Advice for new Commando owner (2021)

batrider said:

39.96 hrs labor - Let's see, .96 hrs = 57.6 minutes. Did he use a stopwatch?

Click to expand...

Your comment on the very specific labor hours made me wonder.. Is this some sort of situation where the labor was inflated but made to look specific so it appeared real? I don't doubt the work was done, but maybe receipts were inflated? Hard to tell. I did look up the address for Insane Bike Collector, and here is the mailbox and entrance.. We all know there are plenty of highly skilled people who don't have a dedicated shop, but this was definitely someone working out of their house in the back country of Texas.

Oh boy! This investigation of yours would drive me bananas with the "what ifs". I would just stop here and pretend that it's all legit and that you got yourself a real nice bike. The rest is up to you now. Ride it and pay attention to it for calls for help. This is the kind of approach I am taking with my bikes. For my 850 it was in very nice shape and the odometer reads a little over 2500 miles. Is this the real mileage? Who knows. If the mileage is true, then I imagine I have some miles before I need to do anything to it. If it was rebuilt and the odometer was zeroed out, then I guess the same thing that I have some miles before I need to do anything to it. The motor looks very clean and new. Same with the gearbox and the covers. It rides really well and feels good. The bike looked pretty amazing for the price and that's what drew me to it and ultimately to buy it, as a second to my previously purchased Combat. The 850 is my regular rider, while the Combat I'm taking my time redressing and updating in my office. The previous owner of the 850 told me that the motor was rebuilt but he doesn't have any documentation. So, like most of us, it's up to me now what I want to do with it and how much caution I proceed with with all the things that can go wrong with these old British steel machines.

$3627
minus $1500 deposit
=$2227 ?
Seems like a subtraction error in his favor by $100. But who's complaining.
Only way to know about the bearing is probably to look at it, unfortunately. How lucky do you feel?

DogT said:

$3627
minus $1500 deposit
=$2227 ?
Seems like a subtraction error in his favor by $100. But who's complaining.
Only way to know about the bearing is probably to look at it, unfortunately. How lucky do you feel?

Click to expand...

Seems like we should all adopt a convention to scribe something inside the GB outer cover or perhaps the clutch cable access cover plate to indicate what has been done within the box for future owners.

Tornado said:

Seems like we should all adopt a convention to scribe something inside the GB outer cover or perhaps the clutch cable access cover plate to indicate what has been done within the box for future owners.

Click to expand...

I like this idea. Norton hieroglyphs.

That paint job has a name. Something like Uncle Bob's or Grandpa Jones? I think it was something dreamed up in Vermont. Not my fav either.

batrider said:

That paint job has a name. Something like Uncle Bob's or Grandpa Jones? I think it was something dreamed up in Vermont. Not my fav either.

Click to expand...

Indeed this paint was from Burlington, Vermont! I know this because I called Vintage Vendor to paint it after a local recommendation here in Colorado. After talking to Brent at Vintage Vendor he sent me a picture of when he painted my tins about 9 years ago. Small world. It made me confident to have him paint it though, because the previous paint held up beautifully.

Honestly it felt terrible to paint over because it was really well done. But the color was just not for me. I debated getting a new Emgo and painting it, but decided I wanted the original tank. Here's the freshly painted tins.

I think you should have gone with the canary yellow man Russ and I both have yellow Combats. Just kidding! The black looks all too classic. Then again, there's something about the yellow that screams vintage to me.

In fact, I just went for a ride on my 850 and it's a windy day out here, and I was on an open stretch of country road with cross winds and headwinds. At about 50mph, or so according to my speedo, I started to feel the wind and it blew me around a bit on the road. Got me a little squirrely feeling in my belly. I'm a new rider remember. Is that normal fellas?

Starvingphotog said:

I think you should have gone with the canary yellow man Russ and I both have yellow Combats. Just kidding! The black looks all too classic. Then again, there's something about the yellow that screams vintage to me.

In fact, I just went for a ride on my 850 and it's a windy day out here, and I was on an open stretch of country road with cross winds and headwinds. At about 50mph, or so according to my speedo, I started to feel the wind and it blew me around a bit on the road. Got me a little squirrely feeling in my belly. I'm a new rider remember. Is that normal fellas?

Click to expand...

