Rotary Owners' Club

There are two types of connecting link for a rear chain.. a detachable link can be re-used and has a horseshoe-shaped spring clip to hold the removable side plate in position. Unfortunately, it can be wrongly fitted and come apart with loss of drive. On a conventional open rear chain, this isn't usu...

Commiserations !Air-cooled or Commander ? You don't say which.If Commander, then sure to be the gaiter perished at the convolutions.If air-cooled, then it could be the big oil seal in the sprocket cover plate is leaking.If Graham at Startright hasn't got a new seal, then your only solution is to use...

According to a piece in the m/cycling press from Stuart Garner .... turn up on a Norton and get free track access..... I just got my Booking Forms from NOC and see that, unless I read incorrectly, nothing is free.Friday entry is £10.00 NOC member / £12.00 non-member.Friday road-bike track session x...

Hi Paul,70mph at 5000 sounds a bit pessimistic to me.We used to calculate, with a 110/90 Phantom and standard 17 / 43 final drive, that speed was 15.6 mph / 1000 rpm so that 5000 should be somewhere between 75 and 80mph.Do you know what rear sprocket you have ? You may have the optional 44T but that...

With a compliment like that, it'll be my turn to buy the cream cakes then ? I noticed the same characteristic with Avons on an F1 ; rock-steady at speed but un-nerving to ride at slow / moderate pace.All Bridgestones seem to be neutral at any speed.R.

Paul,Spinning the wheel in the bike (speedo cable still connected ?) is not really a good check as there is friction in the bearings and seals to take into account - perhaps explaining why it didn't stop in the same place every time.Even if you fit a new tyre yourself, I would have the wheel profess...

Hi 'rustynuts', When using an extractor exhaust, the lubricating oil does its business on the bearings and rotor sides and then is burnt in the exhaust. Is any additional oil then requierd in the fuel to lubricate the rotor tips or can they happily function without it? As you note, additional oil is...

Steve,Commiserations ! Throttle arm, I presume ?I knew of a guy (Tom Waterer) 40 years ago who broke his right wrist in a racing incident. He transferred the throttle of his road bike to the left bar so that he could continue to commute to work at BSA Small Heath.All was well for a week or so until ...

Dave,I've known Peter has been using Morris's for some time, and am very interested to hear if anyone else has any experience.At least two advantages over other mineral oils, in my opinion :-. it's available in 5 litre cans. it doesn't smell quite as bad as the others (but not as nice as the synthet...

Forgive my ignorance - but when is it ?If the Club can manage a display, I'd love to attend and / or help out.I wouldn't be averse to a lap or several either - been almost forty years since I last did that.R.

I have a special affection for the Vulcan, as during a summer vacation from Manchester Uni., I worked (attended ?) for six weeks at the Avro Whitworth factory at Blackley where they were being made. Making honeycomb aluminium panels was a novelty, as was watching an enormous hydraulically-powered ma...

I confirm that Mid-West did carry out a test of different oil brands , but not of differing oil types. The test at the time was on a single rotor water-cooled engine, type IAE50R, producing around 55bhp at 7,750rpm; the tests were part of a CAA approval process to certify an alternate oil to Comp 2 ...

Dave, WC, et al,I fully endorse the use of Comp 2 Pre-Mix in rotaries ; although it's typically four times the price of Rotella equivalents, I'm now a pensioner and so well able to afford it for my own Commander.Comp 2 was specified by Mid-West for the aero engines because it wetted the end plates a...

[quote="dave perry"]Hi Richard, and Fellow RotaristsThe side seals are down to 2.3mm, the corner pins are 5.5mm - both on bottom limit if I read the manual correctly.The apex seals are down to 7.2mm, the bottom limit is 7.35 I believe. Dave,Wotaloadofoldtosh !Last week I couldn't spell 'en...

