72 JPN F 750 . Commando .

Perhaps a bit too much poetic license

In this CASE , one plus one does equal 8) P 1 1 .

In your case Matt, its usually - pull the other one... Reply to my P.M. - to clear the air - as it were..

The one's a replica ( sort of) featured in Classic Racer. If you want detail photos I might have some somewhere. There's bound to be shots of the frame and other bits.

Sorry fellas !
Matt, where were all the Nortons in 1974 - not at Bathurst ? I love my Seeley Commando 850, but I don't kid myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIbsSq-Xy5M

You can see the problems of rideing 11 / 10ths . Traffic for one . Kidding oneself . ??

Essentially my machines were primarilly used as TRANSPORT . On ROADS . Now ; Race Tracks of our Road Race type are seldom as undulateing and uneven .
Therefore the priority was always Roadholding . The old dunger Bonneville didnt have problems there dealing with rice burners , though a competantly riden Italian sausage wasnt used as a corner guide. Wernt considering our chassis ridgidity to match .

A brisk cruise is ordinarilly enough to deal with a entusiastically riden wriggler . Traffic light Grand Prixs may be another thing . Still it'd hold em .

Kwakersikis bonus scheme , cheap bikes , and kamakazi brigade combined with the britsish industrial collapse of the 70s ( by 74 ) meant they wernt availabe
and the skill level required in the antipodes wasnt readilly available . seeing robbie Dean in PR assumedly in 77 at New Lynn open Production on a circuit that is presumeably point & squirt , saw him finishing 4th Clanking away on the hot day , after haveing held second before discretion assured he tame his lurid tendancies . He was a pretty rough backwood cowboy , in my books . Determined aggressive experianced but not entirely endowed with finnesse , mechanically or with retraint. Whowever , His was the hottest Commando round , on the tracks .And under favourable conditions could clean up on his home track in the 70s . Conversly ' favourable ' could also be applied to conditions for those that beat him . If we wish to view all dispassionately .

Again . New Fresh whizz bangs & in some cases a better budget . OR , the Crux of the Matter . redilly availabe of the shelf , with spares back up AND
skilled tuners advice near freely at hand . Some of these were also a bit basic. Like a two stroke . The survival statistics for the protogges of some
arnt encourageing .Or at least of some consideration if one trys to be rational .


NOT getting into the Reasons for the decilne of the European makes / or the Shift of Balance in Global Supplies . The prime Factor was availability .
And with Two Strokes , the use of a Barometer . The scientific aura dispensed by the white coats and knowing ( we hope ) studies. Significantly at major races ( in the states ) the exactitude of the jetting was often off . Hence race casualties . Good News . pistons are higly profitable .

SO , we get to the tecnological Back up . Kawasaki Heavy Industries . a behemouth .

thart . Our friendly faschist ' Asked after haveing taken his wizz bang for a spin " wots the best bike youve ever ridden " Mortally offened , derissive & condescending when I suggested something else . It was to soggy & gutless for me . Not being a throttle merchant , responce for fine control to maintain equilibrium is more a requirement .

Granted , race Kawaskis may have been fast. On a Race Track . Road conditions with undulateing , ridged , irregular surfaces are usually there undoing . And anyones who takes no heed of them. Nevertheless there are thoose that say that that is of no relevance;at the speeds they ride . :?

More ways than one to go about a ' Commando ' Chassis . But that goes for all . Smart / sheene etc etc went Seely etc etc for their rice burner race chassises . Not without good reason .

As far as outputs go , do you trust anyones . And peak figure is the least of it .In the context of a sports / road / clubmans type machine ( watch someone twist this ) A big baggage hauler , cappacity ( a pulling power ( Tourque ) rules .

Both Tourque & HP one has to get to the ground . As Jaws wee whizzer does nodubtably . But through a 100 mph plus curveing undulation with sufficent
inclination to fully deflect the suspension , Id prefer to be elsewhere .

The Triton . Which blew of the TZs ( Mock horror consternation disbelief and RETRIBUTION in certain quaters ) would flex writhe and twitch.To a mild degree ) its runs were 2/3 of a TR750 of the same tube diameter . As a test chasssis , due for replacement with a uprated version of the same configuration , it had proved its geometry was suficent for the Job .Outmanourvering jap barges .

NOT being a Jap motorcycle entusiast ( production enginnering of commercially drived nature ) is displeaseing to a trianed eye in the hand built tradition of craftsment. THOUGH some of there competition based machineary obtains comparable standards . Low build hand fitted .

In the vain of Aircraft Fitter / rigger . standards . Not many of which were about by the 70s . in Aus.
ALSO here the climate is less disposed to old Iron Barreled behemouths .But largely it was AVAILABILITY.
across the board .

( more snarky comments expected here .0

Noteably im no more impressed with current British mass produced consumer products. And the Evo Harleys looked like XL125s .
IN ENGINEERING PRODUTION TERMS .

So .in 70 the Old Velo MT 500 5001 was still capeable of upsetting the equilibrium in NZ, and if Coveting reqd. My Choice . then .

