That is one gorgeous bike. Hard to believe it was sand cast from scratch. You are several notches beyond shade tree; I've seen your work! I'm literally a shade tree mechanic.
Hot Rod Norton 880 long-term project
- Thread starter grandpaul
- Start date
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My favorite part - the wiring!
Too bad I couldn't find the matching Kawasaki conrol cluster cannon plugs. Still, I used all bullet connectors so that the main sections of the harness can be removed without disturbing any of the other sections.
Had to fabricate a small tail light backplate to accommodate the dual tail light bulb sockets; just below this will bolt up a license plate bracket that leaves the plate just below the tail, lit up by some spilled light from a gap between the tail light and the backplate.
Perfect setup - totally fused system with a 25 amp automatic master circuit breaker. 6 fuses; one for each major circuit including ignition, headlight, tail light, brake lights, horn relay & e-start relay-
AGM battery will be here in the morning along with horn relay, dual-lead Rev-tech coil & Blue 8mm resistor plug leads. I'm debating to myself whether or not to go with a tiny set of blinkers like the ones I used on "Project Charlie"...
Too bad I couldn't find the matching Kawasaki conrol cluster cannon plugs. Still, I used all bullet connectors so that the main sections of the harness can be removed without disturbing any of the other sections.
Had to fabricate a small tail light backplate to accommodate the dual tail light bulb sockets; just below this will bolt up a license plate bracket that leaves the plate just below the tail, lit up by some spilled light from a gap between the tail light and the backplate.
Perfect setup - totally fused system with a 25 amp automatic master circuit breaker. 6 fuses; one for each major circuit including ignition, headlight, tail light, brake lights, horn relay & e-start relay-
AGM battery will be here in the morning along with horn relay, dual-lead Rev-tech coil & Blue 8mm resistor plug leads. I'm debating to myself whether or not to go with a tiny set of blinkers like the ones I used on "Project Charlie"...
I don't mind the initial wiring or a complete rewiring. But I hate trouble shooting wiring.
(from yesterday)-
Hashed out the temporary headlight & meter mounting, still need proper headlight mounts and some proper bits for the meters although they look much better now with proper "Green Blobs" in Mark III black aluminum cans.
I also got back the new rear axle and had to "dress it down" just a touch to get it in past the bearings (the rest of the parts fit fine). As the rear sprocket came off a chopper, it was not original any more. Some previous owner had welded up the 5 lips on the sprocket hub to about twice the depth, then added to very hard rubber spacers to provide an overall widening of the rear wheel assembly to about an additional 1/2". I had to carefully cut down those lips back to thier original size.
Received the borrowed 932s, overhauled & mounted them.
Also received all the parts for OEM head steady, axle & rear brake parts, miscellaneous nuts, bolts & washers, points cover, clutch adjuster grub screw, Rev-tech dual lead coil & plug wires, horn relay and rearset footpegs.
Here's the cleaned up 932s-
...on the bike-
Hashed out the temporary headlight & meter mounting, still need proper headlight mounts and some proper bits for the meters although they look much better now with proper "Green Blobs" in Mark III black aluminum cans.
I also got back the new rear axle and had to "dress it down" just a touch to get it in past the bearings (the rest of the parts fit fine). As the rear sprocket came off a chopper, it was not original any more. Some previous owner had welded up the 5 lips on the sprocket hub to about twice the depth, then added to very hard rubber spacers to provide an overall widening of the rear wheel assembly to about an additional 1/2". I had to carefully cut down those lips back to thier original size.
Received the borrowed 932s, overhauled & mounted them.
Also received all the parts for OEM head steady, axle & rear brake parts, miscellaneous nuts, bolts & washers, points cover, clutch adjuster grub screw, Rev-tech dual lead coil & plug wires, horn relay and rearset footpegs.
Here's the cleaned up 932s-
...on the bike-
A few items sorted out today:
Separated all the hardware for OEM head steady and installed it (will have Taylor for the final build, it's already on the way), and mounted the rev-tech dual-lead coil and wired it in. (no pix)
Installed all of the OEM electric start primary system after fiddling with the back spacing on the chaincase standoff lug for way too long (they sent me the wrong part and I had to space it with bits I had on hand). Installed the Spax 3-phase alternator and wasted another 20 minutes reworking the outer diameter of the rotor nut to better fit the new rotor (it was just a bit to snug to catch the threads properly). I also plugged up the shifter cross shaft opening with the stub end of a shifter rubber RTV'ed in place.
I need to pop the clutch cover back off and add a stuffer plate, the lever pull is too stiff for my taste, but the clutch is working.
I cut a relatively thin section of sheet metal to mock up the electrical panel, and mounted all the components (except horn relay, it'll go on the lower left side)-
Final version will be sturdier material, I didn't have anything heavier to work with right on hand at the moment.
