SparkyMJ
Tuned and Synch'ed
To follow up, I have since done a lot of work on the Norge, and finally got it out for a test ride today.
The tank vacuum issue was a kinked line, and previous owner got a little enthusiastic with 'plugging hoses', haha.
The bike had the erratic idle especially at cold start, and sometimes when cruising a low throttle, it could be felt that the bike would slightly surge and slow in power. Lots of exhaust popping on decel too. Figured I could at least clean out the air system and stepper first, as it's been well-documented. I also cleaned out and replaced a bunch of stuff while in there, and figured out why my handlebar lock wasn't working on the left side. Here is what I did to try and improve the running condition, or maintain as I saw fit:
- Replaced fuel hose. Mine was wearing thin from rubbing on stuff in some places.
- Replaced alternator belt.
- Replaced alternator sealed ball bearings. It sounded a tad squeaky when rotating the armature by hand, so I pressed in some new ones spec'd to work in these conditions, and it is buttery smooth now. Difficult install.
- Replaced a cracked/leaking right breather hose, and all breather hose clamps.
- Cleaned the inside and outside of the airbox, throttle valves, stepper motor, and intake ports in the heads. Loads of black grime from oil, luckily no dust/debris though. Can't believe it ran at all, there was so much. Throttle butterflies were partially black.
- Sealed the intake boots to the airbox.
- Replaced the O-rings in the throttle bodies where the plastic insert goes on the inlet.
- Replaced the O-rings that go in the breather outlet port that seal the timing port view.
- Replaced the Oil pressure sensor, old one seemed loose in its housing/falling apart.
- Repaired all instances of harness damage. Re-wrapping areas, repairing chaffed wires with exposed conductors, and re-routed the harness to improve reliability where needed. Found my ignition handlebar lock was not working due to the windscreen wires getting crushed by the lock mechanism, now resolved.
- Installed a momentary up/down toggle switch on the left controls for windscreen control. Vast improvement over the stock buttons, of which mine were getting sticky/stuck. Courtesy of recommendations from here on the forums!
- Cleaned the brake calipers, pistons, rotors, and installed some high performance Brembo brake pads front and rear. Greased the pins on the rear caliper as well. Front brake was woefully inadequate prior, and pads were real old and cheap ones.
- Brake system bleed, installed high-performance fluid. Improved lever feel in both brakes.
- Clutch bleed. Lots of air bubbles came out at first, so now clutch feel is much improved.
- Replaced grips to my favorite set. Heat still comes through nicely.
- Installed OEM bar end weights. Previous owner took them off, much smoother in the hands with em.
- Installed OEM mirrors. Previous owner had put lame bar-end "mirrors" on which were terrible. Factory mirrors are actually some of the nicest I've ever used, and they don't vibrate nearly at all, and the look is nice.
- Cleaned out the fuel pump screen, general tank internal inspection, no findings.
- Cleaned injectors.
- Replaced intake manifold gaskets.
- Reinstalled all the breather/drainage hoses with appropriate routing, plugs where needed, and new clamps.
- Installed OEM horn. Previous owner had ridiculous horns with terrible wiring.
- Replaced battery, for peace of mind. Factory style replacement.
- New air filter
- Oil/filter change, went with Motul 7100 since it has high/current specs.
- Gearbox oil change.
- CARC oil change.
- Full detail, degreasing of the engine, and cleaning everything I can get to.
- Rebuilt the fuel tank gas cap, removing gunk and cleaning seals.
- Removed all cheapy anodized hardware previous owner put on. Yuck.
Much of the info I found was indeed on the forums, so a thank you to all those before I who were able to provide info on here.
The bike runs quite well, but still has the same cold start erratic idle after the first ride. It fired up fine the first time or two, and then reverted to its old behavior. So perhaps the stepper wasn't really gunked up from the shop overfilling the oil when I bought it, but just how they are. Going to look into stepper motor deactivation methods for once the engine is hot. I will also likely soon do a valve clearance adjustment, as I didn't want to throw that in the mix yet for troubleshooting purposes. Still lots of exhaust popping. I blocked off the oil cooler for the test ride as well, since it was mid 30's today here, and my oil did had a little bit of milky goop in it when draining, so figured as much heat as I can get for the time being is good. Otherwise, rides very nice!
I do plan on taking the Norge out to the local race tracks this spring, so I've been scheming how I am going to afford the suspension bits over in the store. My local MG dealer finds it hilarious that I want to track the Norge, and also assured me I am the youngest Norge owner they've ever seen lol. I'd also like more brake performance, so I may throw on a sportbike-oriented master cylinder and some track-specific brake pads, and maybe some thicker rotors. Also would like to find a way to squeeze my tire warmers on there as well, so I'll have to find a stand option to get the tires in the air without the center stand or kickstand. See if I can make use of the lap timer built in as well! May also have to find a top-case for those days where the side-bags seem like a bit much, but a backpack doesn't cut it.
Thanks again folks for all the info provided on here, the resource has been very valuable, and my search skills have improved! Can't wait for the warmer weather, and to iron out the last kinks in the bike. Marvelous to ride, will probably kickoff my spring with many miles on the Norge.
