classic motorcycle forum
Motorcycle Discussions => British Bikes => Topic started by: iansoady on August 09, 2018, 01:50:51 PM
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It's starting to look much better:
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/Norton/images/IMG_4463.jpg)
(http://www.iansoady.org.uk/Norton/images/IMG_4462.jpg)
Starting and running well thanks to fitting a 3.5 cutaway rather then the specified 4. Many thanks to Dave for supplying me with this. I suspect the original was for economy rather than performance.
Still a few jobs to get it on the road so I can assess what needs to be done over the winter apart from cosmetics. But so far I'm pleased with progress.
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Wow Ian! That would be the biggest silencer I’ve seen for many a year.
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Yes, and even so it's quite loud!
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I wouldn't buy that bike...it's clearly got a Kawasaki side-stand.. ;)
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Yes, and even so it's quite loud!
I've obtained what seems to be an oem muffler of that type,
with quite complicated looking internals (gazing into it).
I'm keen to get this show on the road, to try it out).
Someone here has had some early dommie mufflers remade with the original type internals replicated,
and the difference is like chalk and cheese. So is the price though !
btw, I've also obtained the current Enfield quiet type muffler, and its even longer...
(as a discard, so the list price won't cause any fainting spells).
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I wouldn't buy that bike...it's clearly got a Kawasaki side-stand.. ;)
And a red HT lead......
At least there are no gutter bolts involved. ;)
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and it runs on fresh air too, at least I assume it does as there is no fuel pipe to the carb.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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That's why it was running so weak!
Actually I've been using a temporary tank with the real one removed while I sort it out. Just put the proper one one to take the photos.
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I've been off greasy2's since I dropped one on my foot 40yrs ago, heavy old lumps.
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Just taken the Norton out for its first road test - about 4 miles on local roads. I was very pleasantly surprised. Loads of power, no coughing or spluttering, slick gear change, rock-steady handling. Brakes pretty poor, clutch dragging a bit but otherwise very happy.
I only took it to 50 (suburban roads) but there was loads left......
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Brakes pretty poor,
RGM can supply a set of 'high friction linings', which are supposed to help.
I've just organised a set, so we will see...
Grinding/carving/sanding them to a suitable curvature/contact shape may be helpful also. ?
Curious that they only do them in 7" though, I'd have thought they might be usefull in 8" varieties.
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The rear linings are new (fitted before I had the bike) but don't look like very high friction items. I will probably get the shoes relined by Villiers Services who do a range of different lining materials.
I'll also fit a front brake lever with 7/8" pivot-to-nipple dimensions to give more leverage (currently 1 1/16").
I did read a negative comment about RGM linings on the NOC forum recently.
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Get yourself to Netley or Beaulieu and find some Ferodo old stock linings, they'll work much better, even if they are illegal asbestos.
I have a stock of linings for my Matchless, both the pink kind and woven, been buying as I see them. Even the 6inch kind get snapped up by the WD G3L lot as they need all the brakes they can use.
You can even bond your own on using araldite under pressure and a bit of heat.
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I've found both Saftek and Villiers Services do linings which work really well. On the Enfield I had to radius the linings to give the massive 6" front brake every chance of stopping the bike sometime this week though.
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Has your Enfield got the "floating" brake shoe pivot - the one that's secured to the brake plate by 2 1/4" bolts? You can centralise these by slackening off the bolts, holding the brake on tight then snugging them up again - a bit more sophisticated than the oversize spindle hole on Nortons, Velos etc.
But you probably know this......
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Yep, done it as an initial step. It's a really clever device, although both of mine were seized solid through non-use. Every little helps, ...as some said.
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I did read a negative comment about RGM linings on the NOC forum recently.
I'd take that comment with a grain of salt ?
They have arrived, and have quite a rough surface (and a lot of brass wire in them),
and would take a lot of bedding in I think. Or some fettling to arc them to a good fit.
So to just bolt them in and expect an improvement straight away is probably a nonsense ?
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If you took a young person of today and set them loose in the sixties,they would die of fright.......you actually had to do things for yourself,and if something wasnt right,you fixed it so it was....The current lot of classic bike owners under forty seem to expect everything to be perfect,or spent endless hours moaning about it on some forum....
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So true John. In the 60s, if I didn't mend my bike or old banger car, I didn't get to work. The prospect of no beer money at the weekend certainly concentrated the mind. No internet for info or Ebay for bits. If Lawton & Wilson etc. or one of several S/H bike shops didn't have it, that was your lot.
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I did read a negative comment about RGM linings on the NOC forum recently.
I'd take that comment with a grain of salt ?
They have arrived, and have quite a rough surface (and a lot of brass wire in them),
and would take a lot of bedding in I think. Or some fettling to arc them to a good fit.
So to just bolt them in and expect an improvement straight away is probably a nonsense ?
Let us know how you get on.
I had some very poor experiences with RGM in the 90s when parts for my Commando didn't fit (and they blamed me for it). For example, fork bushes that wouldn't slide over the (genuine from Andover Norton) stanchions as they were .002" undersize. More recently the few bits I've had from them for the ES2 have been good.
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https://youtu.be/31FqpkF2PK0
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It sounds very healthy and not at all flat. The video that followed my viewing (they vary) was of a bloke reviewing some British classics at (I think) the NMM. A good film, but let down by daft comments by the mature presenter. Vincent Black Shadow top speed 140mph, Black Prince 150mph and the RGS introduced in the late 60s. The rest of his remarks were spot on.
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Timed at the "book" 5/8" BTDC. The 3.5 cutaway is working really well - the bike starts first kick with just the air lever closed, half retard and no flooding. I haven't really touched the mechanics yet but it does seem that it has had a sympathetic owner for much of its life (if I ignore the odd metric bolts here and there).
I will need some cylinder and head fins welding - any suggestions for someone in the West Midlands?
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Both barrel and head fins seem very prone to breaking.....Worse than any other single i have.......mine goes OK but its been bored +060 on a liner,which is thin as paper.......a worry.....My main problem is with clutch runout,a costly fix.
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Is it the clutch or the gearbox mainshaft that's out of true? There's a bit of eccentricity on my mainshaft which I have yet to decide whether to fix....
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Ian,Ive got worn splines on both,and the clutch centre end plates are loose on the spider,and then the roller race is worn oversize.....Ive been tossing around solutions that dont cost and arm and leg......looking into the feasibility of making the joint a taper with six loose keys.....The mainshaft and spider are already knackered,so if I wreck them,its not a big deal.Then the rear sprocket is loose on the sleeve gear,again very worn splines........The whole gearbox /clutch needs a complete overhaul.....Ive only had it fifty years and its plumb wore out.
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The eccentricity is not in the mainshaft......
It's in folk who insist in keeping obsolete machines on the road while getting some perverse enjoyment of doing so.
The bike is just knackered. ;)
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Ive only had it fifty years and its plumb wore out.
They don’t make em to last like they did in the old days.
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Can't you make a new plumb?