Last item was the rearset pegs; it turns out I was able to use the Kawasaki rear brake pedal mounting base, cut, shaved and re-drilled to accommodate the orientation for Left-foot disc brake master cylinder-
Just need to chop off the excess bit of bracket after I bolt up some sort of triangulating stiffener, then overhaul & connec the rear caliper (the Nissin won't work).
Separated all the hardware for OEM head steady and installed it (will have Taylor for the final build, it's already on the way), and mounted the rev-tech dual-lead coil and wired it in. (no pix)
Installed all of the OEM electric start primary system after fiddling with the back spacing on the chaincase standoff lug for way too long (they sent me the wrong part and I had to space it with bits I had on hand). Installed the Spax 3-phase alternator and wasted another 20 minutes reworking the outer diameter of the rotor nut to better fit the new rotor (it was just a bit to snug to catch the threads properly). I also plugged up the shifter cross shaft opening with the stub end of a shifter rubber RTV'ed in place.
I need to pop the clutch cover back off and add a stuffer plate, the lever pull is too stiff for my taste, but the clutch is working.
I cut a relatively thin section of sheet metal to mock up the electrical panel, and mounted all the components (except horn relay, it'll go on the lower left side)-
Final version will be sturdier material, I didn't have anything heavier to work with right on hand at the moment.
Last item was the rearset pegs; it turns out I was able to use the Kawasaki rear brake pedal mounting base, cut, shaved and re-drilled to accommodate the orientation for Left-foot disc brake master cylinder-
Just need to chop off the excess bit of bracket after I bolt up some sort of triangulating stiffener, then overhaul & connec the rear caliper (the Nissin won't work).
Good progress. You are getting there.
Very keen to see the finished item!!
Good going GP.
:y115: :happy:
Good going GP.
:y115: :happy:
Some progress shots with the rearsets, sidecovers & front fender mounted-
I'm kinda liking it!
I'm kinda liking it!
It is absolutely gorgeous! Outstanding work.
Swoon
Thanx, guys.
I figure I need to cram in 6 hours a day on this one, and 4 hours a day on my client's '68 Tiger, before New Ulm this weekend!
After my 'vacation', I'm going to need a VACATION!
I figure I need to cram in 6 hours a day on this one, and 4 hours a day on my client's '68 Tiger, before New Ulm this weekend!
After my 'vacation', I'm going to need a VACATION!
Even labors of love can wear you down and get frustrating.
I tack-welded on a prototype fabrication of an under-tail battery tray to see how it would work; I think I'm going to stay with it. may not be enough room to give more than 2" of rear wheel travel after rider sag is accounted for...
The rear brake pedal is done, brake is now functioning, including brake light
I couldn't wait any longer for the right-foot-shift parts, borrowed the ones of the rolling project bike I just sold (just for the weekend). I've always loved the spaghetti bowl of the Norton rearset linkage-
It took a while to figure out that the timing was set wrong, as were the carbs; it now starts right up and runs pretty well, still need to figure out why my timing light is going flaky on me, I had it hooked up to my deep-cycle battery that's fully charged.
Anyway, I took the bike out on it's maiden voyage and JUST made it back in my driveway. I definitely need to adjust the rear shock & linkage to give the rear tire more clearance, and need the smaller battery, mounted upright to help with clearance issues.
The only oil leak i can see is very slight weepage from the primary cover that's installed with no gasket or sealer; I'm going to remedy that on Saturday while killing time.
I couldn't wait any longer for the right-foot-shift parts, borrowed the ones of the rolling project bike I just sold (just for the weekend). I've always loved the spaghetti bowl of the Norton rearset linkage-
It took a while to figure out that the timing was set wrong, as were the carbs; it now starts right up and runs pretty well, still need to figure out why my timing light is going flaky on me, I had it hooked up to my deep-cycle battery that's fully charged.
Anyway, I took the bike out on it's maiden voyage and JUST made it back in my driveway. I definitely need to adjust the rear shock & linkage to give the rear tire more clearance, and need the smaller battery, mounted upright to help with clearance issues.
The only oil leak i can see is very slight weepage from the primary cover that's installed with no gasket or sealer; I'm going to remedy that on Saturday while killing time.
Paul the bike looks stunning. I really enjoyed following this one thanks for posting it :y18:
Yep. That machine is a beauty.
GP. Mounting the battery at the rear is going to subject it to exceedingly high G-forces, especially if the rear damper and spring are stiff.
Could this be a problem??
GP. Mounting the battery at the rear is going to subject it to exceedingly high G-forces, especially if the rear damper and spring are stiff.
Could this be a problem??
Congratulations on the maiden voyage. Great work, my friend. Thanks for keeping us updated.
The bike was a big hit at the rallye, although it failed to place in the "Customs, Cafes and Choppers" class (too much to lump together).
The battery is going to end up being smaller and vertical, where it will be perfectly fine.
The battery is going to end up being smaller and vertical, where it will be perfectly fine.
