Norton Dominator 650 SS questions.

[martin thomas]

Hi there,

I've recently bought a 1964 norton Dominator 650SS project that has been stored since 1977 and was hoping that somebody might be able to help me with some questions i have on it. My bike has a Black tank at the moment but searching through Google images, All the ones i've seen seem to have a Blueish Grey coloured tank. Did they ever come with a black tank from the factory? if not then i will re paint it back to original colour during the rebuild. Also, i need to get the original Dunlop chrome rims re chromed, As i can't find any originals for sale, only stainless items. Does anyone have any good contacts for wheel re chroming? i was hoping for a one stop shop that i could just drop off the complete rims and then collect re spoked and chromed etc. I've got loads of other questions that i'm sure i'll need help with but this should be enough to keep me out of mischief for a while.

Thanks in advance

Martin

[bikerbob]

Hi there.
 You could contact  Central Wheel Components. www.central-wheel.co.uk. They should be able to help you they make rims for all popular bikes both steel and stainless. They actally make the rims but get an outside company to do the chrome plating they also have a choice of 3 different qualities of chroming. You could send them the hubs and they will rebuild them to your requirements but I don,t think they rechrome existing rims.

[yebbut]

i was hoping for a one stop shop that i could just drop off the complete rims and then collect re spoked and chromed etc

you'll be lucky

you want a chrome plater that not only  strips and chromes your rims but wheel builds as well?
such  a creature does not exist.

As a rule platers do not like re plating rims, the spoke holes rip their very expensive mops and abrasives to bits.
 the insides will be rough and rusty and  if plated will be rough and not shiney.

The best you will get is a plater that will polish the outsides for bikes that have painted centres.

all that will cost a much as new rims.

You ought to check out what goes on in a plating plant to realise where your money goes.

As for your tank it was silver if a genuine dommi.
Why dont you check with the Norton owners club for colour codes?

[martin thomas]

Picture of said bike.

[yebbut]

Before you spend huge amounts of dosh check out the price of the proper mudguards?
Theres a lot else needs doing before you faff about with wheel rims.

personally I'd leave it like it is
Or,  fit a better back guard, and a humpty back seat, paint the tank blue and it would pass for one of the last  650 twins to leave Plumstead  Mercury I think they were called, produced just after the first Commandos about 1968.

It' will make a very nice bike without needing the huge wads of cash you seem to be contemplating spending.
It won't be any better shiny, more likely worse.

sounds like you may not have restored a bike before?

[R]

Think you need to do the research before touching that bike.
In some markets, that could be nearly how it was supplied new.
Black was an option for some years, and not all bikes got the valanced mudguards.
Chromed oil tank could have been a dealer option, or previous owner modified.

Nice bike, as finds go...
Get all the mechanicals perfect, first ?

[martin thomas]

Before you spend huge amounts of dosh check out the price of the proper mudguards?
Theres a lot else needs doing before you faff about with wheel rims.

personally I'd leave it like it is
Or,  fit a better back guard, and a humpty back seat, paint the tank blue and it would pass for one of the last  650 twins to leave Plumstead  Mercury I think they were called, produced just after the first Commandos about 1968.

It' will make a very nice bike without needing the huge wads of cash you seem to be contemplating spending.
It won't be any better shiny, more likely worse.

sounds like you may not have restored a bike before?

You're a cheery fellow aren't you. I'm not planning on doing a full  shine the bollox out of everything restoration. The bike is being stripped down and being re painted though. it's not going to be like a shiny steam engine, but i do want everything to look nice and original. hence why i want to re chrome the Dunlop rims instead of fitting stainless items. i've allready bought 90% of the bits i need to put the bike together and was pleasantly surprised at the relatively cheap cost of new bits. I have no plans to build the bike up as something it's not, just make it nice and useable again. The pictures make the bike look a lot better than it actually is as i washed it up and oiled it previous to taking it. the mudguards look pretty original to me?? Am i wrong? I was planning on keeping them as is.

MT

[martin thomas]

Think you need to do the research before touching that bike.
In some markets, that could be nearly how it was supplied new.
Black was an option for some years, and not all bikes got the valanced mudguards.
Chromed oil tank could have been a dealer option, or previous owner modified.

Nice bike, as finds go...
Get all the mechanicals perfect, first ?

Thank you so much for the info. I wasn't aware that black was an option. Do you have any pics of a black tanked bike? I can't find any anywhere.

Thanks again

MT

[yebbut]

Cheery? yes, so will you be when you've been around old bikes as long as I have.

Its good to keep as much original kit such as the rims, as you can as pattern stuff is invariably 99% crap; this may mean keeping the rims intha sate they are now.

No the mudguards are emphatically NOT original, the front looks ok but the back very amateurishly fitted, as I said take a look at a 1968 twin.

every 650SS I ever saw or sold in the 1960s had chrome valanced mudguards except for the Norton Mercurys I assembled at the Norton factory in Plumstead
Silver tank, and  sporty  blue guards and a very smart bike indeed; I liked them better than the Commando.
here
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.theworldofmotorcycles.com/vintagebike-images/norton_mercury_650_1969_sm.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.theworldofmotorcycles.com/vintage_motorcycle_norton.html&h=280&w=468&sz=90&tbnid=AQ3FVkE6kGgUCM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=122&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnorton%2Bmercury%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=norton+mercury&docid=eOCDIvWrZGBrCM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4y7eTvrMMcnn-gb2h73PBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ9QEwAw&dur=125

Black tank?  mmmmm, special order? maybe, scrape away the black to see. Its why you cant find a pic of one.
Nortons silver, Blue, or Red on Atlas.
Your bike tho' paint it pink if you want.

best hint??

You're a cheery fellow aren't you.

Try not to come over as too sarky when asking for free advice, thats the perogative of those giving out the experience of a lifetime FOC
"

[rogerwilko]

The front Drum looks like a conical brakeplate grafted to the original hub. More closeups please.

[esometisse]

The front Drum looks like a conical brakeplate grafted to the original hub. More closeups please.

could it be a Tickle conversion?

Cheers
Andy

[yebbut]

Tickle gets my vote

[martin thomas]

Will take a look at the front brake in the morning. If it's a tickle, Will it be stamped as so? Is this a bad thing?

Regards

MT

[yebbut]

Not at all, an asset in fact.
 much better than standard,