English French German Italian Spanish

Help!! 1936 Norton 50 starting/running problems

Submitted by susan_harris on Sunday, 10 July, 2016 - 01:00
Forums
Singles

Er....very new to these old girls. Tank is re-lined as was very poor inside. Have cleaned carb & replaced all washers etc, all back on & read all the books about starting procedure! She starts, but there's a loud-ish "tink" from the carb every now & then, & then she stops. Tried all sorts of combinations of throttle/adv-retard & airflow, & all sorts of idle screw etc adjustments. No doubt there'll be all sorts of explanations, but I'm stumped.

Help anyone?

Sue

Submitted by richard_payne on Sunday, 10 July, 2016 - 01:01

Permalink

Have you removed the jet block from the carb ? It's really impossible to clean the pilot air drillings without doing that (carb body needs to be warmed and block carefully tapped out).

Submitted by susan_harris on Sunday, 10 July, 2016 - 01:02

Permalink

Thankyou, but yes. Had a fiddle & a twiddle, put a new plug in (should've done that in the first place) & altered the mixture....had to turn it right in as far as it'd go, but all seems to be much better.

Just HAD to give her a try. Been up the lane & back. First ride on her. Just WON-der-ful. Now I know why I've done all that training over the last few months& passed my test3 weeks ago! Just to do what I've just done. Bloomin' smashing! Could've gone on for ages but hubby would've been worried!!

Now I've got some oil coming from the gearbox......have used SAE40....is this too thin, or have I overfilled, do you think? Seems to have stopped after a 5min ride..........................

Sue

Submitted by david_cooper on Sunday, 10 July, 2016 - 01:04

Permalink

Sue... welcome! Re: oil leaks. They all do that... I use corrugated card on the garage floor. If I use a metal tray I'll run over it sooner or later. I use straight 50 in gearbox. Some use semiliquid grease. No doubt there will soon be more views.Sounds like starting problems are sorted. I'd have suggested another possibility to be magneto timing. They can slip on the taper if not then tight enough but of course too tight and the sprocket will be hard to remove.David

Submitted by howard_thompson on Monday, 11 July, 2016 - 01:00

Permalink

'...but there's a loud-ish "tink" from the carb every now & then, & then she stops.'

Sounds to me like a description of spitting back through the carb, an indication of weak mixture or need for the choke to be left on for a little longer.

Submitted by david_cooper on Monday, 11 July, 2016 - 01:05

Permalink

Lovely looking bike! What type of gear lever do you have? I can't make it out from the photo. At that date it 'should' be short and straight but the later (WD 16H) ones are longer and hooked down and more comfortable to use. But they come in different arrangements of the clamping bolt - if the head of the bolt is on top (most of the WD 16H ones are like this) it will clash with the short gear indicator you have. Some early ones had the head underneath which is what the short level is supposed to have.But if you aren't too tall and don't have huge feet, the short one might suit you and it is 'correct'.RegardsDavid

Submitted by susan_harris on Tuesday, 12 July, 2016 - 01:00

Permalink

Thankyou David. Yes, she is lovely...not concours, but now clean! Think we have the correct short level lever.

The more we look & fettle, the more we see that is probably original....few bits aren't (mudguards for one) but mostly of some considerable "age"! She's an 80 year oldgirl, & I have no intention of making her look like new...but now she's clean at least I can see where the leaks come from. I presume that's a matter of course anyway, but when you're learning there's nothing worse than black smudge all over the place!

Only problem is, having just about got used to a Suzuki SV650, I've got to now learn to brake with my left foot! The following pic shows myself & hubby a couple of weeks ago having passed our test a week or so before!!

Attachments
27-06-16-suzukis-copy-jpg

Submitted by richard_payne on Tuesday, 12 July, 2016 - 01:06

Permalink

The curved gearchange lever appeared in 1938 on civilian and WD models (listed as 8955 and 3955 respectively....was one a misprint ?).

There were no wartime changes to the part number (there were to the position indicator) and all the photographic evidence that I can find suggests that the (reduced head) screw (3627) was always fitted from underneath.

The change levers currently available on eBay from Indian sellers all seem to have the screw head above (and not reduced hex either).

Could it be that those with the top fitting are post-war pattern items ?

Susan, I'm sure that you'll soon get used to the right hand shift. Down for faster is nice too...

 



© 2024 Norton Owners Club Website by 2Toucans