1961 Norton Manxman 650 project (10) - Featherbed Frame is back!

Here are a few clips of the slimline featherbed frame, which is now straight again!

Yes, Dave and I took the day off work to visit Tacoma to pick up the frame from Richard Wasco. It's about a 2 hour drive to Tacoma from Portland.

We also took advantage of visiting the LeMay motorcycle museum while we were there.

Richard began building his own frames back in the 1970’s.  He figured out himself how to braze frames by experimenting with designs and crashing a lot! Richard talked about how the featherbed frames are actually quite ‘soft’, which in spite of poor suspension, enables them to flex while riding.  The neck assembly is quite unusual in that the steering head isn’t connecting like with other bikes (e.g. Triumph, BSA & Harley that have the bottom of the steering head supported).  It therefore has a natural tendency to want to fold in on itself whenever it is hit.  This is both a weak point of the featherbed frame but also its strength in its ability to handle.

Richard determined that the bike must have been a really serious front end collision!
 
To summarize, Richard has:-

1. Straightened the 2 down tubes using applied physics, specialized equipment and many years of knowledge!

2. Pulled out the top side frame tube rails, removing a dented flat spot on one side.  This will be filled while priming for paint.

3. Richard also pointed out that the bottom frame tube section where the side stand lug is mounted has worn down by about 20 thousandths of an inch.  Richard suggests clamping it on temporarily, leaning the bike over and placing a spot/tack weld on the clamp to hold it to the frame

4. Straightened out the rear top shock absorber mounts, which were both twisted

5. Straightened out the rear bottom foot peg mounts, which were also both twisted

6. Built the center stand stop-pads back up under the bottom frame tube rails. The main center stand bumps up against these when it is retracted to avoid damaging the frame.  They had thinned out to nothing and Richard welded more material onto the pads.

7. Checked the swing arm and welded something (I need to check what he did to this)

Stripped the forks and triple tree assemblies and checked for straightness.  Concluded that the fork tubes are most likely from a Commando and are ¾” longer than the standard tubes.
 
Richard also recommends checking the center stand carefully, to ensure good action.

Here's a link to the Wasco website
http://www.wascoframe.com

Thanks to my pal Dave (SwooshDave) for the artwork for the Manxman header & footer used in the Thumbnails for this mini-series!

Music: LEAVING by Ikson
@iksonofficia
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