A Happy New Year to you all and I hope the hangovers weren’t too severe. Well the nights are getting longer already and apart from a couple of Windy days the weather hasn’t been too bad. I do hope I haven’t spoken to soon. Since the New year there have been several opportunities to get the bike out and even the salt on the roads hasn’t been to bad. Its time to look forward to a long hot summer I hope. Just so that there’s no excuse for not realising when & whats on this coming year here is a list of must do’s. February 25 -27 Thistle Rally a must for all you lovers of frostbite. Mar 29th- May 2nd Guzzi Rally on the Island of Bute. A very good laid back weekend especially useful for the lovers of Hangovers.The NOC National Rally on the 3^rd to the 5^th of June at Mersea Island , Essex My Favourite on the 10^th – 11^th of June, the Applecross Festival of Music & Seafood, entertainment all weekend in what is probably one of the best settings in the world. July 8^th to 9^th Norton day and Summer Party Dean Forest Railway Gloustershire (So much for having a do more in the North of the Country for the non southern members! ) International Rally 26^th – 28^th August in Beerse, Belgium. Guaranteed a good time to be had by all.

Apart from all that we will have many more events to go to so get out there and just do it..

New Address

Dave Templeton has moved to the West (Oh dear a life of constant rain) his contact details are; 5 Upper Achagoyle, Minard, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8YF. Tel Home 01546 886291. Mob 0771 5621453. E Mail il.monstro@ virgin.net. (Il Monstro means the monster, is that the bike you refer to Dave ???)

Norton Debuts 952 Commando Se at Laguna Seca
10/15/2004

Norton was well represented at this year's International Superbike Classic at Laguna Seca. With a huge presence that included the new Norton truck (see article below), the ever-present Norton girls, three brand new 952 Commandos (one of each color) and Norton legend Mike Jackson Norton played host to a crowd of over 100,000 spectators, media and industry personnel.

Participants had the opportunity to throw a leg over a new 952, ask questions of the Norton staff and hear amazing tales of Norton's past at "Tea with Mike Jackson". No one left empty handed with stickers and brochures available to all.

Lack of time this month means I have to Pad the Newsletter out with stuff straight from the NET.

I have a new PC at Home so hopefully I will soon get the Club Website back up to Date.

Boyer Bransden Electronic Ignition

Its a pretty basic upgrade for the Commando. You can go with Boyer like I did or Lucas Rita. The only reason I don't use Lucas anymore is it costs too much, has an ugly cover & I had one of the 'Transistor boxes' go bad leaving me stranded.

Boyer Ignition does not come without its problems. Fortunately they can be fixed.

Cut off all red terminals which Boyer use. Re-do with solder & heat shrink. Make sure the coil wires are not too tight.

On the right hand coil, as you sit on the bike, insulate the - terminal on the coil which is close to the rocker cover. I have had a few problems with 'Tracking' or sparks jumping from the coil to Rocker Cover. Make sure the coils are as far forward as you can get them. I used liquid tape for insulation and it worked well. This is usually only an issue when riding in the rain.

When timing the bike use a separate, well charged battery.

The Small Print

The views and opinions contained within this publication are not necessarily those of the NOC or of the branch but are probably mine as I wrote it.

No one accepts any responsibility for anything, if you have a good time don't say I didn't warn you.

Gino Rondelli

January 2005