Dirt Roads , id probably take this .



Sealed roads , id want lightish , narrow , and someting tht'd change direction if operated correctly .

if further acts of sabotage are avoided , I may well build it . As the rideings for pleasure , and the only person Id wish to prove anything to is myself.
Even Raceing , I wouldnt run a rattling raucus gas guzzling wobbler . With the WOBBLER being in referance to its Real road capeabilities . Closest circuit comparison being 24 Hr races & IoM. WHERE our piddling little NORTON ( as per Heading 0 didnt do to bad at all . Despite being operated by a pack of incompatent Poms . :mrgreen:

pommie john said:

The one's a replica ( sort of) featured in Classic Racer. If you want detail photos I might have some somewhere. There's bound to be shots of the frame and other bits.

Click to expand...

Let me think about that . :wink: ( actually think I saw it . Latest mag I got is by senile demeture collector types :shock: atrocious )

APRIL 72 Two Wheels I believe has the period annual Tech. feature . good chassis shot and perhaps 33 tooth Gbox sprocket. THOUGH Primary Gearing is not Std. Commando .

Must twist a arm & obtain a copy . Mine disintegrated .

Something disintegrated -prefering to be elsewhere, I dont doubt.
Matt if that garrulous inchoate blurb is your mea culpa for not riding anymore, then it still does not validate your rancid fantasies as supposedly experiential memoir..

Matt Spencer said:

pommie john said:

The one's a replica ( sort of) featured in Classic Racer. If you want detail photos I might have some somewhere. There's bound to be shots of the frame and other bits.

Click to expand...

Let me think about that . :wink: ( actually think I saw it . Latest mag I got is by senile demeture collector types :shock: atrocious )

APRIL 72 Two Wheels I believe has the period annual Tech. feature . good chassis shot and perhaps 33 tooth Gbox sprocket. THOUGH Primary Gearing is not Std. Commando .

Must twist a arm & obtain a copy . Mine disintegrated .

Click to expand...

What I meant was I have the original photos, so not just what went into the mag. I'll dig them out and post them anyway.

Here are a few shots . Sorry about the quality, I just took a digital photo of the negatives, not the best way to copy them, but ..

The Heads have splayed carbs.


The primary drive side


The famous swinging arm driven fuel pump. I heard that PW used to pump the rear suspension up and down when they were kept on the grid too long to keep the header tank topped up and other riders thought is was some way of keeping the shocks warm or something, but they copied him and soon all the riders would get onto the grid and pump the shocks up and down. Dunno if that's true but it's a nice story.



The Lucas ignition was quite large by today's standards.

Superb . Thank You .

" The Lucas ignition was quite large by today's standards. " . with a name Like Rita , what do you expect . :shock:

Read of them telling the Japs when Queeried , priming fuel Via. pumping rear " Where warming up the shocks " .
in era of Barometers and fingers on clutch and barometers , the field soon emulated the effort .
Think theres evedance on the saarinen U Tube bit or Imola . :lol: 8)

Must purloin one of those chain cases , didnt realise they were that early. There you go . We learn something every day .

Thanks Again .

Jeeze, ol`Dennis Poore must`ve been a tightwad not to specify the Rita E-ign on the road Commando, my contemporary era Kawasakis & even my Mopar cage [`73 Charger] has `em standard, & they still function just as intended..[not Lucas products mind you..].
Thanks for the pix - P.J...

A few more. This bike was a kind of replica. The owner I think had amassed a certain amount of period parts ( including the ignition) and had the rest made so I don't know how authentic this is.

The frame.



Rear wheel isn't Commando


What's that rear brake? The swinging arm and rear axle fitting look a bit like a Seeley arrangement.



It does go though.

V Good . Thanks . Just now foundum these /





( thinks " if only Id bought a kawasaki " .



HERE , http://www.pit-lane.biz/t858-oldies-joh ... -monocoque

the two diff zorsts .seeing there there .





someone was whineing the drag from the two mufflers up there cost 5 mph on top end . Maybe more grunt , but no gains / Pwr/Wt . Pwr / Speed . Bother .

Wasn`t the Dr Blair [of 2-stroke fame] designed 2-1 in use on the `72 J.P.N.?
Gave better mid-range torque [as correctly dimensioned collector systems do], but they reverted to a pair of discrete singles, wanting every last rev of top-end oomph..

dredgeing up



2 in. dia. ?

might pay to save it as itll dissapear , ebay uk .


Silverstone Aug 72 .



dual



Aero Dy Namic package .' under the paint '

Grunt'n'read I believe .

or Williams


airbrakes


Oliverrs Mountsept 72

racers tape !

J.A.W. said:

Wasn`t the Dr Blair [of 2-stroke fame] designed 2-1 in use on the `72 J.P.N.?
Gave better mid-range torque [as correctly dimensioned collector systems do], but they reverted to a pair of discrete singles, wanting every last rev of top-end oomph..

Click to expand...

The need depends on riding style and the way the bike handles.

J.A.W. never gets on this forum these days. 'Why is this so ?'