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Mk1a airbox and side panel mounting

Submitted by david_henshaw on Thu, 09/06/2011
Forums
Commando

A call for help from all the Commando owners. I have a Mk1A and am trying to put together the puzzle of left hand Side Panel and its mounting. Lets start with the situation.

I bought the bike in bits.

Ihad to buy an Airbox S/H from on of our 'good' (I know there has beensome chat recently of poor suppliers, but I am very happy with the quality & service of this one)suppliers of parts. I later found out it was a MkIII Airbox but basically the same as what I need for the Mk1A.

I am completely missing the front bracket that supports the Side Panel. In saying that, the bracket for the Ignition Switch is there, but there is no evidence of the90deg (vertical)part on the back of the bracket with the pin ever being there.

The Side Panelsseem to becorrect for the model of the bike. i.e. The Side Panel is 'carried' on two 'pins' at the top (front & back) of the panel, and fixed by the silly plastic Dzus fastener at the bottom to the plastic block on the Battery Tray.

Because it is a Mk1A, the normal parts book does not cover that aspect of thisvariant.

My question is, would someone have photos or rough dimensions of the bracket needed so that I can fabricate it? Any help would be appreciated. By the way, as I have a MkIII Airbox, if anyone is looking for one of these and has a Mk1A Airbox, I would be willing to do a deal, because I know that these things seem to be quite rare now.. Just a thought. Thanks in advance..

Submitted by jeff_norrie on Thu, 09/06/2011

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Hi Stephen

I canât help with the side panel fixing query Iâm afraid. I converted my MKIIA Interstate to Roadster trim a long time ago. I think the side panels are from an earlier machine so I wouldnât have a clue how itâs supposed to be done. Is your bike an Interstate?

If you are trying to keep everything original, or donât want to screw every last bit of power from the bike then carry on with the plastic air box. Junking mine was the best thing I ever did. With the black air box fitted and the carbs jetted accordingly it used to run out of steam at about 6500rpm. Of course â I donât know if thatâs how they all are, but that was my experience. I fitted the 750 air filter, which I think looks nicer anyway. The carbs do need different spray tubes and jets when you do this. Straight away it just revved out cleanly. It pulled like a train to the red line, and wanted to carry on going. Iâm not sure whether this works with the black cap silencers though, Iâve always had pea shooters. The added advantage is you can buy a different front plate if you want to run with a single Amal later on.

Cheers

Jeff

Submitted by david_henshaw on Thu, 09/06/2011

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Hi Jeff,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I have to admit theat the earlier Filter setup looks considerably nicer than the later plastic version, and along with the pea shooters, gives a really nice combinationin looks, sound and performance. I have admired this setup and would like toeventually change to this when funds allow, but for the mean time I want the bike back to standard. (Black plastic airbox and Black Cap Silencers, what am I thinking)..

I bought the bike in boxes around 25 years ago, (I know, the shame of it), not really knowing what a Norton was like but still loving all things British, (BSAs etc), but only had enough funds to buy the bike and not restore it.. The good thing was that there seemed to only be around 6500miles on the clock. The crank is on its standard grind with little wear and Pistons/bores are standard also.. From then on, it was Norton or nothing.

The bank manager is screaming at me less and less currently and I am adamant that I will breathe some life back into the old girl once again this year. I think that a 25 year rest is long enough.. Plus as well, the wife does not seem to mind me being out in the garage to all hours working as I suppose she know where I am!!(She is very good really)..

My plans are that the bike will be used for a number of short runs and days out, but I know how enthusiastic Commando owners areand I have been warned on more than one occasion that once I set my bsckside on the seat, I won't want to get off...

I can't wait..

Thanks again,

Stephen.

 


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