of high spots. With the inner cover ready, I went to work on the shell. The first thing I noticed was that the layshaft bearing was not fully seated. That explains why it was put together without shims - no layshaft end play. Since the bearing had to come out, I had to remove the shift quadrant and pawl. The first picture shows what was behind them. BTW, the shell still stunk and this was the last of the stink. To get bearings out, you heat to about 212F and slam on a piece of wood. Normally quite easy. Had to get over 300F and slam a LOT. The bearing was Locktite'ed in for some unknown reason and not with proper bearing mount! Masked the studs and blasted the shell clean again with a lot of kitchen sink time.. It turns out that the bad sleeve bearing was undersized on the OD and over sized on the ID. So, the new bearing did not to have bearing mount applied. The sleeve gear was slightly too big to fit the bearings (very common), so about 30 minutes of 220 paper and it was a very snug slip fit as it should be. Removed the studs and dowels and flattened the surface. The nuts that hold the inner cover to the shell were over-tightened at some point in the past so there was a ridge around each which was removed in the flattening process. The bearings are in as are the dowels and the crap is all cleaned from the studs. The second picture shows the bearings installed and the inside of the cleaned shell. The third picture shows another issue.The inner cover was very difficult to get off and now I see why. The hole for that dowel was drilled wrong at the factory. I'll find a way to correct that. So, reality fell quite short of expectation. But, at least all the bad grime is gone. All the gearbox components are covered with black stink. It comes off easily with WD40 and effort and I'll do that as I assemble the gearbox. So, I hope tomorrow's reality at least matches today's expectation! September 3, 2024 Reality fail, part two! Today was the first work day of the month for normal people and of course my biggest IT customer had lots of issues. Got that all resolved at 2:30 PM and then had to go to my business office to pickup may latest Amal order. Without thinking went to open the door with my right arm and hurt it again. By the time I got back and got my arm calmed down, it was 5:30 PM. First, I wanted to install the seal for the sleeve gear bearing - that went fine, and the first picture show it properly installed as well as the spacer that it runs against. Then I wanted to fix the dowel problem before doing anything else to the gearbox. My plan was to put it together, verify if the hole was in the right place or not and if so, straighten the hole in the shell, put the dowel in with bearing mount, bolt the inner cover on and it sit overnight. First, I removed the dowel and put all the studs back in except the one beside the dowel. Then I put the inner cover on and tightened it down with two nuts. The dowel hole goes through the inner cover into the shell and was probably drilled that way at the factory. I took a drill bit the right size and slid it in - I was shocked, it slid in just fine and when to the bottom of the hole in the shell! So, either both were crooked or something else was wrong. That's when I looked at the dowel - the second picture shows it - very bent! So, nothing to fix, just replace the dowel. This kind of thing is why I look before I leap! Next, I planned to install the cam plate and quadrant as there is very little room to do it with the gearbox in the cradle. Like everything else in the gearbox, they were covered with black grime. The cam plate cleaned up fine. The quadrant did too but I noticed wear lines inside where the “knuckle pin roller” rides. So, I tried them together and they were a little rough. At first, I figured just polish them, but I noticed a lot of play between the two. So, off to my used gearbox parts and grab a different pair. They are perfect. I've never seen wear there before! At a glance the bad one looks fine (bottom in second picture) and it probably would work, but for how long? September 4, 2024 Reality (3rd try): See the picture! It only took eight hours to finish what I thought I would finish two days ago! Today's good and bad: Good: Put the cam plate and quadrant in the shell, that went fine. Good: Put the new dowel and test fit the inner cover – perfect. While I was at it I sync'ed the camp plate and quadrant. Bad: I'm gun shy now so I not only felt the gear selector plunger but took it apart to clean expecting to find nothing to do! Nope! I still haven't figured it out for sure, but it was full of copper. I think it was copper anti-seize but it looked grainy. When I say "full", I mean packed! Took quite a while to get it all out but at least it works fine now. Good: Installed the rear iso – I never have any trouble doing that. Bad/Good: Now for the impossible. There is absolutely no way I can install a center stand by myself with a built bike even when I have two good arms. I needed to install it on the cradle as at least I can do that normally with two arms. I tried my normal ways for about 2 hours and finally decided it was not possible with my bad arm. So, I studied a while and figured out how to use a ratchet strap to get the spring on after about six failed attempts. All while being sure to not scratch the cradle. Good: The gearbox shell and adjuster went in the cradle with no trouble. Bad/Good: OK, again trying to work with one good arm, it was time to put the cradle in the bike. That took a lot of tries, again being careful to not scratch the cradle. It is in except for the bottom bolt. Stupid Norton uses a bolt that and it's not possible to get the head past the frame without a lot of work. A 4-3/4" stud is the right answer and I have some – where did I put them – don't ask me! Good: The jack is still under the bike but it is standing on the center