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
No comments:
Post a Comment