Rotary Owners' Club

When new, the rubbers are relatively soft and are hammered into place using a flat tool shaped like an open-ended spanner. They harden with age and engine heat, lose their elasticity, and often fall out of their own accord. It was a mind-numbing job to fit 400 of them, making sure they were in line ...

Hi Wayne,
Confirming I have your oil pump bracket.
I'm hoping to have a clearer view of how it all assembles when the new drum arrives.
Rgds,
R.

Mick,
Chris Ward once said that he uses polyester powder and can apply a clear coat over the silver to give a higher gloss. I don't know if polyester is what was used 30 years ago, or whether a lacquer over-coat gives better protection.
Any coating experts out there?
R.

I remembered I have a photo, taken some time ago, of an IP2 engine with streaky powder coating. I don't know for sure what caused the streaks, perhaps a leaking fuel tap or, more likely, Mr Plod pouring neat Truckwash on it prior to rinsing with a pressure washer. That location is hidden by a cover ...

spondonash wrote: a centre nut and oil pump drive added to the batch if that's OK ?

You're on my list!
R

Mick, One of my enduring memories of working at BSA in the 60's was the all-pervading smell of stove enamelling. I understood that this was a wet-spray paint process that was then cured in an oven; thus the smell. A few years ago, a customer requested stove enamelling rather than powder coating for ...

Mick, Your bike's original wheels, engine parts, and rear sprocket cover aren't meant to be grey - they were originally silver. Fading isn't due just to age and sunlight, popular vehicle wash detergents are slightly caustic and also cause the coating to fade. I have a Classic now where the engine ca...

Ash, Thanks for the photos; I had imagined the circlip was at the back. Certainly Wayne's machined backplate wouldn't work with the circlip at the front like yours - unless there was also a stack of shims to get the clearance. For your set of bits, I suggest you measure the drum and machine the back...

Ash, 14.1 and level is standard Kawasaki, just as Joe's new(ish) plate. The 'NRS' modification is machining outside of the centre boss so that it does touch the bearing. Bearing in mind that I last looked at the NRS clutch in 2006, I think the drum has a small lip at the outer side to retain the bea...

Hi Ash, A long time indeed! I may just be the camera angle, but your plate looks slightly different to either of the two I've got here. If you put a rule across the back face, the machined area about 116mm diameter should be on the same level as the centre boss. The splined centre boss should be abo...

I still have pieces of equipment that work on every Norton rotary and are far less hassle than gauges and manometers and absolutely reliable - my ears! Screw the idle adjuster screws out until the head faces are level with the face of the casting.; this will give a fast idle around 2000 rpm even wit...

I confirm, from the Norton production records, that 044 passed final inspection on 9th May 1988. The agent/dealer's description is questionable. Rotary development started around 1966 as a BSA project, transferred to Triumph at Meriden, then to Norton Triumph at Garrets Green, Birmingham, and finall...

The wonders of Italian logic! I never worked that one out either, and always replaced them with standard stainless bolts as a matter of course. Just checked the Classic here; lower bolts are low head 10mm, 8mm recess, marked 10.9 grade, with aluminium washer. The uppers are full head 10mm, 7 mm (sev...

Mick, If you do find a replacement, please let me know; there's a Classic in my workshop, unused for ten years, with very rusty discs. I was planning to use a Scotchbrite mop to get the worst off and hope a bit of heavy braking will make them look better. As Classics weren't built in numerical seque...

Mick, In the world of Classic owners, there are lucky ones and unlucky ones. The very first Classics produced had Brembo stainless discs with a cast aluminium centre. Then Brembo discontinued that disc and offered the bolted cast iron one as a replacement. Snag was the offset was wrong so Norton mad...

I believe that Norton copied the MZ idea and improved on it.
The MZ system is not oil-tight, and neither is the Norton one either sometimes, but the Norton gaiters are much bigger than MZ and made using tooling owned now by Andover Norton.
R,

John, I don't believe there are any chain driven bikes with full enclosure on the current market, but there have been several in the past. Most notable was MZ with their range of two-strokes, the Yamaha TR1, and the Munch Mammut. I'm sure there are more as well. Providing the Norton gaiters are repl...

It's the flanges of the pump that are 58 mm! It comes with separate flanged stubs; you can see on my photo that 28mm bore hose can be fitted onto them. Agreed it would look a mess without the Commander bodywork to hide it smiley . EBP25 should do the job but try to keep the hoses diameters as big as...

John, I got it off Ebay, about £20 5 - 6 years ago. Not sure whether it was 8" or 9" fan with a moulded plastic mount. I didn't take a photo of it, but had to cut some of the plastic guard away. It just fitted between the top and bottom plates of the rad. Much quieter than the standard fan...

For those not familiar with the problem, this is the O-ring that causes the problem. 4280-25.jpg On this bike, the O-rings were rock-hard, perhaps due to age or engine temperature and possibly hadn't been replaced in the bike's life. When the carbs are assembled, you can't see them and I don't belie...

John, The coolant capacity of the Commander complete system is about 5 litres - that's all the water that goes into a dry system to fill engine, pump, hoses, radiator and header tank. The tank is only there to allow for expansion as the system warms up and a place for trapped air to collect. It does...

Hi John, The first thing is that with a delivery of 4.5 litres/min your pump is too small. I think when developing the F1, we measured the pump delivery at 3,000 rpm and got something like 16 - 18 l/min. The Commander uses the same basic impeller as the F1 so should have about the same flow rate. Da...

John, Just a few questions so I can understand what you've got: .where did the Commander engine come from and do you know for a fact that it's in good condition .what electric pump are you using? Manufacturer and model number? .do have an electrical controller for the pump? .have you taken the therm...

John, In standard form, the normal load taken by the P53 electrics is: Headlamp main beam 60w or Daylamps 72w Ignition 30w approx. Rear lamps 12w No plate lamp 4w Total : 118w So plenty in hand for the occasional fan, brake lights, indicators, heated grips, rear fog lights, and horn. I had a voltmet...

I don't have the benefit of an IP2 Manual to hand, but I always thought that generator had a 180 w output. On the other hand, the Commander has a much bigger Kokusan generator rated, I think, at around 330 w. John's Classic now has a Commander engine (and generator) installed. The bigger generator w...

Hi John,
The Commander generator is rated at 28 amps, more than enough to cope with a 'leccy pump and all the lights.
Where did you see the figure of 13 amps for it?
R.

The F1 Sport series, also known as TT for Germany, starts at chassis/engine number 050300 (the Green One) and finishes at 050369. That last one was a frame-only supplied to Norton Motors Deutschland and made there into a complete bike from parts. 050343 was sold as an engine only. 050367 and 050368 ...

I think you'll find that's not a Classic, but an ex-South Yorks Police IP2 #3222 dressed up as a Classic.

Roy,It would be helpful to know your engine/chassis number as that is used for the Norton rotary records.Registration number is helpful, but not always recorded.Probably better if you PM me.R.

Steve,Time pressure to get the job completed before Xmas meant that I had to fit slightly-used genuine Mikuni parts, taken from carb bodies in my 'may-come-in-useful-later' box. I'll have another look to see if I can find another set for you.Searching the web didn't come up with anything definitely ...