Today at the Local Beach

Alas, not much has been accomplished on Trixie, life and responsibilities, ugh.

A front has been pushing through over the last couple of days pushing the temperatures into the 50's even 60's. Last night a strong storm passed with the typical effect on the ground swell. A couple of hours before this picture was taken the surf was a mushy mess, then the wind shifted to the SW and the waves smoothed out and the lips held up. Surfers should have been happy.

A Small Start

The other night I had a spare hour and took the opportunity to remove the gas tank and tail light assembly. I've also had an opportunity to spend some quality time examining the shop manuals and have decided to remove the drive train as a unit to begin the examination of the condition of the engine and transmission.

Next step is to mark and remove all the ignition wiring and systems.

Jim

Today on the Local Beach

Normally the local beach looks some thing like this...

But today it looked like this...

This is the result of mixing seawalls with powerful storms. Sandy did the initial damage and last week's Nor'easter simply stripped away the remaining sand. Interestingly some of the missing sand was deposited a mile or so to the south on a section of beach that typically has only rip-rap.

Jim

Why name the Norton Trixie?

The first bike I named was my F650 Dakar, which received the sobriquet Crisco, as in Fat in the Can for the bikes appearance when fitted with aluminum panniers.

Casting about for a name for the Norton, I thought of the Jackie Gleason sit com from the 1950's, the Honeymooners, and remembered Gleason's on air buddy was named Norton, but I couldn't remember the first name. A quick look up showed that Norton's name was Ed and that his wife's was Trixie and that Trixie was a former burlesque performer. Norton: "Every night I'd meet her backstage and hand her a rose ... It was her costume!" My Norton will lose some parts during its revival and it will be entertaining, so why not Trixie, the name is more interesting than Ed.

Jim

Progress Report

The only progress on Trixie has been the receipt of a set of Whitworth sockets, work and finishing a kitchen project have been a priority. But I have given some thought the direction the the revival will take.

The first task is to get the head off and evaluate the condition of that and the cylinder, which I expect will need work. Hopefully the bottom end is still bathed in 20 year old oil, but its not leaking and being British, that's a concern.

The bike will be fully disassembled the subsystems, brake cylinders, wheel & steering head bearing etc, will be rebuilt. I'll replace the wiring harness and electrical components, figuring it is better to start fresh than trouble shoot the old.

The gauges and switch gear are intact but with a broken lens on the tach and the fact that Trixie was left outside for several years, its doubtful that they work. By the way, there are 18,847 miles on the bike, maybe. I'll likely be evaluating replacement gauges and switch gear. Suggestions welcome.

I know this is stock, but it will go.

Depending the the choice of direction, mostly stock or lightly modified I expect to replace

the out of scale tail light and turn signals with something more discreet. Did Euro & UK bikes have different tail light assemblies?

It would be interesting to replace the headlamp with a bi-xenon or LED unit. More light and

less draw on the electrical system. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated?

Jim

Plans - Tentative

With Trixie in the garage and a set of Whitworth sockets having arrived Monday from British Tools and Fasteners, dismantling the bike can begin later this week as my schedule permits.

Prior to starting, some thought needs to be given to what the finished bike will be. First and foremost Trixie will be a rider and this project won't be a restoration, I simply don't care about historical accuracy and if the bike left Wolverhampton with this or that fastening or the proper color paint that was used on the gauge faces. Besides the bike isn't a neglected, but intact, barn find and has been extensively modified by previous owners. So my view of this project is that it is a renovation, reconstruction or revival of an old bike.

That said, I have competing ideas of what Trixie will be finished from mostly stock appearing, to mildly customized, a café racer, flat tracker or scrambler. I greatly admire the work of such shops as Deus ex Machina, Ritmo Sereno and Mc Deeb, particularly the quality of the workmanship and attention to detail. Alternately the edgier or dare I say "rougher" of such shops as Blitz, Wrenchmonkees and Urban holds appeal.

1972 Norton by Deus

If I believe that I lack the skill to produce a bike on par with the first group, the second produces an added challenge of conception. Many an amateur has been inspired by the Fluxus movement in art to go home and try to create something with a found object, only to have something odd and kitchky as the result.

My concept of a custom that I would consider is similar to this Gold Star (Victor?)

 Given that my location has an annual motor vehicle safety inspection that requires such items as fenders, turn signals etc, a bike this spare is unlikely. But clubman bars and a solo saddle paired with trimmed fenders, aftermarket gauges and a less chunky tail lamp is possible. Going this route would make the decision to leave the welded on bracing in place easier.

Jim

The Beginning

Sitting around the campfire during a week long motorcycle trip my friend Jim Herrick mentioned that he had one too many derelict bikes in his garage that he could see himself getting running in the foreseeable future. The two 'projects' were a Triumph Bonneville and a Norton 850 Commando. The Bonnie was the bike that was undergoing a slow restoration and the one that Jim was interested in finishing. "Sell me the Norton," I suggested and he said he'd consider the idea.

Jim, Joe Warner and Peter Preteroti of Max discussing where the starter motor once was.

A year or so later, Jim got the hankering to build another sidecar rig, around an BMW R1200R to go along with his lovely K100 sidehack. His domestic arrangement is that if one bike came, another needs to go, so Jim called and asked if I was still interested in the Norton. I was and a few months later we met at Max BMW to conduct the transfer.

This Norton is a 1975 850 Commando Mark 3. That has undergone some modifications. The electric start is gone, a single Amal carb replaces the original twin carbs and the frame has had braces welded in for stiffness. The plan is to return the bike to being a regularly ridden

The bracing is obvious

Note the missing starter motor

Like everything else the carb needs rebuilding.

The odometer shows 18,842 long ago miles.

Trixie when new

A quick peek into the cylinders and exhaust ports with a borescope, indicates the expected rusted conditions. The next step is to remove the head and see what we have.

Jim