Hi all
Here's a couple of shots of my finished bike!





Thank you to everyone on this great site who have offered their help, guidance and parts, in particular Rik, for all his help
Cheers Stuart

email (option): stuartcameron66@hotmail.com

G'day Stuart.

Nice job, looks like a lot of work has gone into it.

It looks very nice. You must have spend a fair few hours on it.

I like the Before and After photos..........it must have been tricky achieving that all over rusty appearance....green paint can be hard to remove. On Ian Wrights suggestion, I dropped my Matchless off the end of the Arromanche pier and got pretty close to your finish after a couple of days. Ian thought I would get a much better effect if I left it in the sea, but that seemed a little impractical and I am not sure he was being serious.

Seriously........very nice!

Stu, it's looking magnificent, an absolute credit to you (and a tribute to Norton's parts interchangeability ! )

Have you had the chance to ride it much ? Are you pleased with how it runs and steers ?

Quite a transformation and it's now looking good...

I like the Aussie marking..A friend of mine has that on his Australian built wartime staff car...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

And a 633cc engine, so some grunt for hill climbing.... Nice one! Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Looks great !! Well done

Onley one point is the frontwheel correct?
Mine is mounted with the brake the other side.
Have fun with it
Regards
Bram

Thanks for your kind feedback guys!

Ive only done a couple of trips around the block which has a gentle rise and it pulls itself up the hill easily with plenty in reserve!
The corners are "interesting" as it steers like a rudderless boat, so ill have to play around with the settings to find a sweet spot (if possible)
For the rivet counters this bike is a real "actor".......A 16H frame with a Big4 motor, civilian forks (front brake drum opposite side to rear), incorrect toolbox/pannier setup, probably incorrect grips and footrest rubbers?!? and no doubt more to the experienced eye!
But i'm extremely happy with it, apart from part restorations to 80's Japanese bikes, this is the first bike i've done from scratch!
Thank you all again for your posts along the way (and the unrelated posts that i've searched), its been very helpful and a real credit to Henk for this great site!
Cheers Stu

email (option): stuartcameron66@hotmail.com

Stu, it certainly shouldn't be steering like a boat. What tyre pressures are you running ? Don't stick with period recommendations - modern soft-walled tyres need modern pressures. I run 27psi front / 30psi rear.

I wonder if it's a little over-tyred at the front. Are you using a 4.00" ? Whatever, pressure will help.

The racers had cradle frames and narrower forks but the basic geometry is very similar and they were lapping the Isle of Man at damned near 90mph before the war...On a smoothish surface, a girder Norton should show you the way round the bends !

Thanks Rik
I'll try your pressure recommendation, both the tyre's are 4.00" i will also be running copper fuel lines after i put a couple of tankfuls of petrol through with the plastic filters and rubber lines!

email (option): stuartcameron66@hotmail.com

Front tires a bit big, i run a 3.50" on the Norton and a 3.25" on the 3HW.
I also found the 4" tire was too big for the rear on the Norton and switched to something narrower (3.5" i think?)

I guess it depends what you are comparing it with, they are 'slow' steering compared with anything modern.
And can get a real handful over 80 without a steering damper, but around 60 mph they are very steady - almost feels like something with a long wheelbase (like ss900 Duc.).

A narrower front tire will sharpen things up considerably - you can then run lower tire pressures so you don't have to grit your teeth going over manhole covers etc.

Very sensible idea running a fuel filter to start with - watch out for water in petrol as i have found they can cause the paper automotive filter to block - very mystifying on my F650 until i removed it?

Nice looking Norton.

As a matter of interest can you get the spark plug out without taking the tank off?

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

I agree with Rik. The road-holding should be a lot better than you describe Stu. The side check springs and frame construction should put the 16H amongst the best of the period. Maybe double check your head race bearings and fork spindle adjustments.

Good point by Rob also about the spark plug. The Big 4 has a cut-out in the tank behind the right side knee grip to enable plug removal. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

While on the subject of Nortons..What are the identifying differences between a Big 4 front hub and a 16H hub?...

I've come across a wheel and would like to know what it is...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Hi Ian

The 16H hub has a bearings housing protruding from both sides the big4 hub only has it on one side.

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

Thanks Rob...I'll have a look to see which it is...Does the brake drum need to be removed to see that?...

Ultimately the wheel will be for sale I think..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Hi Ian

Yes I think you would have to remove the brake drum to see which it is.

The rim size is also a clue, if its 19inch it 16H if its 18inch it may be either Big4 or RAF 16H, both are quite rare.

If its Big4 I would be interested, I could use a better hub, one of mine is cracked and I still don't have a proper front brake drum.

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

Thanks for the petrol filter and suspension tips, I'll make some adjustments and see how it goes !
I do have undo the tank bolts (a pain as they are lock wired) and prop up the tank to remove the plug. I have acquired a 16h motor which in time I'll rebuild and do the swap .....then I can look for a big 4 project

That looks great Stuart I use 3.75 tyres front and back on my 16H with no problems and it handle great round country lanes

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

The whole tire thing drives me nuts - i have a Kaw W650 with a fat front tire - feels awful, dropping into corners, etc - i need to get it off and fit something narrower.

