Pictures of your Norton 961

On the harbour at “Ramsgate Royal harbour “ as we are allowed to call it , apparently George the 4th was so chuffed by the warm welcome he received from locals on his commute to hanover Germany that he decreed it “ The Royal Harbour of Ramsgate “ & we could fly the royal standard now & again , nothing to do with his favourite mistress living nearby then.
My mates 750 roadster looking cool aswell today , combat engine & still on kick start ( poor bugger )
Pictures of your Norton 961
,
Pictures of your Norton 961
 
That would be the Royal Temple Yacht Club by chance ? We stayed a few nights when we visited Ramsgate to visit Richard Pearce . A very good time was had by Katherine and I . Might that be Geoff's Commando ?
 
Spot on Tony, Geoff & I were just on way to a NOC gathering at the Dover transport museum,here’s a few good ones , & a Norton Press ? , any ideas what that was used for chaps ?
Pictures of your Norton 961
Pictures of your Norton 961
Pictures of your Norton 961
Pictures of your Norton 961
 
BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:
Spot on Tony, Geoff & I were just on way to a NOC gathering at the Dover transport museum,here’s a few good ones , & a Norton Press ? , any ideas what that was used for chaps ?
View attachment 115441View attachment 115442View attachment 115443View attachment 115444
Click to expand...
It's a Norton No 6S bar press with corner notching tool used for pressing things, from Wilson Machinery International Limited so says Mr Mcgoogle , so nothing to do with our beloved esteemed machines. Would make a good anchor for one of the yachts in the harbour though. Could also be used for pressing super blend main bearings into Combat motors.😄🤣
 
Last edited:
Gary from Tulley (Far North QLD) is touring again on his Cafe Racer - he sent me this pic. In Brisbane currently - Tulley to Brisbane is approx 1600 km (directly). I’m more than ready to get off mine after 200km!!

He’s gonna pop in to my place tomorrow for a catch up and also to borrow a TPS. He’s getting worse than usual fuel economy (7 Litres/100km) and suspects the TPS. That’s not great economy but he’s carrying weight, it’s been pretty windy and if he’s been heavy on the throttle or cruising at higher speeds that economy would’nt be unheard of - 243 Km on a tank.

He would know though, as his bike has pretty high mileage (80K Km ish). I’ll find out exactly where he’s at tomorrow.

Resized_20240724_153717.jpeg
 
Gary popped in a few days back - he's on a tour with a few mates from Far North Queensland. He'd been having difficulty with the bike in certain parts of the rev range and suspected the TPS. He was right - when he tested his the readings were all over the place. He fitted my spare and all was good. Happy days!

I was way off with his mileage. He's on his way back to Tulley, a route that'll see his mileage reach 93K Km. I'm guessing the heavily modified bike you see below is likely the highest mileage 961 in existence. He was off road following a car crash for 18 months or he'd have topped the 100k for sure. An interesting guy is Gary, with an iron butt! 500-600km days on his CR are common - he uses it daily for work also. I'm guessing it helps if you're shorter!

I'll post some of the more interesting modifications he's done when I get more time. You may spot one of the main ones from the pic.

Pictures of your Norton 961
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Gary popped in a few days back - he's on a tour with a few mates from Far North Queensland. He'd been having difficulty with the bike in certain parts of the rev range and suspected the TPS. He was right - when he tested his the readings were all over the place. He fitted my spare and all was good. Happy days!

I was way off with his mileage. He's on his way back to Tulley, a route that'll see his mileage reach 93K Km. I'm guessing the heavily modified bike you see below is likely the highest mileage 961 in existence. He was off road following a car crash for 18 months or he'd have topped the 100k for sure. An interesting guy is Gary, with an iron butt! 500-600km days on his CR are common - he uses it daily for work also. I'm guessing it helps if you're shorter!

I'll post some of the more interesting modifications he's done when I get more time. You may spot one of the main ones from the pic.

View attachment 115530
Click to expand...
What's the valve in the hose ? And which hose is it , breather ? He has lots of miles on his bike too .
 
TonyA said:
What's the valve in the hose ? And which hose is it , breather ? He has lots of miles on his bike too .
Click to expand...
Air line. From airbox straight into the throttle body. He adjusts tickover on the fly with it.

Offline for a few days; I’ll post some more pictures later.
 
A few more pics of Gary’s mileage munching Cafe Racer.

