Norton Commando Engine Rebuild. Part 2: Cylinder Head Removal 1 

Im excited to see this strip down as I have an 850 commando engine on the bench and am following along . I have allthe books including the excellent Chris Rooke manual . My last rebuild by coincidence was a T160

Im excited to watch this series as i am considering going through my 850. I have purchased your book already and awaiting some better weather before i get started. Love your channel and the bikes!!

Cast lron fin can be welded but it needs an experienced welder and it does help if you have the broken piece. You could've done with a hotter torch!

Great start Chris, I am hoping that when you have the threads repaired in the exhaust ports that you could go into a bit of detail on the material you choose for the insert and why. I have seen different materials used in other videos. Also, can you review the different threads/pitches used over the years in these motors for the exhaust ports? Again, I understand there were different threads used. This information would be nice to know for me and others - If one was to purchase a new exhaust nut for a particular year and the insert was not correct per that model/year of bike a bad day would quickly occur. Thanks and can't wait to see the next video.

That head already has alloy inserts welded in to those exhaust ports .

Not sure of the proper way to repair a fin, but I used JB Weld, the heat putty 2 years ago on a broken head fin. Shaped a new fin and you would have to look closely to notice. Don't ask me how it broke though.

The proper way I learned to tighten the exhaust nut is after the engine is hot put a pipe on the nut wrench add apply force. They will not loosen. Also if you use 750 nuts and pipes the nut thread much deeper into the head.