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Home Motorcycle Home Triumph Home Export Home Norton Info Home Special Parts Updated 04/03/24 Master Switch Bracket Updated 02/28/25 MKIII Rebuild Updated 10/04/25 Combat 5 Updated 10/04/25 Roadster 850 Updated 09/21/24 Customer Combat Partial Rebuild July 24 Delivered 03/22/25 850 Commando Recommission Delivered 09/20/24 Customer Combat Build Oct 23 Shipped 7/13/24 1975 Norton Wiring Delivered 06/07/24 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 First Place Norton 05/18/2025 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 1974 Norton Wiring Completed 07/27/20 Customer Combat and 69S Builds Closed 10/18/23		Monday, October 6, 2025
	September 10, 2025 This has been sitting a long time but is now a customer build. I've left the old content here and will pickup below. August 15, 2022 For anyone who was watching this - you're not crazy. This was to document another pre-sold Combat build. That has fallen through, so I've discarded the old content and am starting again. This bike is for sale - this may be the last Combat I build so if you want one, call me now. It can be any color Roadster you want but will be black if not pre-sold. Background: I bought three bikes and a bunch of parts from a guy who needed to sell out everything he had. The Yellow bike below was a half built 1972 Combat that was one of the three. The guy bought the bike in 2000 for someone in WA and never titled it to himself. When he sold it to me, the dummy filled in his info as the buyer info - that may it impossible for me to title it in VA. So, I sent the title back to him and asked that he get it titled and return it to me. Instead of doing that simple thing, he went to the MI Secretary of State rather than the MI DMV. MI contacted WA and there we sit months later. No title. To be able to build the bike for the person who wanted it, I bought another one with a good title the plan being to make him a bike and sell off the parts from the other since there is no point in building an untitled bike. The second picture is the engine from the titled bike. I had a helper a couple of weeks ago disassemble the engine and today I started the beatification process on the crankcases. March 11, 2023 Quick update. Several things have gotten in the way of this project. One is EngineGearbox. That's done now except that it was shipping back with my engine and gearbox stands. I'll be 73 tomorrow, I'm going to have my right hip replaced in early April, I can barely walk right now, and I got my first cold in 15 years :-(. My left hip was replaced long ago. Anyway, I still have my rider on one table and a Trident on the other. Both just need the wiring finished and they will be done. I have 23 projects left in my spreadsheet to do; but, I think it's time to wind down. I'm planning at this point to finish: My Norton 850 Rider Trident to sell Rebuild from Hell My original Triumph 500 The T100D I've been wanting to do for quite a while This Combat A titled, matching numbers 850 basket case My Trident Rider In that order unless someone steps up and pre-buys one of them. To do that you simply say so, no deposit, no money down, just a "Gentleman's Agreement". The rest of the bikes, engines, gearboxes will be sold as I get around to it. Bring a truck and let's make a deal. June 6, 2023 Still not back on this. Right now I'm working on a High-Mileage 850 and the Trident (#2 above) is still not done. Just needs the headlight wiring finish and a few more things. I have a potential buyer for the Trident, but no commitment yet My hip replacement April 6th went well until things fell apart on May 5th. I can barely walk now with a cane but the doctor says that everything is OK with the replacement - I guess walking is not important. It sure makes it hard to get things done! July 6, 2023 I'm finally able to walk pretty well. I'm stuck waiting for the cylinders to come back from being bored on the High-Mileage 850 and the Trident above is basically done. So, I'm doing some work on this now. I finished the first phase of beautifying the cases today. Also, I'm going to try to sell the yellow Combat in the first picture to someone outside the US either in its current condition or rebuilt. If I can't, then I'll part it out and use it to build this one. July 9, 2023 The cases are finished and ready to go back together. I need to inspect and service the crankshaft and I need to inspect the cam and bushings before I can put the bottom-end together. July 10, 2023 This is a new one! When the cases are ready I always to a final check that all screws and studs will screw in with fingers only and that every passageway is 100% open. That went fine for the drive size and all the threads were clear on the timing side. But then, I checked the oil passages - all fine except for the very last check - the oil return through the case to the oil pump. nothing would