1952 ES2 clutch adjustment

Hello David,

I had one of those. Unlike the later Norton clutches, these clutches don't have an adjuster in the middle of the pressure plate. The clutch is disengaged with a worm ehic can be accessed by removing the oval cover on the gearbox (Kickstart side). the lever which operates the worm is clamped to the worm with a bolt, which can be loosened and the worm turned with a large screwdriver to the desired position, the bolt tightened, and the cover replaced.

G'day David, it sounds as if your cable is too tight to start with. This will have the clutch rod working all the time which can lead to the hardened end/s overheating and being destroyed. You should have a 1/16"- 1/8" free movement of the cable at the handle bar lever.

As Colin says, the initial adjustment is done by loosening of the clamp nut inside the inspection cover on the box and turning with a screwdriver, the worm shaft so it just touches the clutch rod,... by feel. Screw fully in the cable adjuster on the outside top of box then pull down the actuator arm which the cable is attached (which you have just slackened off the nut). With these parts held in place, tighten up the clamp nut. Final fine adjustment then can be done with the external knurled cable adjuster on the outside of box.

Hope I've got that right?...clear as mud! I'm sure some one will correct me if wrong.

Best to get yourself an owners manual, as they explain everything with diagrams.

Cheers,

Paul

It would seem that you do have some clutch drag. This could be due to adjustment, but out of interest, what are you using as a lubricant in your primary case? I was having clutch drag on my later Norton, and I found that using automatic transmission fluid in the primary case helped.

It might not be a bad idea to take the primary case off, take the clutch apart, clean it and re-assemble it - a very easy job on your bike because the clutch springs are not adjustable. Then put everything together again and try with ATF in the case.

Previously david_bell1 wrote:

Hi Colin. I have only just got the bike so I don't actually know at the moment what the lubricant in the primary case is. It looks fairly thick whatever it is. The previous owner was actually deceased so I have not had chance to get any information really about the bike. So I am going through a process of discovery trying to figure out what is right and what is not.

Just knowing the rear wheel should free wheel with the clutch depressed helps as I can see what I can do on the cable and adjustment in the inspection cover. I think I will see what I can do on that level before digging deeper.

Actually the inspection cover leads me to another question as when I took that off I could see lubricant up to the level of the cover but did not get any leakage when I took the cover off itself. So is that right? I am assuming it would be.

That seems all right. There is a level plug in the gearbox which lets you fill it to the correct level. You really do need a manual. I have the CDRom one from Kim The CD Man, which has manuals and parts lists for many Nortons, including your ES2. Email kimthecdman@techinfo.com.au.

Best since you are not sure about what oils are in the machine, is to drain them and put in fresh to makers specs. The gear box takes 1/2 pint, so if you drain and refill with that amount you will know where your at. The level plug is to be used when just topping up with out draining and is a bit of a messy exercise.

You will always feel a little more resistance when rotating the rear wheel while in gear with clutch disengaged than in neutral because all the gears will be rotating through the thick oil and there will always be a little drag between the clutch plates due to the ingress of oil. The heavier the weight of oil, the more drag will be felt. Nothing to worry about, as long as the gears engage cleanly with engine running going from neutral to first.

Also, always free up clutch platesbefore starting engine by pulling in clutch and swinging the kick starter through several times. They tend to stick together when left standing sometimes.

I must say at this point, that of all my Brit bikes, the Norton clutch has given most grief over the years. I now have just re-built it and heavily modified it spending many hours, and now it appears to be behaving as it should!.....so far.

Previously Paul Knapp wrote:

Best since you are not sure about what oils are in the machine, is to drain them and put in fresh to makers specs. The gear box takes 1/2 pint, so if you drain and refill with that amount you will know where your at. The level plug is to be used when just topping up with out draining and is a bit of a messy exercise.

You will always feel a little more resistance when rotating the rear wheel while in gear with clutch disengaged than in neutral because all the gears will be rotating through the thick oil and there will always be a little drag between the clutch plates due to the ingress of oil. The heavier the weight of oil, the more drag will be felt. Nothing to worry about, as long as the gears engage cleanly with engine running going from neutral to first.

Also, always free up clutch platesbefore starting engine by pulling in clutch and swinging the kick starter through several times. They tend to stick together when left standing sometimes.

I must say at this point, that of all my Brit bikes, the Norton clutch has given most grief over the years. I now have just re-built it and heavily modified it spending many hours, and now it appears to be behaving as it should!.....so far.

Very good, Paul, but most of the oils recommended in the manual from the early '50s are not available 60 years later. I have not seen the Castrolite straight 20 oil recommended for the primary in many years, which is why I recommend and use A.T.F. The recommendation for engine and gearbox are Castrol XL straight 30 in winter and Castrol XXL straight 40 in summer, again, these oils are no longer being made. it is more realistic to use a 20/50 multigrade, such as Castrol GTX, year round in the engine, and a gear oil such as Castrol Hypoid 90, in the gearbox.

I don't know which Norton clutch you have been having all the problems with, but the clutches changed over the years. The 1952 clutch featured a pressed steel pressure plate held in by 3 springs which were secured in their cups by three 1/4" bolts tightened down fully. The clutch always pulled out perfectly because it was actuated by a "Mushroom" shaped pusher which ran in the gearbox main shaft and always kept the pressure plate square. The aluminium pressure plate with adjustment for the push rod and for the springs came later, probably to reduce manufacturing costs. The Commando clutch is again completely different, but I suspect you knew that.

Colin.

Not wanting to get involved in an oil debate!, BUT, for my personal preference, I use straight SAE20 Shell Corena compressor oil in all my Brit primary drives (only because I scored a 20L drum years ago )

For the Brit gear box's, I use Penrite Transoil 90 gear oil. (mono oil equivalent to SAE50 engine oil) I prefer the heavier box oil as it adds a bit more drag through the gears, helping the clutch plates to free up quicker.

Engine oil, I use Valvoline SHPO SAE50, another mono engineoil, in my Brit singles and an AJS early twin.

Also I like the heavier engine oil as summer riding can often be inthe very high 30's Cwhere thelighter oils run a little thin. (though the Valvoline is available in a mono SAE40 & SAE30 engine oil)

My 1951 clutch problems, and remedy, I'll leave for later.

I've noticed that the rear wheels tend to revolve more when ticking over in neutral on bikes fitted with upright and laydown boxes rather than the later AMC boxes. The only reason for this rotation must be drag between mainshaft and sleeve gear.

The design difference leading to this is perhaps that the mainshaft in the AMC box is pulled up tight against the inner cover whereas the earlier boxes rely for end float control on a bronze thrust washer splined to the shaft and running against the sleeve gear. Presumably drag between washer and gear is enough to cause this.

A rough impression of clutch drag can be gained by trying to paddle the bike backwards in first gear with the engine running and the clutch lever pulled in. If you can't easily do that then it's dragging too much.