I managed to keep a Norton N-15 running for 3 years mainly because it was fitted with a magneto and would continue to run with half the wiring harness shaken loose. Still, it required almost daily maintenance to keep the lights functional. The monoblok carbs would flood the motor at the drop of a hat and it required the mastery of a serious learning curve to get it started. (kick starter only)

I sold it and bought a '77 Harley Davidson XLCR with an electric starter. The electric starter was an unbelievable luxury after having to kick that high compression Norton engine to life for three years. In fact, the old iron head XLCR proved to be a very dependable motorcycle. It blew the transmission once, but other than that I don't recall having any problems out of it.