Norris Cams

[Reflex]

Hola Peoplez,

I just got my hands on a 1977 GS750 with 860 kit that has Norris Cams in it. Now stamped on the cams is F-375 but etched on the cam is Norris 357. Weird is that one is 375 and the other is 357 now both 357 and 375 are on both cams also its does not say what cam it is Exhaust or Intake which makes me wonder alot of things. Im use to seeing a stamp on each cam being E or I etc...

I have been looking all over the net on information on these cams so that I can check timing. But what I found is that It looks like Norris closed shop.

Does anyone have any information on Norris cams or how to check/set timing? There is no known marker on the cams themselfs to show line up. Stock ones do but I dont know how they were able to float the install with a feeler gauge and no mark on the Norris.

[Reflex]

Information on the bike.

GS750 1977
Bigbor 860 kit
40k original miles
Point and Condensers (moveing to Dyna) :twisted:
Norris Hot Cams (unknown spec)



Currently its not running, barely able to idle. Clean out carbs reset points to manual. Motor kills when giveing gas. All plugs are fireing. Getting blow back on the carbs, its not sucking in air as it is blowing out from the carb. Im wondering if they last owner put the Intake cams and the Exhaust cams in reverse.

Anyone else have carbs that blew air out to the airbox instead of sucking in?

[NICK!]

Other than the obvious check for the tach drive being on the exhaust cam and not on the intake cam the only thing I can suggest is get a degree wheel and a dial indicator and check for lobe centers.

I assume these are on slotted sprockets? Are the sprockets marked at all?

Have you done a compression check?

At TDC 1-4 the lobes on 1 or 4 should point away from each other and the opposite cylinder should point at each other. Thats what I recall from stock cams.

If you go taking them out and putting them back in turn the motor over slowly with a wrench on the crank only just in case the valves and pistons touch.

Never heard of Norris cams either.

Yes, if the cams are out enough all kinds of funny things can happen.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. Reflex,

Good luck with your project. Some of this might be useful to you. It's your very own mega-welcome! \\/

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)!

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr. And if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.
***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com
Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

***********************************
Every GS850 has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
***************************************
OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************
Additional parts/info links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

For valve cover and breather cover gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):
http://www.realgaskets.com
The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com
Carolina Cycle
http://www.carolinacycle.com
Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com
MR Cycles
http://www.mrcycles.com
Moto Grid
http://www.motogrid.com
If all else fails, try this:
http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/
Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html
Lots of good info/pictures here:
http://www.suzukicycles.org

http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

[NICK!]

Well what do you know. Here's your cam company.

************************************************** **

Norris Performance Products (Norris Cams)Is This Your Company?
14762 Calvert St, Van Nuys, CA 91411-2705, United States (Map)

Phone: (818) 780-1102

Also Does Business As:Norris Cams

SIC:Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories

Line of Business:Mfg Motor Vehicle Parts/Accessories

Detailed Norris Performance Products Company Profile
This company profile is for the private company Norris Performance Products, located in Van Nuys, CA. Norris Cams's line of business is mfg motor vehicle parts/accessories.


Company Profile: Norris Performance Products

Year Started:1967

State of Incorporation:N/A

URL:N/A

Location Type:Single Location

Stock Symbol:N/A

Stock Exchange:N/A

Also Does Business As:Norris Cams

NAICS:N/A

SIC #Code:3714

Est. Annual Sales:$130,000

Est. Employees:2

Est. Employees at Location:2

Contact Name:Charles Baronian

Contact Title:Manager

[NICK!]

The formatting fell apart, here's the link.

http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_cxnfyf