different engine commando frame

Rohan said:

Asking price and selling price can be 2 VERY different things....

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Understand. Asking price can be driven by the fact that there are no other motors being listed at the time. I did a search for Manx motors for sale and there wasn't much if anything I found. To buy up all the parts needed to restore mine would have little to no ROI.

acotrel said:

Aerial Square Four

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Wouldn't be a patch on an Ariel.

o1racing03 said:

I did a search for Manx motors for sale and there wasn't much if anything I found. To buy up all the parts needed to restore mine would have little to no ROI.

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You haven't yet established that is is a manx frame.
Don't jump the gun just yet. ?

Manx motors are available brand new, there are any number of suppliers.
Don't ask the price though, these are not toy racers.

Rohan said:

o1racing03 said:

I did a search for Manx motors for sale and there wasn't much if anything I found. To buy up all the parts needed to restore mine would have little to no ROI.

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You haven't yet established that is is a manx frame.
Don't jump the gun just yet. ?

Manx motors are available brand new, there are any number of suppliers.
Don't ask the price though, these are not toy racers.

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I think it has been pretty much established that it IS NOT a Manx frame. I'm just trying to see what those who think I should put it back to stock expect me to spend instead of just enjoying this awesome combination for 10's of $1000's less. I'm not jumping the gun, I have no intentions of doing anything but getting it running as is and prettying it up. I just doing research so I'm not completely lost when I talk about what I have. I came into the Norton mix with misinformation and here a week later I know much more about Nortons than I have for the last 3 decades.
I'm still surprised by the amount of replies telling me what it isn't, but no direction on what it is.

o1racing03 said:

I'm still surprised by the amount of replies telling me what it isn't, but no direction on what it is.

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Without a frame number, only you advising what it is will advance that cause.

We could speculate until the cows come home, but unless a featherbed is stripped right down and you can photo every tiny detail, (that tells them apart)
they all look extremely similar with all that bike stype stuff bolted into them.
Unless you assume we have x-ray vision AND 20/20 hindsight....

o1racing03 said:

Rohan said:

Asking price and selling price can be 2 VERY different things....

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Understand. Asking price can be driven by the fact that there are no other motors being listed at the time. I did a search for Manx motors for sale and there wasn't much if anything I found. To buy up all the parts needed to restore mine would have little to no ROI.

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As if by magic:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1959-Manx-Nor ... 51d7212606

"from the outside it looks a very nice"

famous last words ?!

Not that I have any reason to doubt it,
but they say a race motor is only as good as its last rebuild.

If you want a new Manx engine this is the best place to go in the world these days.


http://www.worksracing.co.uk/30m_engine_gp_spec.php

Only UK 12,000 pounds plus taxes and shipping

To update, it turns out the frame is a 1955 Model 88 Domi frame with a 1974 Kawasaki H2 motor.

turns out 3cyl kwakers are (relatively) big dough today
different-engine-commando-frame-t22961-45.html#p302713

https://www.hagerty.com/Articles-Videos ... 11-18-2015

The H1 (Mach III) and H2 (Mach IV) are most valuable, with prices now over $15,000 for top models.

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84ok said:

i'm also quite surprised to read this (the bottom) figuring the kaw engine isn't (assuming can't be?) worth much, tho also have no idea what j.a.p. engines go for, which i will certainly be looking into

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o1racing03 said:

I also was curious as to what these motors will bring today. After research I was surprised how expensive they are and this boat anchor keeps coming to mind:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Kawasaki-H ... be&vxp=mtr

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Wow, and I bought a semi-rough H1 20 years ago for a few hundred...

Found these when sitting and scanning old pics, they are from 1974 or -76, not sure. This is obviously not a Commando frame, didn´t read the headline as thorough as I should . But still a Norton!
Tommy

You might believe that if you fit the best motor into the best frame, you would have the best bike. However you might be wrong. The power characteristics of the motor dictate to a large extent how the frame must handle. Also the weight distribution is very important. The Manx Norton motor fits low and very forward in the featherbed frame. Power delivery is strong and gentle and the bike usually tends to tighten it's line in corners and so inspire rider confidence. That Kawasaki engine in the featherbed frame might not be good on a race track. I suggest the weight distribution might make it feel vague in corners and with that much power .... ?

A Z900 engine in a Rob North Rocket 3 frame, might not be all bad.

acotrel said:

That Kawasaki engine in the featherbed frame might not be good on a race track.

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It's obviously a road bike. Why would it be on a race track?

here is a photo of the Trident powered Commando at the British National MC Museum....took it a few years ago on vacation.

bluto said:

here is a photo of the Trident powered Commando at the British National MC Museum....took it a few years ago on vacation.

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That doesn´t look all that bad, can´t see if it still has the iso? And what is that brown bike to the right? Incredibly wide cylinders, and it looks like Amals back there?
Tommy

fiatfan said:

That doesn´t look all that bad, can´t see if it still has the iso?

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Yes, it is the 'Trisolastic'.

fiatfan said:

And what is that brown bike to the right? Incredibly wide cylinders, and it looks like Amals back there?

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That's the Norton Wulf.

norton-wulf-t8747.html

Your comment about why that Kawasaki engine featherbed bike might be on a race track - the answer is that it probably would not be. My comment was made because what you encounter on public roads is usually much worse than you would encounter on any race track. I said I did not think it would be too good on a race track - on a public road, it would be more dangerous. On a race track the rider practises entering and leaving the corners. On a public road, most riders are unpractised. So if the bike mishandles when things go pear-shaped, the result is often the big crash with no provision for run-off, so no escape.
The answer is - if you wouldn't race it, don't ride it on public roads.
I think there are a lot better things to do with a Z900 engine than fit it into a featherbed frame. A nice Harris or Rob North frame would be much better.
What you guys seem to forget or not know, is that after you've gone through your crash and burn stage in road racing, it is much safer than riding on public roads ever was. I'm 74 years of age and I wouldn't hesitate to race the Seeley tomorrow. I could not say the same, if I intended to ride on public roads. For a while up here, I had an RD250LC Yamaha - I always thought twice before riding it on the road. There are too many ways to go wrong.