Classic Norton Commando advice
- Thread starter BillWright
- Start date
Keeping them standard ish is probably best these days given the limited miles the vast majority of them do these days. Back in the day though I always thought of them like Harleys. Meaning for a decent reliable usable every day bike you have to throw half of it away!
That is beautiful, good luck.
From Classic Bike September's issue
As has been established by this thread, one of the advantages of the Commando as a classic bike choice, is the wealth of information available, an owner (preferably one who still rides his) is usually available, often locally. Also some great forums, Norton Owners Club but also, and imho much better, AccessNorton. Choose what you want to find out about and use the excellent search facility.
www.accessnorton.com
www.nortonownersclub.org
Parts books are very useful, available at the website with brochures posted earlier
Be prepared for difference of opinion, the last mod I would do is fit a single carb, but that's because I regularly take my 850 over 85mph (see Cadwell photo below). If you don't (and most riders don't these days?) then you won't notice the 5bhp loss (due to the manifold). If you do, fit amal premiers (hard anodised slides, negligible wear, the only disadvantage of an amal vs a mikuni) and learn to balance carbs, not difficult.
Buy the proper tool to tighten the exhaust lock rings and they should never fail, but expensive fix if they have.
Electronic ignition has been mentioned, pazon, trispark or Boyer mk 4.
Check swing arm for sloppiness (bushes often not oiled) and fit vernier adjustable isolastics (though most already are).
You'll need a clutch compressor tool to do anything on the primary side but adjusting the stack height with aftermarket plates can give you a two finger clutch.
Read the amazing oil thread if you have time here (especially if you run other air cooled, flat tappet classic bikes):-
www.accessnorton.com
or donate and get a summary here!
I used to run Morris 20/50 in mine (which is okay) but now use Castrol Classic 20/50 which did amazingly well, other oils and opinions are readily available!
A relined master cylinder (to 13mm) will give you a much better front brake with the standard caliper, but the tiny pads (compared to say, the pads in your T160) overheat with any continued use (e.g. switchbacks downhill).
The NOC service notes (written mostly in the 80s) are still a great source of info (available as a pdf here)
www.accessnorton.com
As is a good service guide also as a pdf.
There's some fabulous resources in that link in any case, anything by Old Britts (a now defunct USA Norton dealership[/repair shop) is worth a read just to appreac iate the accrued knowledge.
Oh, and fit one of these if not fitted already
Now is a great time to buy, a really good commando shouldn't be more than around £7k, possibly a bit less, and should have most of the standard mods mentioned in this thread. They are a fabulous usable classic that, frankly, will eat my BSA R3 for breakfast on a twisty road requiring mid range torque.
Norton Commando & Classic Motorcycle Forums
Access Norton Forums – Norton Commando 961 LE and classic Commando motorcycles. BSA, Triumph, Royal Enfield, Vincent, and other British bikes.
www.accessnorton.com
Commando | Norton Owners Club
Parts books are very useful, available at the website with brochures posted earlier
Be prepared for difference of opinion, the last mod I would do is fit a single carb, but that's because I regularly take my 850 over 85mph (see Cadwell photo below). If you don't (and most riders don't these days?) then you won't notice the 5bhp loss (due to the manifold). If you do, fit amal premiers (hard anodised slides, negligible wear, the only disadvantage of an amal vs a mikuni) and learn to balance carbs, not difficult.
Buy the proper tool to tighten the exhaust lock rings and they should never fail, but expensive fix if they have.
Electronic ignition has been mentioned, pazon, trispark or Boyer mk 4.
Check swing arm for sloppiness (bushes often not oiled) and fit vernier adjustable isolastics (though most already are).
You'll need a clutch compressor tool to do anything on the primary side but adjusting the stack height with aftermarket plates can give you a two finger clutch.
Read the amazing oil thread if you have time here (especially if you run other air cooled, flat tappet classic bikes):-
Follower scar oil tests (2018)
So after having a cam failure and getting sucked into reading way to much crap about oils, I decided if I wanted to know I better do some more testing. I had a Timkin scar tester some years ago but never thought it gave me any good valuable info so I put something together to do some testing...
www.accessnorton.com
or donate and get a summary here!
What is the best oil for a Norton Commando?
Norton Commando Motorcycle Oil Tests by Jim Comstock.
www.accessnorton.com
I used to run Morris 20/50 in mine (which is okay) but now use Castrol Classic 20/50 which did amazingly well, other oils and opinions are readily available!
A relined master cylinder (to 13mm) will give you a much better front brake with the standard caliper, but the tiny pads (compared to say, the pads in your T160) overheat with any continued use (e.g. switchbacks downhill).
The NOC service notes (written mostly in the 80s) are still a great source of info (available as a pdf here)
Resources
www.accessnorton.com
As is a good service guide also as a pdf.
There's some fabulous resources in that link in any case, anything by Old Britts (a now defunct USA Norton dealership[/repair shop) is worth a read just to appreac iate the accrued knowledge.
Oh, and fit one of these if not fitted already
Andover Norton - REAR BRAKE LEVER SAFETY SPRING FOR 1968 to 1974 Commando. Prevents brake lever dropping if rear brake cable breaks. - 06.4172
REAR BRAKE LEVER SAFETY SPRING FOR 1968 to 1974 Commando. Prevents brake lever dropping if rear brake cable breaks.
andover-norton.co.uk
Now is a great time to buy, a really good commando shouldn't be more than around £7k, possibly a bit less, and should have most of the standard mods mentioned in this thread. They are a fabulous usable classic that, frankly, will eat my BSA R3 for breakfast on a twisty road requiring mid range torque.
If you are interested in more info on @wavey_davey's commando
It has featured in a few of our videos
It has featured in a few of our videos
Some excellent information to read there, thanks to each of you for posting. I'm off to sunny Cambridge tomorrow, and if the bike is as good as described and in the photos, it's a done deal with a price discussed and delivery arranged for NYD.
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