THE WAY TO GO COMMANDO
Moving south to the flatlands of Lincolnshire disrupted work on the Norton and a great many other things besides. My new shed was just as cramped and draughty as the old one but lacked the former’s ready access to the open roads and sweeping vistas of the northeast. On the plus side, there was room for a proper shed and opportunity to explore new horizons, but I digress.
With the bikes safely installed and all the shed paraphernalia sorted out, I tackled the carburettor rebuilds and wondered how I would fare setting up a pair of them. The bodies were back from having the ultrasonic cleaning redone after I found deposits remaining in the pilot jet air passages. I don’t know why I did not check that they were fully cleared out this time … but I didn’t. That simple step would have saved me much trouble and pain later. So would buying a new pair of carbs, come to that, and for not that much more money. No, that would have been too easy as well as going against the grain of keeping as many of the serviceable parts as I could.
Assembling Amal’s MK1 concentric carburettor was familiar territory. Too familiar perhaps and leading to a what I can only think was a lack of focus. Complacency if you will. I fitted new parts throughout including slides, springs, needles, ticklers, stay-up floats, and larger main jets as recommended for the free-breathing K&N filter. I went so far as to check the fuel levels with the new floats and adjust them so they were the same for each carb. I am still not sure this was necessary and it was a fiddly job to say the least.
One aspect of
