I found a 52 Norton Dominator model 7 and I am lost!

[facundoxxx]

Hi there. I have just found a Norton Dominator n. 7 1952 in the countryside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I need some help from you guys.

I am not going to restore the machine to it's original shape. I have a mechanic that will do for me, but the extense of the damage made into this bike was so big that I decided to do a bobber: I have the frame, the tank is in bad shape but I can restore it, headlight maybe I can use it and the motor is missing parts. Other than that the bike is not original or it's missing parts, that's why I decided to go bobber.

We are still making a shopping list for it, but I would like to hear from you guys if you have any recomendation of upgrade kits sold to a Dominator. Or kits to change entire parts of the bike: for instance, screws and bolts are in bad shape. I would like to change them all. Do you where can I find kits of bolts and screws?

As I am a brazilian and english is not my first language, how should I ask to Norvil (if it's the best place to buy parts) this bolts and screws for the Dominator? Screw and bolts kits? Do you know any company that sells fastener kits for a Dominator restoration?

Do you guys think I should restore the motor to it's original condition or upgrade it? Which type of upgrade you recomend? Any other recomendations? Any other upgrades I could do i.e. brembo brakes to this bike? How would you guys handle it?

I posted the photos of the Norton I found below. Many thanks again!

http://gallery.me.com/facundoguerra#100023

[R]

What damage ?  It looks reasonably original, apart from the exhaust modifications.

Parts for Dominators are quite scattered around, there is no single source for everything.  Happy hunting....

Upgrades ?  Keep it original, and buy a Kawasaki....

[HoraceWorblehat]

Hello facundoxxx,

I can only agree with what R says. Damage, what damage?
This looks like a quite original bike, which has undergone a restoration before. A more than perfect barn find if you could call it that at all.

IMHO,
converting this beauty to a bobber should be punished for destruction of cultural good!
There is already enough badly made custom bikes out there. I agree to customization if significant damage to non reproducible  parts (does that exist at all?) is found, but would better do to leave her alone.

Only my opinion, but who ever loves these old ladies would agree here I guess. That is why you might count on very few support here, this might be simply the wrong forum for this here.

[facundoxxx]

HoraceWorblehat, thanks for your reply. I have restored a Commando '72 and it was an easy restoration due to easy parts available. The Dommie is not that easy, because 1) I live in Brazil and due to taxes every part that you buy cost me at least double, not counting shipping 2) I have no specialized mechanics that can handle the job. Here in Brazil very, very few people know how to handle a machine like that. Keep in mind that maybe there is 5 Dominators working down here, if that much.

Anyway, you are absolutely right about the cultural legacy that would be destroyed. As I told you, a big part of the bike is gone: indicators, fences, basically 60% - 70% of it is not original, as you can see in the photos. I was not planning to chop it or make big modifications, just to upgrade it. Bobber was a choice that I made due to economic restrictions.

But, because of your post, I decided to restore it to it's original condition, no matter money or time. Thanks for that.

Now I keep my original question: any tips you guys can give to me so I will not suffer too much on the process?

Many thanks!

[R]

"60 to 70% of it is gone " ?
Are were talking about the same bike ??
Your pics show a quite complete looking Model 7, far better than anything I've ever played with.

A 1952 bike would not have had indicators.
You can add them if you want, VW 6 volt electrics can be used to do this.

Don't know what you mean by "fences", but the mudguards fitted appear to be the original, rare, elusive, and very expensive to find Model 7 only originals.
These alone makes it worth keeping original. !!!
NOTHING else uses these mudguards, and no-one is remaking them.

Armours in Bournemouth sells the mufflers and exhaust pipes.
But I'd think that your local exhaust people could make up a set - out of stainless even - a number of suppliers all over the place can make anything out of stainless, I'm sure someone in Argentina can do the same...

What is missing from the engine ?
A lot of engine parts are on UK ebay, usually not too expensive.
Do you pay tax on used parts ?

hth.

[facundoxxx]

Thanks, HTH. Well, I said 60 - 70% because the only guy that is supposedly specialized in Dommies here in Sao Paulo told me that. He said that wheels, mudguards and everything else apart tank, frame and engine was not original.

It was never my intention to chop the frame or do anything to spoil that bike. I thought that, because not much of the bike was original, I should strip it and take care of the restauration of the engine only.

Your post kept me from doing something really, really stupid: spoil the mudguards. I thought they were a cheap replica.

I still don't have  a shopping list for the engine, but I am quite sure Norvil will have pretty much everything I need.

Yes, here in Brazil we pay almost 2X the price of everything imported. I tried to import a Dunstall kit for my Commando and they returned it to sender, claiming that I was not allowed to import used parts for a vintage motorcycle.

Thanks again, sir.

F.

[R]

Ooops, sorry, Brazil.
There are several in Argentina, they have the same problem sourcing parts.
As we all do...

I think your "guy that is supposedly specialized in Dommies" doesn't know what he is talking about ?  The pics are only small, and its hard to be certain, but much of that bike looks authentic.  Certainly all the impossible-to-find bits are there.

The Model 7 uses parts almost entirely unlike any other Norton - so the mudguards, oil tank, toolbox, and even the mudguard stays are unique to the Model 7. From what I can see, they all look correct on your bike.

What are you missing in from the engine ?
Does this bike actually go - and just needs refurbishing ?

Cheers.

[Norton55]

Hi facundoxxx,

The bike looks fairly original and in pretty good condition. I've seen model 7's in worse condition, I have one basket case in worse shape and a running one with the wrong fenders. I'm not sure if the rear fender on your bike is original. It seems a bit short and the rear fender stay looks like they are from an ES2. The rear fender should have a ridge in the center. Fenders are very hard to find for these plunger model 7's, and when they come up they can sell quite a bit of money. A correct chainguard and speedo shouldn't be too hard to find. You should be able to get a reproduction set of mufflers from Armours in England.

You should join the Yahoo group for Norton Model 7 Owners at
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/nortonmodel7/
You can look though the messages and you should be able to find a lot of information about Model 7's.

Good luck with the bike.

[R]

Mmmm, not sure what I was doing before but I found the pics can be made bigger for a better view. Maybe those mudguards are not quite as correct as I first thought. My apologies, and to your Norton person. Once the rest of the bike is going though, no-one will notice much !

Cheers.