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