A journey-1972 Commando Roadster

Beezer Josh said:

I purchased the Micro Vapor Hone this afternoon; they had a sale. It should be here in a few weeks, just in time for me to go back to sea for a few months!

In the meantime, I'm waiting for shipments from CBS, Old Britts, and Baxter. CBS and Old Britts should've been here a few days ago and today, respectively, but apparently the USPS is running a little behind. Baxter should be here via UPS tomorrow, which means I'll have new fork stanchions and springs, but none of the rest of the parts. Ugh.

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To bad hou cNt do all your ordering on the boat.

Beezer Josh said:

I purchased the Micro Vapor Hone this afternoon; they had a sale. It should be here in a few weeks, just in time for me to go back to sea for a few months!

In the meantime, I'm waiting for shipments from CBS, Old Britts, and Baxter. CBS and Old Britts should've been here a few days ago and today, respectively, but apparently the USPS is running a little behind. Baxter should be here via UPS tomorrow, which means I'll have new fork stanchions and springs, but none of the rest of the parts. Ugh.

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I‘m sure you’ve worked this out already Beezer Josh, but the trick when working away is to ensure you send out the parts that require outside work to be done out to vendors so they can get their work done whilst you are away. This is great cos it means you’re not super impatient for them to finish and you have the satisfaction of knowing you build is progressing even when you’re not there!

Then, as gortnipper says, use your time on the boat to order parts, and / or create the lists and work plans for when you return. And the fact that you’ve got finished parts to pick up from outside vendors when you return really gives you something (else) to look forward to!

It depends on the ship. Sometimes there is good communication back to shore, other times very little or none at all. I have certainly ordered parts while out to have them here when I return. I ordered paint for the BSA in the middle of October while I was still gone. However, there was an issue and by the time I got it resolved, it didn't really save me any time and they shipped it after I returned home.

I try to send parts out for machining before I leave, but it depends on the length of the job (both for me and the machinist). That one's a bit trickier working out schedules and payment. I don't usually do that if I'm going to be gone for several months.

One must be VERY careful when leaving expensive and hard-to-replace parts at shops when you know you will be away for some time!

I've heard too many horror stories of shops closing and the owner nowhere to be found, after leaving something a few months, before finally checking up on it...

grandpaul said:

One must be VERY careful when leaving expensive and hard-to-replace parts at shops when you know you will be away for some time!

I've heard too many horror stories of shops closing and the owner nowhere to be found, after leaving something a few months, before finally checking up on it...

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The situation I've run into is that, even though I tell them I'll be gone until a certain date, they lose track and try to call me when I ask that they contact me via email. When I finally turn on my phone, I've got numerous messages about how a part is ready. Fortunately I've never had parts sold off, but it does cause a bit of stress.

I'm running into the same issue now. Ordered a dishwasher a few weeks ago and it was supposed to be here the middle of last week. They called me up the day after it was supposed to arrive and told me it wouldn't be available until April! Now I have to go through the trouble this week of trying to route them to my wife so she can take care of it if I'm still gone.

My painter has had my BSA tank and side panels for over a month now. I contacted him a few days ago to make sure he would have them done by the beginning of January. He assured me he would. Otherwise he won't get paid until the Spring!

Just a quick update. I finally got my first Andover Norton parts for my bike! I'm sure this will be the first of many, but it's a beginning. I've also started a new inventory system so I don't end up with loads of miscellaneous parts when the project is complete.



I moved everything into the unfinished part of my basement (one of the perks of no longer living in coastal Texas!) for assembly. I now have everything I need to assemble the forks. The first use for the vapor blaster when it arrives at the end of the month will be to clean up (and polish?) the fork lowers, then I can assemble everything.

On another note, I'm not pleased with the way the paint job on the frame or gearbox cradle turned out. I thought I could ignore the pitting (which was only cosmetic, not structural), but I can't. I was in a bit of a hurry due to the weather changing for the colder and no longer conducive to spraying. So my plan now is to strip the paint-fortunately there was not a lot of time or expense involved-fill the corrosion pitting, and properly respray with automotive paint when I get back in the Spring, things warm up, and I can do it properly.

Tonight's question: were the fork lowers polished to a mirror finish?