stand which now works perfectly. I'm very happy to finally be building and not having black hands continuously! September 5, 2024 Today is not a good/bad day, it's a good/terrible day! First chased down better bolts for the cradle to engine as the mismatch that was there were all too short. So, that's all done - a PITA but not hard. Then came the swingarm. I mentioned before that is wasn't masked before power coating. It took a bunch of filing and test fitting to be sure the inner surfaces would be flat to the cradle when installed. Again, a long, slow PITA, but that came out fine. Then there was the issue of the of the inside where the bushings go - the old ones had been pressed into a galled ID. That too took a bunch of work to get it right. At least when done, it all when together fine. The end caps are so pitted on the inside that they won't hold oil and I'm out of them - but I do have some coming. I have to look, I may have a good used one for the drive side and since it can't be seen when the primary is on as long as the inside surface is good it will be fine. OK, now the terrible. I started working on the gearbox and the next step is to install the sprocket and get it locked down as that locks the sleeve gear in place. That always takes a few tries to find a place on the splines where the nut keeper's screw will align with the sprocket. Once that was done, as usual, I gave it a wiggle test expecting no wiggle - lot of wiggle! At first I though it must be the sleeve gear since I've already mentions concern about it. So, I tried a new one - same wiggle! So then I went to the other side and looked in the gearbox and wiggled - the bearing is solid in the case. So I took the sleeve gear out and wiggled the inner race - the new bearing is no good! Remember, do to my arm condition I put the bearings in the shell, the shell in the cradle, and the cradle in the bike. I will try to replace the bearing in situ, but I might have to take it back apart. so today's expectation was a completed gearbox and today's reality... The used rear brake I bought on eBay arrived today and at first glance it looks fine. It will need to be blasted and powder coated butt I expected that. September 6, 2024 I got the bad bearing out and took a new one from a gearbox I was building for another project before I got busy on the current batch of customer bikes. It's installed but that's all I could do today - arm/shoulder hurting too bad. Forgot to mention: When I bought out Old Britts, I bought their AN stock and their Mikuni stock. I bought the Mikuni stock for a guy who uses them a lot and sent it all to him. the other day i remembered that and asked if he had the juts I need for this bike. He did and they arrived today - pennies on the dollar. So, if I ever get back to the carb - I'm set! September 7, 2024 Weird Day! First, for most of my adult life I've slept four to five hours/night. In my old age I still do that but I usually go to be between 1am and 2am, get up two-three times for the bathroom and when I see that it is getting light outside, I stay up. Yesterday I was very tired and went to bed just after midnight. Still got up two-three times, but channeled my inner teenager and stay in bed until 10:30am! So by the time I got up, had breakfast and did some business paperwork the phone calls started – mostly people wanting help with their bikes or wanting parts. Then, around 3pm, the mail came and it included my latest AN order. So I worked on that until about 5pm. OK, finally to the bike. It was cool and dry outside so the big door stayed open for the first time since spring. Then I felt a change in the universe! I thoroughly tested the sleeve gear, bearing, and mainshaft. No wobble so the new bearing is good. The sleeve gear splines have some wear as do the main shaft but they run together great, so I decided to use them. Then the miracle happened! I pushed in the sleeve gear, put in the spacer, slid on the sprocket, tightened the nut fully, slipped on the nut retainer and for the first time in history, the screw lined up perfectly! OK! Clean up and inspect all the gears, bushings, mainshaft and the layshaft. Took a long time to get the black stinky off them but the gears were all very good except the mainshaft first gear. It was not terrible, but the teeth had funny wear. Double checked the layshaft first gear and it was clearly new. Put all the internals in including shimming the layshaft and test fit the inner cover. Two shims made the layshaft a little tighter than I like so I took the cover back off and removed one shim. Then put the cover back on and torqued it. Very nice end play of the kickstart (layshaft end float). Next went to install the timing side mainshaft nut and it was been mangled so found a good used replacement and torqued that into place. Started to just put the outer cover on but was suspicious of the flatness. So, removed the internals and sure enough it needed to be flattened. That done and it apart, my inner self said" "surely you won't put that on without buffing it". After a short argument, I was standing at the buffer. The cover is covered with dings that I don't even think I could sand out, but I did make it look a lot better. By then, I was out of steam, so it will go back together and get installed tomorrow. While I'm at it I will replace the seals even though the owner already did that - they come in the gasket set and I might as well. September 8, 2024 Had a bunch of IT and other issues to resolve and didn't get started on this until about 4pm. Got the gearbox fully assembled and tested - that went fine. As usual getting the clutch mechanism properly aligned was a PITA, and a real PITA one-armed but I got it perfect in the end. Here's the nonsense for today. The oil level screw was "safety wired". Well, not really. It has two small holds drilled through it and had a piece of safety wire