I fitted 3.75" & 4" tires on the Norton - hoping to take some of the 'sting' out of m/hole covers and railway crossings - i had to run so much pressure in them to feel OK on corners that it had a WORST effect.
Hence the change to smaller section tires.

metric size tire's are a nightmare as they are usually lower profile than the old imperial ones - to get the height, they often have to be oversize.
On the Enduro/MX B25 we run narrow rear rims, so as to pinch in a modern tire to get them in the s/arm and to increase the O/D.

For years when we raced TR/TZ Yam's - people would come up to us (me and Cuz Andy)and tell me that my front tire was too narrow (it was a rear off a 125) and Andy's rear tire was too wide (same as my TZ750).......
Strange as for 5 years we dominated the 350/500 FE class .... with the wrong tires ????

Basically - don't be afraid to fit a narrow(er) tire for road use - particularly as non of us are road-racers on these old things ..................

Sorry, did i say how nice it looked

I run 350x19 Dunlop K70s at both ends of my M20 and find them to be a good all round tyre for varied road and weather conditions....

I did run some 400s but the M20 handled like a barge with those fitted...very sluggish...

Personally I think tyre selection is a fairly subjective thing...You will get dozens of opinions on what is 'best'...

The truth is that the best is what grips well in most conditions and has the handling characteristics that make you feel confident and comfortable...

Some experimentation with different tyres and putting in some miles is the only real way to provide the answer that suits you...

One word of caution, when using modern tyres ignore the original quoted tyre pressures, they will be far to soft and were to suit tyres of a completely different structure and specification...

I run about 28-30psi in the front and 35 in the rear, which I increase to 38-40 when well loaded up with camping gear etc....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I had the bike out yesterday for a decent run (70km) and was able to make some adjustments to the forks and tyre pressures, i think i may have had the damper too tight before!
Very happy with the performance, i sat comfortably on 45 mph until i blew the head gasket on the the way home, so its back on the bench for a new one and a checkover for loose bolts etc.!
Cheers Stu
Ps. the gasket was a composite one! Should i replace with a copper one?

email (option): stuartcameron66@hotmail.com

Stu, I run with no steering damper on and hardly any on the side damper unless the road is very bumpy.

The composite head gaskets need to be re-tightened through a couple of heat cycles before they can be trusted. After that, they seem OK. Had you re-tightened the head nuts before your run ?

Rik
Thanks for the damper tips! The other nuts are tight enough just till the knurled washers can rotate?
I didn't check the head nuts at the start of the ride but had to tighten them when i stopped for lunch (engine was starting to backfire a bit), i got about 15km's on the return leg when i heard a pop and lost all power. After pulling over i noticed an inch of gasket missing, so i guess the damage was done at the start of the ride!
Cheers Stu

email (option): stuartcameron66@hotmail.com

How are the girder spindles? I know that with one of my machines, it weaved like a drunken sailor because the spindles/bushes were worn.....

Stu My Big 4 did the same thing before I even got it out of the workshop! Blew an inch out of the head gasket. I replaced it with solid copper. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

very good work
also very nice bike
sheers-Hussein

email (option): sl_hussein@yahoo.com

RE - blowing head-gasket

Not certain if the WD 16H are the same, but civilian 16H use blind-nuts and studs to attach the head - the studs have a habit of bottoming inside the nut, before they fully clamp the head-gasket.

The stud then seize into the nut, so when you remove the nut, the stud comes out with it - making a fancy head 'bolt'.

Try fitting the head without a gasket and check the nuts and 'bolts' don't bottom before the head clamps to the cylinder.

Also, as said - run for an hour or so, then re-torque the head - perhaps a couple of times - as the composite gasket settles.

Solid head gaskets are the way to go for predictability and reliability and remove the need to tighten through multiple heat cycles...One re torqueing after an initial run is usually sufficient...

Ensure solid copper gaskets are annealed before fitting and my advice would be to avoid repro composite gaskets altogether..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Thanks for all your comments!
The fork spindles and bushes are in good order .
The nuts are all open and a couple were only finger tight when I re tightened them !
I will try to source a copper gasket from the NOC.
Cheers Stu

Don,t forget, Stuart when you tighten the head bolts there is a specific order to the tightening. It must be done in the sequence as shown in the manual.

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Make a sold gasket - copper sheet of various sizes are available in nice convenient sizes off ebay.

Its not as hard as you may think - a hand drill and file is all the tools you need.

Sandwhich the copper between head and some wood and drill through for the head bolts.
When you are happy these holes actually line up with the studs - mark out the combustion chamber shape - use the old gasket + a felt tip.

Wood pecker a series of holes well away from the final shape - they don't even have to join up as side-cutters/chisel/wood chisel/etc can be use to chop away any joining bits.

Then sandwhich the copper between two pieces of wood - leaving exposed the bit you want to file (about 1-2 inch at a time) - and file combustion chamber to shape.

When happy - check it fits the cylinder etc and cut the outside of the gasket to a nice shape - i usually make it wider than standard - heavy scissors will often do this, no need for metal shears.

Check again - anneal on gas-ring/blow-torch/camping gaz stove - and its finished.

Very satisfying

Ian Wright

Quite a transformation and it's now looking good...

I like the Aussie marking..A friend of mine has that on his Australian built wartime staff car...Ian

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au