Fixing Classic British Motorcycles

About 20 years ago, I purchased a Norton 850 Commando sight-unseen. I figured that the $50 asking price was low enough, and that it would allow me to tackle a restoration project.

I asked one of my brothers to drive me over early on a Saturday morning to pick up my "new" bike, and upon arrival at the seller's house (actually the bike was sitting in the back yard), my brother asked if I really wanted to haul that "piece of s$#&" back to the house.

We did and, only then, I realized that I had no clue as to what I was getting into. I had no experience with British bikes; none at all. So I started asking around as to which books were the best for learning about these bikes and, hopefully, restore one back to life.

Someone mentioned a Norton repair manual by Clymer, and fortunately, the local bike shop had one on the shelf. That manual was eventually combined with the Clymer manuals for BSA and Triumph motorcycles, becoming Vintage British Street Bikes Repair Manual: BSA, Norton & Triumph, a must-have manual for anyone wanting use a wrench on one of these classic motorcycles.

I will save the details of my restoration project for some other time, but let me say that the Clymer repair manual saved me time and money many times over. And the fact that I had never worked on one of these bikes was not an issue.

If you do not own a set of Whitworth spanners (as the British call them), you will be able to get by with a combination of Standard (American) and metric wrenches. And, depending on the condition and age of the British bike you plan to restore, a can of WD-40 may come in handy from time to time.

My project Norton was an 850 Commando, and after many, many months of hard work, I was able to take it out for a spin around the neighborhood. I was fortunate that my bike's engine was in very good condition, at least internally. I cannot say the same about the transmission which required extensive work, but it was all worth it in the end.

I did make some modifications to my bike so it would run better, so I opted to install a Boyer electronic ignition and also a single Mikuni carburetor. I know that to purists that is unacceptable, but I wanted to ride my bike for long distances without having to call friends who owned trucks to give me a ride back home, so I was willing to live with those modifications. Actually, I also used a coil donated from a wrecked Japanese motorcycle and newer style Dunlop tires, which allowed the bike to handle superbly.

I think I tore that Norton apart at least twice, and by the second time I gave it a new paint job thanks to a can of mis-matched metallic blue Jaguar paint. The bike looked gorgeous after it was finished and I rode it for a few years before selling it. Wish I still owned it.

Anyway, that old Clymer Norton repair manual was worth every penny, and then some. And thankfully the same manual still exists thanks to the folks at Clymer Manuals, now combined with the BSA and Triumph books.

If you are considering—or are already in the process of—restoring a classic British motorcycle, then you owe it to yourself to get a copy of Vintage British Street Bikes Repair Manual: BSA, Norton & Triumph. It will be an integral part of your restoration project.


Publisher: Clymer Manuals
Binding: Paperback — 7 x 10 inches
Pages: 640 — Hundreds of b&w photos and illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-89287-604-4