through them - the only thing that did was keep you from putting a wrench on it! It was not locked to anything! So, I removed the wire and used the screw. In truth I don't check the level using that screw. The gear oil is slow to move though the gearbox when filling and it can seem like it is full when it is about half full! When I replace the oil, drain it and leave it for a while to get most of the oil out. I take the inspection cap off, pour in 13oz of gear oil and wait for it to settle. The gearbox holds 14 oz, but getting that last oz out is hard so I check if after it settles - if it needs a little more to get to the oil level screw (looking inside), I add it. It is filled with Valvoline 85W90 conventional gear oil. Then I installed the end caps on the swingarm. I thought I would have at least the drive side used but I didn't have either.With them on I started the process of filling with oil. The oil moves through the spindle and tiny holes to the bushing slowly, So, I kept adding more - I want it brim full. I will re-recheck tomorrow and add more if needed - probably will be as the bushings are "oilite" and will suck in as much oil as they can hold. Norton calls for 140 but I haven't been able to find that for a long time so I use Valvoline 85W140 and it seems to work well. September 9, 2024 Finished topping up the swingarm and locked it down. Assuming it doesn't leak, it should not need any service for many years. The I started on the used read brake plate I bought. The good news is that is perfect except for the paint and original - anodized on the inside and painted on the outside. The weird part is that it surely had the original paint but at one point I thought there was something wrong with my sand blasted as it was taking forever to get the paint off. Normally original paint comes off very easily. I expected 5-10 minutes. Took over an hour! I even stopped and tried a different original part - nothing wrong with my sand blaster. the outside is now powder coated and I've refreshed all the internal parts except the shoes. the ones that came with the bike look new but oil soaked. The ones that came with the brake plate look much better but are the original material so I'm torn whether to use on of the sets or neither of the sets. Once I have the brake plate ready for shoes, I'll try both sets on the pivots - which ever is good I'll see if the clean up. Once the brake plate is ready and I"ve cleaned an inspected the drum I'll have to make another choice. If the bearing in the brake drum is good, I'll re-assemble with new axle and nut the owner provided. If not I'll install a Don Pender one-piece rear axle and put the parts the owner provided in stock. Usually getting the bearing out is a nightmare and I can't see putting it back together with the nightmare there for the next time. The parts should be a wash. Once the rear wheel is ready, I'll re-blast the parts I pre-blasted and powder coat them. While they are baking I'll probably tackle the primary. The battery tray must be installed to install the rear fender so it will be the next to be coated. They are a little difficult with all the nooks and crannies and the overall size, so it will get done be itself. All the other parts are small so they can get coated and baked at the same time. One possible long pole in the tent is that I know I'm low on powder and I keep forgetting to order more - I'm going to do that now! September 10, 2024 See the pictures. The first one is after cleaning, blasting and re-plating the brake plate parts. The second shows the assembled brake plate from the side that shows. /the third shows the assembled brake plate from the inside. Everything is fully tightened and:Locktite'ed, It turned out that the pivot holes of the shoes that came with the bike were very worn and the set that came with the used plate I bought we OK but had very little more miles on them. So, I installed a new set. The last picture shows the drum with the "guts" removed and partly cleaned. The bearing is toast. Getting the "guts" out of a Norton rear hub is very difficult so it took a long time. The red arrow shows the groove cut by the pivot lock screws being loose and dragging on the drum. The groove is about 0.012" deep. Fortunately, the drum is still fully usable. So, it will get a new bearing and a Don Pender one-piece axle. Installing the rear wheel and eventually changing the drum bearing are much easier with the one-piece axle and that is especially true with new cush rubbers And, it is still possible to remove the wheel without removing the brake so there is no good reason to not upgrade. September 11, 2024 Continued amazement! At first, I could not get the new bearing in the brake drum during a test fit. The old one came out hard and I noticed a seal retainer came out with the bearing that was not supposed to be there! The test fit was failing because I could not get it beyond the lip around the circlip. Two fingers, 120 grit paper, and patience and that was resolved. OK, final cleanup, and sanded the brake surface. Then with all the grime gone I could see that the outside needed a new coat of paint, so I masked and did that. I started to check the fit of the circlip when I realized what had been done. First that seal retained in the wrong place meant that the bearing couldn't go all the way in and allow the circlip to fit. The damaged lip was probably from trying to hammer the circlip in. In the end, the idiot ground down the backside of the circlip to get it to fit! This also added to the brake plate being closer to the drum than it should have been making it even easier for the pivot bolts to rub the drum! Fortunately, I have a new one. OK, check the rear hub bearings, not terrible, not great but the grease was a black watery mess. New sealed bearings are less then $3 each - took it all apart and installed new bearings. The cush