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Refurbishing my 2007 Norge

I'd like to just thank everyone in this forum that has given me advice and encouragement as I worked on my Norge to get it ready for the French trip. It's really appreciated.
 
I rode to work yesterday - about 1 1/4 hrs each way - and on the way back the bike seemed excessively noisy. When I got home it sounded fine ticking over on my drive but when I opened the throttle I could immediately hear an exhaust leak. I think it sounds like it is coming from the left of the bike, but I’m not sure.

I shall take the fairing off today or Sunday (shan’t have a chance tomorrow) and start looking it over. I suspect that the y-piece joiner for the downpipes has a proper hole in it.

I shall need to find a cheap solution because the replacement part is not easily available and is £180 new, which is way out of budget. I hope a secondhand solution is available (or it is weld-able).


By the way, where is the CAT on the Norge? Is it in the exhaust can? Another thing that eventually might have to go, but is low priority right now because, well, funds. I’ve already spent something like £500 on a £2,600 bike with (now) 61k on the clock.
 
I wondered why my Norge sounded a bit loud the other day and this is why:

BD015AE0-C633-4336-8719-149902D5D942.webp
https://imgur.com/t8Zhd8h

The y-piece has a chunk out of it:

2A755D88-0350-4047-9827-76A6939C506D.webp
https://imgur.com/XkAYUB4

I cannot get the sensor out so I've left it doused in PlusGas hoping that'll ease it:

62B5DAD7-C2DD-440B-8842-C38419AAD2A2.webp
https://imgur.com/Xi8DjE2

The header nuts are being awkward too. One of the four has undone so far. Right side won't undo at all:

A0763687-92C2-4B5B-AC10-3B626B3E1005.webp
https://imgur.com/XiIEIQT

Left hand side - lower came straight undone, upper won't budge. Again, a liberal application of PlusGas in the hope it'll ease things:

F39AC6E3-D713-4B04-817F-5517C007E4F7.webp
https://imgur.com/CkR1X2J

I have removed the exhaust can of much heaviness and set it aside. I will put it back on if I cannot find a lighter, quiet replacement. I don't like loud cans. I can't spend $550 on a custom y-piece so I shall go looking for a 2nd-hand one. I can leave the bike for the time being and wait until something turns up - well, I shall have to! :D
 
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Well I have picked up the downpipes, junction piece and all fixings from a 2009 Norge for £120 (~$145). The junction box is in much better condition than mine, as are the headers. Current plan is to try and get the headers off (fixings still being recalcitrant) and replace the whole lot.

Here’s hoping!
 
Hope isn't a plan, but sounds as if you have one -- or several -- of those, too. ;)

Have BTDT WRT corroded header nuts/studs, tho not as nasty as yours. Penetrating oil and, if necessary, heat should make those history.

Ditto the "frozen" lamda sensor, tho that would appear to be OBE, too.

Nice work sourcing the used ones; buon fortuna in finding lighter can. The OEM is fine with me. If I cared that much about excess weight, I'd be at the gym more and table less. :giggle:

Best,

Bill
 
A good home made penetrating oil is a 50-50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid. I used that quite a bit when restoring my Model T Ford.

Penetrating oil.webp
 
Bill Hagan said:
Hope isn't a plan, but sounds as if you have one -- or several -- of those, too. ;)
Click to expand...
Nah, I’m winging it ;)

Have BTDT WRT corroded header nuts/studs, tho not as nasty as yours. Penetrating oil and, if necessary, heat should make those history.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’m soaking it in penetrating oil (PlusGas - it works miracles) every day for the rest of the working week then I’ll have another go at loosening them at the weekend. If that doesn’t work I’ll break out the blowtorch and a few bits & pieces to act as heat shields. There’s a few delicate things there I’d quite like to avoid being blow torched...

Ditto the "frozen" lamda sensor, tho that would appear to be OBE, too.
Click to expand...
OBE?

Nice work sourcing the used ones; buon fortuna in finding lighter can. The OEM is fine with me. If I cared that much about excess weight, I'd be at the gym more and table less. :giggle:
Click to expand...
I know exactly what you mean re: weight. It’s not for that, it’s to get rid of the cat. I suspect that I’m going to end up keeping the standard can though.
 
By "OBE" I meant "Overcome by Events," with the event in this case being my (mis)understanding(?) that you had gotten a new section that included the lamda sensor in that used buy .

If so or if not, best wishes on breaking the corrosion loose.

One of the hazards of tupperware -- beyond the special sensitivity of the firstgen Norge's that fail at several attachment points by simply staring at them :swear: -- is that such cladding hides corrosion and some oil leaks until too late to cure without major work.

Oh, wait; you know that. :giggle:

Bill
 
Bill Hagan said:
By "OBE" I meant "Overcome by Events," with the event in this case being my (mis)understanding(?) that you had gotten a new section that included the lamda sensor in that used buy .
Click to expand...
Unfortunately it didn’t come with a new llama sensor so I’m still working on getting the old one out of the old junction piece. Gave it two soakings in PlusGas today, must get to the chemists for acetone and the local car parts place for some ATF...

One of the hazards of tupperware -- beyond the special sensitivity of the firstgen Norge's that fail at several attachment points by simply staring at them :swear: -- is that such cladding hides corrosion and some oil leaks until too late to cure without major work.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I take the view that as I work through all the issues I find, some day I’m going to effectively have a new bike ;)

Oh, wait; you know that. :giggle:
Click to expand...
 
Today I have had time to work on the Norge’s exhaust. 100% pure acetone is a controlled substance in the UK so the largest amount I could get on the high street was 50ml, although as that’s actually more than enough and it was very cheap, I’m not bothered. Here is the llama sensor (originally a typo but now I’ve decided to embrace it ) bathing in the solution after 6 days of PlusGas application:

https://i.imgur.com/9UCVpG9.jpg

No luck - but getting the blowtorch out did release the thing. Looks like last time it was it in, it was cross threaded. There’s a bloody surprise. Still, I’ll clean the threads up and put it into the new junction piece.

https://i.imgur.com/Qt1GmQN.jpg

I’m thinking of getting some high temperature paint, cleaning up the junction box and painting it, because the replacement one is a bit surface rusty & I don’t want to have another one snap (illustration below). Thoughts?

https://i.imgur.com/l8UBgIQ.jpg

With the application of some brute force I managed to get the left exhaust header off, although the studs came out of the cylinder head - see below - and remember these are the better ones:

https://i.imgur.com/SajbPGt.jpg
 
I tried to get the right hand exhaust header off but absolutely no luck budging either nut. They’re both badly rusted - one has almost gone right through and I might take a Dremel to it. Here is the upper one, which is pretty bad:

https://i.imgur.com/aBTwWjY.jpg

Here is the lower one, which frankly is only just still there:

https://i.imgur.com/Jg0Cqkp.jpg
 
And so I spent some time tidying up that exhaust port and getting rid of remnants of the old gasket. I’m vaguely unsure whether I should apply anything like copperslip to the new gasket’s mating surfaces when I put it back in, although there’s a way to go before I bother thinking too hard about that.
 
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