Sounds pretty normal. Try to lean forward/stay low to reduce profile. At those speeds, all the windage is pretty near head-on, even if you're riding at 90 degrees to true wind direction (assuming you're not in a hurricane Just ask any high performance sailor.

Starvingphotog said:

I think you should have gone with the canary yellow man Russ and I both have yellow Combats. Just kidding! The black looks all too classic. Then again, there's something about the yellow that screams vintage to me.

In fact, I just went for a ride on my 850 and it's a windy day out here, and I was on an open stretch of country road with cross winds and headwinds. At about 50mph, or so according to my speedo, I started to feel the wind and it blew me around a bit on the road. Got me a little squirrely feeling in my belly. I'm a new rider remember. Is that normal fellas?

Click to expand...

The crosswinds will hit your bike more than you, causing it to feel a bit funny, like it's blowing the bike out from under you. Even in strong winds it's manageable.

Another basic black commando. If/when I get a roadster tank or respray my black/gold Interstate or Hirider tanks - metalflake!

MexicoMike said:

" (the OTHER Colorado Norton guys) and we swapped out my jets from 260 to 190 so the fuel mix wasn't so rich."

That sounds much too lean. I run 240's with bike at 6400 ft above sea level in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I ran 220's when we lived in Mexico City - 7400ft. I'd be concerned about being at more than 3/4 throttle with that jetting. But do a plug chop test to be sure.

Click to expand...

@MexicoMike this is really interesting and I don't know the correct answer. The shop noted "Changed jets from 260 down to 190. Cleaned low speed idle jets." They specialize in classic Triumphs and Nortons and are based in Denver so I would expect some good degree of knowledge, but this is a big difference from your experience. It felt like it rides better now, but it stalls warming up. I've never done a plug chop test but it seems like it wouldn't be too difficult. I did put brand new plugs in it at the same time the jets were changed.

I'm going to search for some threads on altitude and carbs to see if I can find other info on the forum.

gortnipper said:

Another basic black commando. If/when I get a roadster tank or respray my black/gold Interstate or Hirider tanks - metalflake!

Click to expand...

I know. Another basic black. I debated this endlessly before painting it black. I've wanted this bike for decades and that is the color I always pictured, so that's where I landed. When I was shopping it seemed like the classic black had higher resale value too.

I did do something fun since I went basic black. I got a set of painted tins from India in the JPN colors. It's not correct for my year (1973) but it's my favorite factory color. So I can throw these on for a while and have a different bike for a while. Also, I don't have to be neurotic about protecting the paint.

I got these from Royal Choppers on eBay. With the COVID crisis there it's been understandably delayed quite a bit but should be here in a few weeks.

I wish the insane invoice writer had taken an additional 2.7 minutes to make a legible invoice.
Definitely not the MacLean method of writing!

Glen

worntorn said:

I wish the insane invoice writer had taken an additional 2.7 minutes to make a legible invoice.
Definitely not the MacLean method of writing!

Glen

Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess when you sign up for an engine rebuild with the "Insane Bike Collector" you're not doing it for legibility.

Fortunately there is a full 1.5" binder with other more legible - even printed - invoices from Norman Hyde, Old Britts, cNw, etc..

Guys,
Thanks for your responses and advice. I'm thinking in winds and open roads that speeds are reduced to match comfort and confidence on the bike. I may also look at the front forks. They felt a little springy at around 50mph in the wind. This might be "just the wind" or maybe my oil is low. I've never serviced the front forks before with oil so looking forward to that experience. I'll also change up my body position a little on the bike to see how I respond to it.

Hey Nortorius, you're lucky you got that big binder of history. I wish I had that. I did hear back from my pervious owner and he didn't touch his engine or trans while he had it (about 3 years), but added quite a few cosmetic items as updates and maintenance. He said that he thinks that the bike was restored and was ridden at the mileage that is on the odometer, which was zeroed at restore. I'm thinking this is more likely than it being completely original with 2500ish original miles since '74. Since there wasn't any paperwork for the restoration, I figure it was done by a similarly insane bike collector in his barn somewhere in nut sack anyway USA...

Cheers,
Rob

here's a link where you can see my Combat and 850.

I can't find Nut Sack using my maps app

haaa haaa!

Re jetting/altitude - the owners manual has info re jet size if the bike is to remain at higher elevations. I don't have a manual available and don't remember the specifics.