rubbers were mangled and rock hard so I installed new. Then in the final cleanup I noticed the hub cap making noise when polishing it - one screw missing, four loose. I stock them so replaced the missing one and tighten the rest. The rear wheel looks good now and could go on but it's easier to install the rear fender with the wheel off so I'll work on that next and the first step is making a battery hold down and then powder coating the battery tray. September 12, 2024 And so it continues... BSA Triples. Triumph Triples 73+ and 71+ Triumph Twins use a speedo drive with a 5/8" hole BSA A65S & A65T used a 11/16" hole speedo drive and Pre-MK3 Commandos use those drives with an adapter for their axle which is between 5/8" and 11/16". The Early Triumph Triples and some BSAs use a 3/4" hole. I mentioned before that the adapter ("top hat") was missing. I wish I had realized that it was the wrong drive. Not only did I restore it mechanically, I even re-painted it! It has a 5/8" hole - can't be used even though the previous owner stuck it on - good way to lockup the rear wheel while riding! I have a heavy box of old drives so I went through it. I only have one that will work for Commando left and it is chock full of crud. It won't turn but I scraped out all I could and tried to clean it. I left it full of WD40. If I can restore it without spending more than an hour, I will. Otherwise, I have new ones in stock and they are about $50 so it makes no sense to spend a long time restoring. I wanted to temporarily put the wheel on to get it out of the way. I ended up sticking it together with extra spacers so I could check it and then get it out of the way. I didn't get a lot else done due to two doctor's appointments and I finally took the time to do an R&D project I've been wanting to do. I generally surround the battery with self-sticking foam on the battery box, install a bracket to prevent the battery from sliding forward, and then use a Velcro trap to keep it down. The last bracket I made worked fine but I wanted something better and that would be adjustable for the slight differences in 9ah battery sizes. It looks like I have accomplished that and in the process made it usable for a 12ah battery as well. If at some point in the future an e-start is installed along with a smaller Lithium battery it should be relatively easy to accommodate that too. So, I didn't get the battery tray powder coated today as I planned. September 14, 2024 I got busy last night and forgot to update! All the powder coating except the head steady is done, The battery tray is done and installed. The Tri-Spark regulator is installed (it mounts on the middle bracket for the rear fender so that bracket needed to go in before the rear fender. The Z-Plates are cleaned up and installed as they are required for the battery box to be fully installed. I would have had the oil lines on but I had a rattlesnake situation, Whenever my stepson is here he can't find things in the tool chest and when I point to whatever he's looking for I tell him "You're lucky it's not a rattle snake!" When I took the oil lines off, I cleaned up the protectors and put them somewhere. I looked for two hours but for I woke up and got a pair out of stock - I won't charge for them - once I find the ones about to bite me, I'll use them on my next build as it's a basket case missing most of that sort of thing. I'm hoping to get the back end all together tomorrow as I still have the front end to do and I can't take that apart without the rear wheel on and the back of the bike strapped down. There's a very dim light at the end of the tunnel - I hope it is daylight and not a train coming! September 15, 2024 Do you believe in time warps? I worked too long yesterday and was overly tired when I went to bed. I slept longer than normal and when I woke up, I felt like I think a 90-year-old would feel - like I had time warped 16 years into the future! Finally at around 2pm, I was feeling better and got to work. I mentioned earlier that I was going to replace the oil tank with one I already had with the cNw update. I figured would get that installed along with the oil lines while installing the rear fender as they sometimes interfere with each other. Grabbed that tank off the shelf and realized that although it was beautiful, it was not a cNw modified tank - I have no idea where I got it. Not wanting to be stuck again, I realized that my poor rider that I never have time to finish refreshing had a freshly cNw modified tank. So, out it came! OK, time to fiddle. Since the horn was not located in the normal place and the horn bracket was not installed, I decided to leave that alone. Of course, that means that the two rear fender screws must be different. Getting a Norton rear fender to align at each location always takes trail and error, but this meant more. Got annoyed quickly with the dirty fender so went to work cleaning it up an trying to make it somewhat presentable. It is chrome on steel and had a bunch of rust spots and appearentely battery acid got on it sometime in the past. I got as much crud off as I could, got as much rust off as I could, buffed the parts that show a little, went at it with metal polish and a brass brush to get rid of as much rust as possible and then with chrome polish to hopefully keep it from rusting. It looks less terrible now. The fender is mounted but will need to be tweaked once the rear wheel goes on. You can see that the Tri-Spark regulator mounted as well as the battery is in-place. Still doing R&D. Ordered a couple of types of straps for the battery. The Velcro strap I usually use is fine, just looking for a better solution. To put the battery in, you put the left end in first and the rotate it into place and install the strap. It cannot move left-right (front/back) and is sitting on thick foam.

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