go through. Tried a pipe cleaner - no lock. Then I tried a pipe cleaner with brass bristles in it - still about an inch from making it from the bottom hole to where it turns the corner. Then I tried a long 1/8" drill bit and it would not push through! So, I removed the crankcase drill way plug and had a look. It was all clear to the oil pump hole. Then I started twisting the drill and was removing some sort of hard material. Once I got a hole through it, I use a long thin flat screwdriver to crack it all loose. Then I used a brass bottle brush to completely clean it out. So, back to the kitchen sink for another wash. All good now, butï¿½ It may be a while before I'm back on this. I guess is asking me to build him an engine and gearbox and that's quicker than building this bike. See: Engine and Gearbox for Export Rupt! (A system programmer term ï¿½ interrupt and do something else. Of course, I'm already in the middle of a rupt! And that job is a rupt itself!) November 7, 2023 It's been so long since I looked at this page that I forgot about it, but I was triggered today to look. The Red Combat has been sold but the new owner wants some upgrades and changes. Most importantly for this bike, he wants it to be changed to black. So, this bike will become the new red Combat and there is a potential buyer for it. I still have a bunch projects to finish before I can get back to this: When timing the High-Mileage 850 a new electrical problem (smoke) arise so this is still not done. The 850 Engine and Gearbox for Export to Australia is about 2/3 done. The engine is done, the gearbox except the outer cover is done. Still need to paint a cradle and install the primary. The Frames and Parts for Export to Norway are finished and shipped The Trident is done and sold but not gone. It's having a issue with dying with the clutch disengaged. On inspection it look like the clutch cable inner is too short and I didn't notice it when I installed the new cable. That's why we do shakedown rides! The 69S and the 1970 Bonneville are both for sale and in the way. The bike that was the Red Combat has been sold and I'm waiting for parts to update it to the customer's specification. It seems like I'll never have the time I need to finish re-wiring my rider. It's been on the bench 6-8 hours away from being finished for about three years! The yellow partial Combat is being parted out as I could never get a title. When all that's done,l I only have 23 more project on my list. Someone should start a pool on how many I will get done before I die! June 3, 2024 The High-Mileage 850 is long gone, the Blue 69S is delivered, the Red Combat turned black is finished and the title is transferred. Just waiting for the buyer to arrange pickup. finished wiring a MK3 - it's ready for pickup. The 1970 Bonneville is still for sale. All three export projects are done. Next, I'll finally finish the Trident. Then this will become the new Red Combat and while working on this I hope to finally finish my rider! September 10, 2025 Many projects have been finished and I'm working on more. Since I started my project spreadsheet, I've finish 44 projects, number 45 is the MK3 I'm building now, and this has been moved up in priority to number 46 and I only have 30 more defined project to finish (can't help myself, I keep adding more). The cases are ready for this bike. I need to inspect the cylinders and head. I think I already rebuild the gearbox, but I'll have to verify that. Here's the target for this bike, you can read about how this came to be here and especially here. This might get some upgrades like an improved front brake but that's for the customer to decided and there plenty of time to do that. September 17, 2025 I had a little help on Sunday so went through bins looking for the parts for this bike. Realized that I didn't have anymore crankshafts so I wrote to Jim Comstock who has had two of mine for about 3 years to do minor repairs. Turns out he did them recently but forgot to tell me. So those are on their way to me now. So, I'll be able to assemble the bottom end as soon as I make space. September 18, 2025 According to tracking, the crankshafts will be here tomorrow. September 19, 2025 While gathering everything to put the bottom end together I realized that I sold my last 2S camshaft and there are no Hepolite ones available right now - and haven't been for months. AN would cost about $700! MAP Cycle had one in stock but it's billet and nitrated so actually a better camshaft, but it cost me $395 which is $200 more than Hepolite. Anyway, I also needed timing side bushings for it, but that arrived yesterday from AN. And, the crank just arrived from Jim comstock. The one I used was beautifully fixed, he didn't do anything to the other after I waited 44 months and he charged me $143 to fix the one. Oh well, costs less than buying one on eBay that might not be good. September 20, 2025 Big plan