He controls idle via an air valve in an added air line, between airbox and throttle body. Had to manufacture a spring to hold hose to throttle body, without leaks - trial and error. Operated the valve with engine running to show me adjustment between 950 -1200 revs. Bike seemed happy with either - idle stable. IAV removed.

IMG_3502.jpeg

Oil flow altered significantly to ensure the bike wet sumps - he reckons the oil pump is more than capable of dealing with this approach. One way valve(s) removed, hoses switched around on oil cooler(?). Dipstick removed and frame neck re-engineered to receive an upper union and hose. Oil checked with engine running and observing the oil level in the plenum.

IMG_3511.jpeg IMG_3510.jpegIMG_3507.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Tank raised up on rubber posts to provide greater clearance with battery. Battery tray reconfigured. Access to main fuse. Gary reckons the line between tank and airbox is better to the eye - subjective.

IMG_3503.jpeg IMG_3505.jpeg IMG_3524.jpeg
IMG_3523.jpeg IMG_3525.jpegPictures of your Norton 961
 
Gary’s frame is cracked in the upper main tube cross member - 360 degrees. I’d have been stripping it down and looking for a good welder. He’s engineered a rod through the footpeg hanger a-frame/frame cross member and included an inner adjusting nut and outer locking nut (I think) to pull the frame together. Think I’d still want to get this welded. He has two other 961’s, so has options.

Pictures of your Norton 961 Pictures of your Norton 961

Some more unusual stuff - can’t explain the rear brake! With the mileage he does a cruise control is a must - this was modified to fit the 961. Can’t remember what make it is but it looks really well made.

Pictures of your Norton 961 Pictures of your Norton 961
 
Interesting mods. Thanks for posting the pics Steve. I’d noticed the brake pedal before when you posted pics of it on display somewhere. I had presumed he reversed it to stop folks catching their leg on it, but I guess not.
Does he leave the oil filler off all the time?

Re: his mileage. Aren’t the trip meters in miles (regardless of market)?
 
cliffa said:
Interesting mods. Thanks for posting the pics Steve. I’d noticed the brake pedal before when you posted pics of it on display somewhere. I had presumed he reversed it to stop folks catching their leg on it, but I guess not.
Does he leave the oil filler off all the time?

Re: his mileage. Aren’t the trip meters in miles (regardless of market)?
Click to expand...
Interesting indeed Cliff. Gary’s old-old school, self taught from riding old Brit’s since he was a kid.

Fits the cap, minus the dipstick. He’s getting a little emulsification in the cap as you can see. Not sure why he’s reversed the rear brake lever - he runs his own race; he really is’nt interested in what anyone else is doing😂! He’s modified the clutch (and I think gearbox) in some way but I didn’t catch the detail.

Overseas bikes in KM, certainly Australia anyway.

IMG_3508.jpeg
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Gary’s frame is cracked in the upper main tube cross member - 360 degrees. I’d have been stripping it down and looking for a good welder. He’s engineered a rod through the footpeg hanger a-frame/frame cross member and included an inner adjusting nut and outer locking nut (I think) to pull the frame together. Think I’d still want to get this welded. He has two other 961’s, so has options.

View attachment 115613 View attachment 115614

Some more unusual stuff - can’t explain the rear brake! With the mileage he does a cruise control is a must - this was modified to fit the 961. Can’t remember what make it is but it looks really well made.

View attachment 115618 View attachment 115617
Click to expand...
I think the brake pedal mod is because this is where his foot naturally wants to be. It may also give a better purchase with lever and toe peg together . I may try this .
 

Similar threads

Shelby-Right
Pictures of your Triumph T160 or similar .
2 3 4 5
Replies
94
Views
15,506
Mark Savage
Mark Savage
BLIGHTYBRIT/SF
The embarrassing throwback pictures of your/our/my bikes & me
6 7 8 9 10 11
Replies
218
Views
46,449
BERT
BERT
CanukNortonNut
Best Adventure roads you have ridden on your Norton
2
Replies
23
Views
5,908
CanukNortonNut
CanukNortonNut
p400
Post Photos of your Norton P11
4 5 6 7 8 9
Replies
160
Views
44,678
Fast Eddie
Fast Eddie
B
  • Locked
What's your story? How did you aquire your Norton?
2 3
Replies
57
Views
7,823
grandpaul
grandpaul
Back
Top