Featherbed centre stand

Hi.

You don't say what year your bike is. As regards to featherbed framed Nortons:-

Things to check:

That the stand bolt-holes aren't elongated.

Wear on the two 'pads' of metal welded to the bottom of the frame on which the frame rests on thestandwhen it is down.

Wear on the two projections either side of the stand that butt onto the above.

Wear on the 'feet' of the stand itself.

Usually, (on featherbedNortons)if everything is standard - fork length, shock length, wheel diameters - the wheels just touch the ground when the bike is on the stand.

Regards,

Ian.

Just curious, what year? My '57 model 77 has the same issue, the rear tire has little or no space under it when on the stand. My '60 Noamd has factory welded up spacers on the feet of the stand, so you shouldnt have any trouble welding something on. I have seen Nortons with 1/2 sections of steel pipe welded on the bottom, presumbaly to make it easier to roll the bike up onto the stand.

Skip Brolund

You don't say what year your Model 50 is? If it is a F/bed (1959-1963) and you have the correct rear shocks and forks then the common problem is the 'steel' has worn from the feet, an easy fix.

If it is pre F/bed (Pre 1959)I can't help you much as I can't get the bits to put mine together. But what I can tell you is that the rear shocks are an odd length, generally not available. That might be an issue.

I put new shocks on my rebuilt Atlas and ended up with both tyres touching the floor. Which it had not done previously. Also when wheeling the bike backwards, out of my garage, the chain started rubbing on the swinging arm. Something it usually only did when badly out of adjustment.

On measuring the shock lengths I discovered they were 12.4" long. Not the recommended 11.9". When I contacted the supplier, about the difference, he said that he made all the Slimline shocks that length because there was a demand for it!!! Really!!!

Adding to the threads above, another cause of apparently short stands is the bottom rails bending upwards a little. Apart from being due to general wear and tear, this is often the result of people starting their machines while it is on the stand.

Because of the material and method used to manufacture Dommie main stands I didn't think general welding (ie arc) bits on to it was possible. Only the specialised kind like MiG or Tig. The reason I say this is that the foot peg snapped off my stand and Mr Local Fixit said he could only braze it back on the top of the foot. This he did but within a year it had dropped off again.

My ever helpful neighbour then gave me some cast iron arc rods to build up a shoulder each side of the peg, while it was clamped to the foot. Then I used steel arc rods to bridge across the three lumps. Not pretty but it does work! See attachment

Sounds like the same vendor I bought a pair of shocks from. Wrong length with something of a take it or leave it attitude. I did get my money back though and paid a bit more for Hagon ones. As for welding, I have used ordinary mild steel arc rods successfully - I presume the stands are cast steel. Wear on the feet can result in a sharp knife edge which will cut into the bottom frame tubes. Something to be aware of and the main reason I dug out the arc welder.