Hi Dave,Sorry to hear of the problems, and a few questions :-Is the 40k miles additional to the 43k on the speedo three years ago when we did the gearbox ?Have you been able to check if the oil pump cable is free to close the pump when the throttle is closed (the only gearbox / rear chaincase breath...

[ I might even provide a spare new nut if you bring me a cream bun or three.[/color][/quote]Cheers Dave ! Very nice with the afternoon tea - but don't tell 'er indoors as I'm supposed to be on a diet yet again :lol: .R.

[quote="dave perry"] I knew from last time I took the wheel off that the stud had worked loose, but the nut had tightened back up OK, and so I reasoned that all would be well with the split pin in place - wrong !Of course, the split pin does not bear up against the nut; there is a gap of ...

Hello Ciowiec,I think, although not absolutely sure, that the KM914 and Norton / KC27 engines are not the same.The 914 is 303cc, the Norton 294cc, with the difference being the width of the rotor, apex seal and rotor housing.Norton and W2000 (KC27 motor?) are the same at 68.2mm wide and the 914 is a...

Derek,\rMy understanding is that those companies with a previous agreement for use of the trademarked scroll logo, including but not limited to, Andover Norton, Norvil Motorcycles, Norton Owners Club and Joe's own companies, are not affected by the new arrangement. Time will tell, however.\r\rHow ot...

Hi Derek & other readers,\rIf I hadn't pressed the wrong key last night, deleted all my carefully composed response to your previous message, and gone to the pub in a huff, you would have been able to read my opinion on 'Norton' trademarks and Norton rotary IPR last night.\rSo now to try again, ...

I'm mad as hell, bl**dy peeved, at an untruth being circulated by Peter Scatchard, one of the NOC vice presidents, in an e-mail widely circulated today.\rNorton Racing Ltd have most definitely not bought the Norton rotary motorcycle intellectual property (= designs, drawings, tooling, authority to m...

I see from the MCN web site feature that they quote that the NRV588 road bike will come after the 961 Commando is in production. Disappointment all round for rotary enthusiasts then !

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll give them a try.

Has anyone got any first-hand experience of organising a sponsored bike ride, circa 3,000 miles, in aid of a charity ?\rWhat, if any, permissions are needed ?\rWhat is a reasonable daily mileage, on A & B roads only, using IP2's ?\rTo keep costs down, where would you stay overnight ?\rDo you inf...

I finally got the chance to examine one by a kart racer. It is much as I expected, with a vacuum-controlled secondary butterfly at the rotor housing port which opens after about half-throttle.\rNot much good for my bike though - the owner says there is a ten second (yes 10 !) limit on use at full th...

W588 - you know Brian do you not? dont you get any first hand information? \rMaybe you're confusing me with someone else? I haven't talked to Brian about this venture and all my opinions come from experience and from what I read in the comics and various web sites.\rHave a look at the US Norton sit...

according to the mystery man in the cap (who claims to know Brian Crighton), Brian is aiming to go Moto GP racing!!!... \r\rMisquotes rule ! I know he means the 250 replacement class, but comments like that make me, and probably several others in the real world, cringe. After all, Moto GP is big bus...

Dave,\rAnother thought - check for play in the rear wheel bearings.\rHeard of an MOT failure which turned out to be lack of grease in the 'hidden' double-row bearing which seized, turned in the wheel until the wheel cracked (and had to be replaced). The owner didn't notice the fault because the spli...

Dave,\rDo you know of someone to overhaul them then ? Without the special tough peg spanner, getting the damper body cap off can be a bit of a bu**er.\rHagons work for me (£110 / pair I think) or if you're really flush, a pair of Australian-made Ikons (geddit ? Koni replicas) at around £600 + six ...

Anyone know the meaning of 'common sense' :?: \rCommon sense tells you that those who wish and have money go out and do things (John Bloor for example)\rCommon sense tells you that those who wish and don't have money, shout about it in the hope of attracting someone else's money (Philip LeRoux for e...