Commando Buying tips?

Welcome Magork, Well i guess the dollar is the bottom line, so to speak. If four grand is what you've got to work with then that's that and the bike at the trophy shop is not for you. Your's is out there though. I found mine by calling an old old ad(I'm talking 6-7 months after it was posted. It was for two bikes a '72 750 roadster running and pristine and a 75 850 that "needed work", the 72 had been sold but he still had the 75 (which is what i wanted anyway). Seller was asking 3500. i asked if he would consider 2500, he said "well yeah, or 3000" and i left it like that and didn't talk money anymore just asked about the bike and when i could see it. worked out a time when i could get away from work and when he'd be there-( i had to drive 450 miles one way). 3000 was the MAX i could spend, when i got there and pulled it out from the back of his garage i knew i wanted it, but i pulled out 25 one hundred dollar bills and offered that, he said that he was thinking 3 ....i kept quiet...and after a time he said okay. we loaded it on to my trailer and it's now in my garage-----everytime i go out there i smile and know i have the right bike. just got lucky...but you can too. this is a great forum lots of good folks with tons of knowledge. again welcome. Cj

AussieCombat said:

The pretty bits on the outside are the easy bits, Paint work, pipes, mudguards etc can be done by you.
It's the mechanicals that can take time and money.
AC.

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A good point, for some, but my perspective is the absolute reverse: Mechanical work I can do. Anything cosmetic has to be farmed out!

Don't do what I did..

I fell in love with one I found (1973 850 Roadster) on Craigslist. It was 500 miles away, in Chicago. I couldn't get up there quick enough with my $4,500 in hand and ready to buy it. We got there and dad took it for a ride (he knew what to look for--I didn't have a frickin' clue). Though it ran and seemed fine, he said there were a slew of problems. It had been ridden HARD, dumped, and slapped back together by some vintage Honda shop. It wasn't set up correctly at all and it was extremely dangerous, but I never would have known if I hadn't brought someone knowledgeable with me. I'm not stupid, but I wouldn't have known what all was truly needing to be fixed with it.

That being said, we ended up bringing it home, but for $500 less when dad said he honestly thought it was worth closer to $3,000 (I had a cashier's check for $4,000 so there wasn't much negotiation from there). We immediately set to tearing the bike completely down (it's a year later now and I still haven't ridden it) and I've proceeded to plow another $3,500 into it on top of the buying price and the gas to go get it. Then again, I want it to be perfect from the get-go. Once it's built, I don't plan on doing much more than routine maintenance for a while. In retrospect, I probably should have waited for a better deal, but it's done now so it is what it is.

Best of luck to you. Head up--you'll find what you want if you're patient!

-Jordan

I think you can look at the $4,000 as an initiation fee. The dues will increase this figure, considerably.

I believe you mentioned perfect. If so, you need to look at the price of a rebuilt CNW Commando, with any deductions for the labor you provide.

KSUWildcatFan said:

Don't do what I did..

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Jordan, actually I spend a lot of time on your rebuild thread and I have thought to myself I gotta go about it like this guy!
I can totally see myself doing what you did, and probably wouldn't regret it. I think the fact you got a bike that you love and are in the position to restore it with your father is priceless. I hope in a few years, I will be in your position doing a full restore with my pops! I probably will try to take my father to test ride and check the bike out as well.

KSUWildcatFan said:

you'll find what you want if you're patient!

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I can be notoriously impatient! :lol: Something I am definitely working on!
Oh and I see on your profile you are a programmer.. what languages? I know some C, MatLab, LabView, and Arduino which is a C derivative.

Magork said:

KSUWildcatFan said:

Don't do what I did..

Click to expand...

Jordan, actually I spend a lot of time on your rebuild thread and I have thought to myself I gotta go about it like this guy!
I can totally see myself doing what you did, and probably wouldn't regret it. I think the fact you got a bike that you love and are in the position to restore it with your father is priceless. I hope in a few years, I will be in your position doing a full restore with my pops! I probably will try to take my father to test ride and check the bike out as well.

KSUWildcatFan said:

you'll find what you want if you're patient!

Click to expand...

I can be notoriously impatient! :lol: Something I am definitely working on!
Oh and I see on your profile you are a programmer.. what languages? I know some C, MatLab, LabView, and Arduino which is a C derivative.

Click to expand...

Have you figured out how to incorporate an Arduino onto a Norton yet? Hmmm, one can only imagine. :mrgreen:

Magork said:

KSUWildcatFan said:

Don't do what I did..

Click to expand...

Jordan, actually I spend a lot of time on your rebuild thread and I have thought to myself I gotta go about it like this guy!
I can totally see myself doing what you did, and probably wouldn't regret it. I think the fact you got a bike that you love and are in the position to restore it with your father is priceless. I hope in a few years, I will be in your position doing a full restore with my pops! I probably will try to take my father to test ride and check the bike out as well.

KSUWildcatFan said:

you'll find what you want if you're patient!

Click to expand...

I can be notoriously impatient! :lol: Something I am definitely working on!
Oh and I see on your profile you are a programmer.. what languages? I know some C, MatLab, LabView, and Arduino which is a C derivative.

Click to expand...

I've enjoyed the process of rebuilding the bike with my dad, even though he is a giant pain in the ass. lol

I just mean that I think I could've done better than my $4,000 purchase ($4,500 if you factor in the drive) when it comes down to it. All I really needed was a running motor and the rest of the bike could have been in shambles, so long as it was all there. FWIW, the motor is the only thing that we haven't gone through, taken completely down, and refurbished. The motor didn't need anything other than a fresh coat of paint.

Granted, my bike gave me ample parts that I could sell in favor of other parts I liked better (I.E. fastback headlight ears, early-style chainguard, etc) and that helped reduce my overall "cost" some. I encourage you to do that if you can--make your bike your own--but the old parts NEVER offset the new parts so you're always out extra.

Just take your time and don't fall in love with the first thing you find like I did. I'll sleep just fine after it's all done, even as I inch closer to $10,000, but it's going to be unique, with my own personal touches and styled in a way that I find cool while others may hate. That's what makes it fun.

I'm not much of a programmer (good enough for what I do!) but I work with VB/VB.Net/SQL mostly. Mainframe programming = yuck!

-Jordan

yeah, I considered it as a project for my senior level controls class this fall.

swooshdave said:

Hmmm, one can only imagine. :mrgreen:

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Seriously, the possibilities are endless. I thought about making a simple remote alarm with a 3-axis accelerometer and an xbee module. Ooh, maybe, If my bike has electric start, Ill rig up some RFID tags in my shoes so when I get within about 5 feet the bikes starts up for me? :lol: I love the Arduino..

Magork said:

yeah, I considered it as a project for my senior level controls class this fall.

swooshdave said:

Hmmm, one can only imagine. :mrgreen:

Click to expand...

Seriously, the possibilities are endless. I thought about making a simple remote alarm with a 3-axis accelerometer and an xbee module. Ooh, maybe, If my bike has electric start, Ill rig up some RFID tags in my shoes so when I get within about 5 feet the bikes starts up for me? :lol: I love the Arduino..

Click to expand...

LOL