I had mine vapor blasted, and then they went to the polisher with everything else. Looked great, and they've dulled off over the years. With a bit of Mother's they still come up nice.

gortnipper said:

I had mine vapor blasted, and then they went to the polisher with everything else. Looked great, and they've dulled off over the years. With a bit of Mother's they still come up nice.

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Mothers and a rag or do you use a device to polish them?

Elbow grease device.

Saber said:

Mothers and a rag or do you use a device to polish them?

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If they're off the bike, clean, and free of scratches, you can use different grit polishing compounds and wheels to get a mirror finish. Otherwise Mothers does a pretty good job getting aluminum clean but won't get rid of any scratches or significant corrosion.

@gortnipper did the vapor honing take care of all the corrosion and to leave a smooth finish and you only needed to use polishing compounds, or was sanding still involved?

No sanding.





Took them to a polisher after and the came back nice and shiny.

Wudda looked pretty damned cool left like that !

Sure does. Gives me some ideas.....

I know...but I am like a racoon...

Has anyone seen a smear of green paint in their engine cases before?

Not a whole lot going on on the rebuild front. I'm still awaiting my vapor honing machine so I can take care of the fork lowers. However, I did begin assembling the fork stanchions. It took all of about 5 minutes of my day. Next, I'll begin measuring the crankshaft journals and connecting rods to make sure they're in spec. I think my next big purchase needs to be a gearbox, but I'm going to wait until I get back from my next business trip to do that; hopefully the postal system will be back to 'normal' by then.





I'm now ready to put the lowers on after they've been polished.

Beezer Josh said:

Thanks GP. Is it (MkIII head steady) pitted?

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I've got it in my hot little hands.

It's NOT pitted.

Send me your address, I'll send you the head steady, you send me what you think is fair. Postage will be $7.

I got done with my around the house chores and figured I would do a little more on the bike in my free time. I was going to mic the crankshaft journals to make sure they were in spec. When I picked up the crankshaft, an oil/water mix poured out of the timing side end. I put it on my assembly table and began taking measurements.



Both sides are round, the primary side is 1.7502", the timing side is 1.7498". Spec is 1.7500-1.7505", so the primary side is well within spec, the timing side has 0.0002" wear. According to this website, recommended regrind is at 0.003" wear, so I'm well within spec.

While I was measuring, my wife's cat Chloe came to visit.



She reminded me it was time to take a break, so we went to the recliner by the pellet stove for some warm pets. She's old and the vet recently diagnosed her with kidney disease and gave her another year or so to live, so I'll take some time out to spend it with her.



After that was done, I took the crankshaft to the garage where I do all my messy work. I actually got to break out the Whitworth sockets and wrenches!



Before I pulled the thing apart, I labeled the flywheel.



There was some sludge, no sign of water though.



I cleaned everything up with some brake cleaner and put it aside until I can order two more nut retaining plates.



I'm particular about putting bolts and nuts back from where they were removed. Most of the time it doesn't matter, but it's a habit I got into during my first rebuild. I'll reuse the bolts and nuts (as per @L.A.B.'s advice here) and re-stake them once everything is torqued back down.

Yesterday I received my new to me gearbox since my other was complete toast. It's still a '72 and I think it'll clean up nicely.




The inspection cover screws came out pretty easily. This was my first glimpse at the inside of the gearbox. Everything was very oily, so that's a good sign. Apparently Norton didn't, in fact, use sand to lubricate the gears!



I had a heck of a time on the original gearbox with the 5 screws that keep the outer cover on. Surprisingly these came out easily and I only had to put an adjustable wrench on the screwdriver once.



The oil was a little sludgy, but it will clean out easily.





I thought I was going to have an issue with the clutch release retaining ring. I cut out two notches in a 1.5" pipe and pressed it into an oval. i drilled a hole through the pipe so I could use a punch to turn it. The ring actually came out with relative ease.



Next was the mainshaft nut. I shifted the gearbox into 4th gear and clamped the sprocket (which will be replaced) in the vice. I used the pipe as a cheater bar and it actually came off really easy.



All the nuts came off without issue and after a few taps with the rubber mallet, the inner case separated.



An initial inspection of the gears looks like everything is good. I didn't find any real wear or pitting on the gear teeth. I leave tomorrow for work, so the rest of this project will have to wait until April to continue.