-Mike
The tank vacuum issue was a kinked line, and previous owner got a little enthusiastic with 'plugging hoses', haha.
The bike had the erratic idle especially at cold start, and sometimes when cruising a low throttle, it could be felt that the bike would slightly surge and slow in power. Lots of exhaust popping on decel too. Figured I could at least clean out the air system and stepper first, as it's been well-documented. I also cleaned out and replaced a bunch of stuff while in there, and figured out why my handlebar lock wasn't working on the left side. Here is what I did to try and improve the running condition, or maintain as I saw fit:
- Replaced fuel hose. Mine was wearing thin from rubbing on stuff in some places.
- Replaced alternator belt.
- Replaced alternator sealed ball bearings. It sounded a tad squeaky when rotating the armature by hand, so I pressed in some new ones spec'd to work in these conditions, and it is buttery smooth now. Difficult install.
- Replaced a cracked/leaking right breather hose, and all breather hose clamps.
- Cleaned the inside and outside of the airbox, throttle valves, stepper motor, and intake ports in the heads. Loads of black grime from oil, luckily no dust/debris though. Can't believe it ran at all, there was so much. Throttle butterflies were partially black.
- Sealed the intake boots to the airbox.
- Replaced the O-rings in the throttle bodies where the plastic insert goes on the inlet.
- Replaced the O-rings that go in the breather outlet port that seal the timing port view.
- Replaced the Oil pressure sensor, old one seemed loose in its housing/falling apart.
- Repaired all instances of harness damage. Re-wrapping areas, repairing chaffed wires with exposed conductors, and re-routed the harness to improve reliability where needed. Found my ignition handlebar lock was not working due to the windscreen wires getting crushed by the lock mechanism, now resolved.
- Installed a momentary up/down toggle switch on the left controls for windscreen control. Vast improvement over the stock buttons, of which mine were getting sticky/stuck. Courtesy of recommendations from here on the forums!
- Cleaned the brake calipers, pistons, rotors, and installed some high performance Brembo brake pads front and rear. Greased the pins on the rear caliper as well. Front brake was woefully inadequate prior, and pads were real old and cheap ones.
- Brake system bleed, installed high-performance fluid. Improved lever feel in both brakes.
- Clutch bleed. Lots of air bubbles came out at first, so now clutch feel is much improved.
- Replaced grips to my favorite set. Heat still comes through nicely.
- Installed OEM bar end weights. Previous owner took them off, much smoother in the hands with em.
- Installed OEM mirrors. Previous owner had put lame bar-end "mirrors" on which were terrible. Factory mirrors are actually some of the nicest I've ever used, and they don't vibrate nearly at all, and the look is nice.
- Cleaned out the fuel pump screen, general tank internal inspection, no findings.
- Cleaned injectors.
- Replaced intake manifold gaskets.
- Reinstalled all the breather/drainage hoses with appropriate routing, plugs where needed, and new clamps.
- Installed OEM horn. Previous owner had ridiculous horns with terrible wiring.
- Replaced battery, for peace of mind. Factory style replacement.
- New air filter
- Oil/filter change, went with Motul 7100 since it has high/current specs.
- Gearbox oil change.
- CARC oil change.
- Full detail, degreasing of the engine, and cleaning everything I can get to.
- Rebuilt the fuel tank gas cap, removing gunk and cleaning seals.
- Removed all cheapy anodized hardware previous owner put on. Yuck.
Much of the info I found was indeed on the forums, so a thank you to all those before I who were able to provide info on here.
The bike runs quite well, but still has the same cold start erratic idle after the first ride. It fired up fine the first time or two, and then reverted to its old behavior. So perhaps the stepper wasn't really gunked up from the shop overfilling the oil when I bought it, but just how they are. Going to look into stepper motor deactivation methods for once the engine is hot. I will also likely soon do a valve clearance adjustment, as I didn't want to throw that in the mix yet for troubleshooting purposes. Still lots of exhaust popping. I blocked off the oil cooler for the test ride as well, since it was mid 30's today here, and my oil did had a little bit of milky goop in it when draining, so figured as much heat as I can get for the time being is good. Otherwise, rides very nice!
I do plan on taking the Norge out to the local race tracks this spring, so I've been scheming how I am going to afford the suspension bits over in the store. My local MG dealer finds it hilarious that I want to track the Norge, and also assured me I am the youngest Norge owner they've ever seen lol. I'd also like more brake performance, so I may throw on a sportbike-oriented master cylinder and some track-specific brake pads, and maybe some thicker rotors. Also would like to find a way to squeeze my tire warmers on there as well, so I'll have to find a stand option to get the tires in the air without the center stand or kickstand. See if I can make use of the lap timer built in as well! May also have to find a top-case for those days where the side-bags seem like a bit much, but a backpack doesn't cut it.
Thanks again folks for all the info provided on here, the resource has been very valuable, and my search skills have improved! Can't wait for the warmer weather, and to iron out the last kinks in the bike. Marvelous to ride, will probably kickoff my spring with many miles on the Norge.
-Mike
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