E: Engine Comet Mongrel

Chris Launders

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
My Friend has a Norvin with a Norton box/Newby clutch and that's really heavy, heavier then mine with Norton Box/Commando clutch, I've told him there must be something wrong be he insists there isn't. I do know the Commando and Dominator operating arms are different but I wouldn't think that much.
 

Cyborg

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
My Friend has a Norvin with a Norton box/Newby clutch and that's really heavy, heavier then mine with Norton Box/Commando clutch, I've told him there must be something wrong be he insists there isn't. I do know the Commando and Dominator operating arms are different but I wouldn't think that much.

Does the Dominator have the same style I wonder. There is another older gearbox similar to this one down in the garage, but the lever and related bits are buried in one of "a few" tupperware containers. As mentioned previously there isn't any room to extend the arm inside the outer cover, so it doesn't appear at a quick glance that swapping it for one from another gearbox would be possible. Anyway thanks for the reply... might help to dispel the belief by some that I'm just a little limp wristed.
 

Bill Thomas

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Just had a thought, Bit of a long shot Brother Ron, Has an old Norton box on his Comet, His clutch was so bad, He broke a cable going to a rally. He has stronger hands than me, It moved the first bit, Not too bad Then half way it went real bad.
I was down there for something else and I had a feel of it, With my bad hands , It was unrideable !.
There is an adjustment to alter the swing of the lever inside the outer cover and I adjusted it a bit like a Vin Twin,
Bringing the bit where the cable goes as far to the filler cap as I could, = Much better, I could not think how he rode it before, I know nothing about Norton Gearboxes, Just knew I had to do something.
Cheers Bill.
 

Chris Launders

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
The Dominator one has two holes in it, the Commando one is plain, I don't have a pair to see the difference but there apparently is one. You need to compare the curves based on the centre of the radius where the ball sits.
040029.jpg
 

Cyborg

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Just had a thought, Bit of a long shot Brother Ron, Has an old Norton box on his Comet, His clutch was so bad, He broke a cable going to a rally. He has stronger hands than me, It moved the first bit, Not too bad Then half way it went real bad.
I was down there for something else and I had a feel of it, With my bad hands , It was unrideable !.
There is an adjustment to alter the swing of the lever inside the outer cover and I adjusted it a bit like a Vin Twin,
Bringing the bit where the cable goes as far to the filler cap as I could, = Much better, I could not think how he rode it before, I know nothing about Norton Gearboxes, Just knew I had to do something.
Cheers Bill.
I just had a look at the Commando manual. No mention of adjustment other than lining the arm up to get a straight pull. His must be the older style that uses the threaded pusher. Can’t remember if it’s spiral, worn, or square thread. If the arm was out of position then moving it would help.
 

Cyborg

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
The Dominator one has two holes in it, the Commando one is plain, I don't have a pair to see the difference but there apparently is one. You need to compare the curves based on the centre of the radius where the ball sits.
040029.jpg

Thanks. I’ll root around and see if I can find the other one. Not sure what the other gearbox is from or what type of clutch it had on it, but maybe the #s on the box will tell me. Wonder if it used a different size ball as well?

Edit I just noticed that the photo in the manual (early Commando) has those two holes. I don't think they stole the image from an earlier manual because it has the later style of mounting bits, so not sure why the holes appeared in the first place or why they disappeared later on.
The service manual for 50, ES2, 88, 99, and 750 Atlas shows that same arm ( like yours). I'm thinking the other gearbox must be from one of them, so definitely worth searching for.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Bill Thomas

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Just had another thought, My head hurts, I now remember what I did, I unadjusted the cable, Then went to the clutch plates and adjusted the centre screw, IN, so that the arm was close to the inspection cap, Then refitted the cable. Sorry my memory is not what it was. Bill.
 

Cyborg

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Well I dug around and found the other clutch operating lever and did some searching on the inter webs. Appears that Chris has saved the day. As a bonus, I found two clutch lifters that are older Norton (Dolls Head maybe) that would press nicely against a radial roller bearing.

The more I look at the other lever I found, the more it looks like Commando and not Atlas type, so may as well order a new one to be safe or maybe take a stab at modifying one.

Chris.. you can probably get a few pints out of your friend with the Norvin. Thanks for your post! They did change the lever for the diaphragm clutch and as previously mentioned, I don't need all that extra lift.



Scroll down to Atlas actuator http://atlanticgreen.com/ndnsclutch.htm

Clutch opperating lever.jpg



Clutch lifter.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top