Peyote Dreams
By
Art Bone
"Poor Mexico; so far from God, so close to the United States." Porfirio Diaz
We’ve made another trip around the sun and summer is almost over. And with that, another rally is behind us. The Northern California Norton Owners, with the leadership of Harry Bunting, did an excellent job and it was enjoyed and appreciated by all who attended. Even the weather gave us a break this year for, if memory serves, it was very hot twenty years ago when we were in Quincy.
Talked to Mike Herrod today. Mike has a couple of gorgeous Nortons that he can’t ride because he's having problems with his knees. At our age, or at least the age of most INOA members, knees and hips are becoming a major issue; a major issue that’s preventing us from using and enjoying our old motorcycle since most Commandos don’t have electric start and, with bad knees, hips, or backs, starting an 850 is problematic at best. And if the knees and hips don’t do it, the heart meds and pace-makers will. We all remember hearing guys say, “If you can’t start it, you shouldn’t be riding it.” We might have even said that ourselves. But now, with the wisdom and tolerance that age brings, and arthritis enforces, we realize the error in our youthful arrogance.
That brings us to the subject of Norton starters. At this stage of the redevelopment of the Norton motorcycle we have three choices of electric starters commonly available for Norton Commandos. The first, of course, is the stock setup. It works fairly well if you have the four brush, four magnet starter, a fully charged battery, preferably a modern lithium ion, electronic ignition, and your bike is in tune. The main problem with the stock set-up is that it’s only available on the 75 Mk. III and not adaptable to any other bike, making it no help at all for other years.
The second option is the Alton. The Alton is made in France and adaptable to all Commandos except the 75 Mk. III amd the very early ones with the points beneath the carbs. My experience with Altons has been limited to helping my friend Mexico Mike install one, well, actually install one three times. The first two had problems but I must say that Alton really is big on customer service and now Mike is perfectly satisfied with the unit. It cranks every time, it’s barely visible and looks almost stock, and so far has been dead reliable. They can be used with both chain and belt primary. As I reported in an earlier column, I visited the Alton factory two years ago and was impressed with their commitment to quality and service. Units were about $2300 but with the recent devaluation of the Euro they might be cheaper now.
The third option is the new unit from Colorado Norton Works. I saw this at the rally and was impressed. Like the Alton this unit is bolt on and doesn’t require any modifications to the motorcycle. However, it does require a different air cleaner since the starter is located where the stock cleaner resided. Because of that it is more noticeable than the Alton. Another reason it’s more noticeable is that, being Matt, the whole unit is polished to a high, chrome-like, gloss. (Mathew loves that bling.) If you ordered the black finish it would be much less noticeable. I like this unit because it uses a Bendix drive and is disconnected from the engine when not engaged, preventing damage from backfires. The kit uses the stock alternator and includes a belt drive. It appears to be very high quality as are all CNW parts. It costs $2445 for the fully polished, high bling, kit.
The only other starter option I know of is the QPD or Quiet Power Drive that was sold by Old Britts. I didn’t include it because I don’t know anything about it and, according to the Old Britt website they no longer sell conversion kits but will sell you the individual parts and you can roll your own. I think this is the starter used on Phil Dansbys Commandos. Phil’s installations were done by Bob Cox of Dallas TX and both bikes are very tidy but require a lot of modification.
So there you have it. You can eat right, watch your weight, exercise regularly and stave off the inevitable for a while but, sooner or later, we’re all going to need an “electric leg.” Might as well start saving your pennies.