for today: get the crank ready to go in the cases. Seemed like a good easy goal. Failed 😦 Before I sent the timing side to Jim, I cleaned it up, but not completely and I didn't notice how dirty the flywheel and drive side cheek were. I spent from 3pm until 7:30pm cleaning! Not only did the sludge trap have a lot of sludge it was hard like carbon. Also, the flywheel on the outside was well caked too. I probably would have used another crank but the journals are perfect and show no wear with a micrometer. Shocking with all the sludge and since the oil holes had problems. None were countersunk one was barely open and one was half open. This is not the first time I've seen this. They seem to have not run the drill all the way in and then they forgot the countersink. All four holes are now correct and the journals are polished. Then I taped the journals off and blasted the mating services and the entire flywheel. I prefer to just clean with WD40 and a stainless steel brush, but that was not getting it. Blasting cleans quickly, but then getting them spotless and 100% free of media takes a lot of time. I also lapped the drive sprocket to the crank - it didn't need it but until you try you don't know how well they mate. In this case in one minute, it was clear that they are a perfect match. I also checked the threads on both sides, all good. Once completely clean, I bolted them together, of course with new studs and nuts. Somehow in that process, I cut my little finger - little cut - acted like I cut my finger off. Would not stop bleeding and getting blood all over, so I didn't get the nuts torqued, didn't get the rods on, didn't get the main bearings on 😦 September 21, 2024 Unexpected company slowed me down but the crank is ready to go in the cases. That will have to wait until the camshaft arrives. I also spent some time going through bins finding the parts for this bike and especially the gearbox. When I bought this bike and a 850 at the same time, I took them apart and put them in bins on shelves. At that time, I had two working shoulders. I now have one almost worthless shoulder and the other shoulder is bad so getting down heavy bins is quite the effort. After all my other checks, this is always my final conrod check. It's important because until they are fully torqued they won't move like this and if they don't once fully torqued, you have a bad set of shells. September 22, 2025 Got a good start on the gearbox today. The first picture shows it in it's ugly glory including the glued-on gasket (I hate that!!!). The second shows a lot of sludge and although drained it also had fresh oil. the sludge hasn't hurt much. All gears are good. I think the bushings are good - have to look more carefully. the gear selection plunger is bad - works but it very rough from the sludge. And the last picture is shocking - I have no idea how the inside of that got so messed up. Of course, the knuckle that rides in it is toast too. It still had a ball bearing for the layshaft but it wasn't the bad kind. Still it is bad. The sleeve gear bearing is also bad. The timing side main bearing feels OK, but of course will be changed. Now I will scrub the shell and inner cover - what else is a kitchen sink for? Then put them through my process to make them look good. I still have to check the main and layshafts for straightness and wear. The kickstart spindle is quite good but the end is rusted as usual - I'll do something about that. In the collection of my bad joints is the one that connects my thumb, wrist, and index finger together. Today while getting the sprocket off I was all contorted holding things due to my bad shoulders, and attempted to hit my wrench with a rubber hammer. Instead of the wrench, I hit that joint very hard - rubber hammers do hurt and the normal swelling is now tripled! September 23, 2024 It's Spring but doesn't feel like it. 86 degrees, high humidity, and having a thunderstorm. I had two doctor visits and physical therapy today. For some reason I have no energy. I did get the gearbox shell and inner cover washed free of grease, grime, and sludge. If I get some energy in the next hour or two, I'll do the phase one blasting of them. September 24, 2025 My grandson was here today so I set him to blasting while I cleaned and inspected all the gearbox parts. The shell and inner cover look great and they have been scrubbed clean of all media. The kickstart is in good condition other than the end having rust, I blasted, cleaned, and plated that. All the gears are in great condition. The 2nd main and 3rd lay bushings feel good, but they got hot sometime in their life so I'm changing them. The mainshaft and layshaft are both perfectly straight and in good condition - I'm glad because they are very expensive September 25, 2025 A steroid shot is a terrible thing to waste! Had one in my foot at 10:30am. Superman mode is starting to kick in, but it looks like for nothing! The camshaft is not here so the bottom end is stuck waiting for parts. I was getting the parts together to finish the gearbox when I realized that I'm out of layshaft bearings. AN has them but with tariffs, shipping, and fee they cost about $65 delivered. Amazon has exactly the same one for $38.00 but with high shipping (no Prime shipping). That brings them to about $68.00 so more than AN. The US office of 123bearings lists them for quite a bit less but the shipping is high - I called to complain about shipping and it turns out that they shop from France so once again tariffs! I ended up ordering four from Amazon as the shipping was only a little more for four than one so that reduced the overall price and I need one for every gearbox I rebuild. They will be here next week, so that gearbox is stuck waiting for parts. I'll go through my collection of cradles and if I have a good one, I'll get it ready; otherwise, I'll find one on eBay. September 26, 2025 The camshaft arrived this morning. Replaced the timing side camshaft bushing with the MK3 style bushings, put the cases together temporarily and the cam turns nicely. The MK3 style bushings are like a top hat and have a thrust surface on both sides - this eliminates the problematic thrust bushing on the inside and provides a thrust surface behind the cam sprocket. The also provide much better oiling. So, I installed the main bearings and a new intermediate shaft and circlip, and the top 1/4" and 3/8" studs. The case are ready to have the sealer put on and then bolted together but they were way too hot to do that today. September 27, 2025 Made some good progress today.The bottom end is together and the timing chest is finished except for the cover. I have a nice one that I'll clean and buff so hopefully that can go on tomorrow. My steroid shot wore off late this afternoon so we'll see how I feel tomorrow. As usual, I upgraded to the rubber slipper cam chain tensioner and the oil pump is completely serviced and tested. September 28, 2025 The timing cover that came with this bike was a terrible mess! The cover below had some minor scratches, some minor corrosion, and had been glued on and over tightened. It took a ridiculous amount time to make it look good and it's not perfect but it's the best I have and looks good. I spent quite a while on the surface plate getting the mating surface completely clean and flat so it won't leak. So, the bottom end is now done. The gearbox part I need is supposed to be here Tuesday so I can get back on the gearbox. Once the two of them are done. I may switch back to the MK3 for a few days so I can get it off the table and I have a more comfortable place to work on this one. September 29, 2025 Pretty annoyed with Amazon right now! The layshaft bearings were supposed to be here tomorrow and tracking now says October 7th! I could have included them with my AN order that will be here this week! October 1, 2025 Went to my storeroom to get the nice 750 frame (see the Yellow bike in the first picture above. WTF - not there! Oops! See: Export to Norway. I have decent frames but they need paint or powder coat and my frame painter bailed on me quite a while ago. There is a decent powder coat shop that is reasonable, but it's in PA. I can paint frames but it's difficult as I don't have a proper paint area for large things and although I powder coat a lot, I can't do large things. October 2, 2025 I found a place nearby to powder coat who says they understand frames. They want $500 for the frame and swingarm which is a bit much, but I may do it. The powder coating itself is about one hour work and the supplies are almost negligible - the sand blasting is the real work. A while back I bought an old guy's collection of three Nortons, supposedly two ready to go and one half there and all titled. Only one had a completely good title. The half there was the Combat in the first picture above and it has been parted out. The bike pictured below was a Complete bike titled as a 1972 Long-Range, Fastback. It really was a 1971 and the engine chases were replaced so no engine serial. The red tag, gearbox, and title all match but I've not been keen on finishing it with no engine serial. I've sold the tank, tail piece, side covers and seat and have been wondering what to do with the rest. It has a powder coated frame, brand new 850 style 750 cylinders and LOT of new parts. It has a drum front end but the rear end is correct. So, rather than buying all the parts I need to finish this bike, I think I'll finish parting it out and use the parts for this bike. October 4, 2025 On this day in 2012 my wife turned 69 and it was the last day we were able to talk to each other. On October 8, 2012 I had to allow life support to be turned off. Spent the day re-arranging and working on my rider so I can get if off the lift and out of the way.

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