fix or sell

Ha! Ashley is the last one to pay any attention to on what is involved with restoring or owning a Commando as he's the luckest fella in the world on his so nothing he has to offer has much use to the rest of us with the commonly reoccurring ownership issues, Which is not to say Ashley ain't been though his to the core and back but mostly just to refresh a few things not recover a POS like this quasy drum brake HyRyder Roadster. Ashley comments are the kind that got me in way TF over my head time and money wise, by saying Cdo's are such simple machines, dive right in what could go wrong...

Also not even worth parting out as most of the parts nobody would want but frame, engine or gearbox, to about break even on $1500 investment minus the wrenching apart and marketing selling hassle. Takes a real man or woman that is healthy, mentally/emotionally tough and wealthy enough to take the financial hits and time to get to fully fettered state. I admit to falling short of that about every time I have to deal with mine, one Combat down all year d/t leaks and another project - a decade now, again set back by car blow up on way to collect the engine.

Jut read the latest from Peter Egan and hes $10K out of pocket on the the Commando he got for free. He did farm out most of the work though.

If you want a motorsickle to RIDE rather than Look At , it doesnt have to be all ponced up , wherein can lye
a good deal of the expense .

Being a machine it must be meticulously disasemmbled and CLEANED , inspected and ' blue printed ' ( checked to specs ) and reasembled further meticulously . Tyres & tubes might help too . Otherwise its liable to stop half way
through getting the Hay In . Which can lead to bothers .

Check the cab slides . electronic ignition is a boon . Check the sprockets & chains ( drop the primary cover ) .

You need magic fingers - brutality and ignorance are otherwise the chief causes of expense . Looks to ' Have potential ' . If not all shiney and polished . Peble Beach dosnt accept rust o rods , but they dont go any slower
because of that . Youre choice & pocket . Roding was traditionally back yarders - but a tidy mind helps .

[quote="Matt Spencer"You need magic fingers - brutality and ignorance are otherwise the chief causes of expense .[/quote]

Dont I know that all too well...

There ya go trying to fib to a newbie so read the article again, Peter Egan says $10.5 grand not 10 grand. Best deal is get rid of the POS and buy someones' expensively restored Cdo and let them take the huge loss not you. Of course it will remain a mystery inside and can't keep up with the details of others faults but there's a lot to be said for just being a happy Commando pilot without a machine shop of tools and half dozen vender shelves boxes of parts.

Subject to how much is reusable... $7,000 - $9,000 to get it on the road and running reliably. $12,000 to 17,000 to make it look and run like new. Most people take 1 to 3 years to rebuild one. To us, it's fun and worth it. All that aluminum will shine up almost like chrome, a lot of that chrome will clean up well too. Since it's been sitting so long you shouldn't try and get it started without At lease disassembling everything and refreshing/replacing parts.
It's a fine project bike and worth rebuilding, especially if it has matching #'s. Many here have started with less. Me included.
If you are up for it, the people here will help.

Or just leave it rusty and just drive it around in circles in the farm bush, Total cost a battery and gas.

A new Honda CB 1100 will cost you at least $10,000. If you are a decent mechanic and you don't mind spending time working on the bike, set a realistic time line and restore it. Same $10,000 will get you something special. It will cost you money whether you build or buy, the deciding factor it commitment and patience.

Battery $60. Gas $10. He needs to fire it up and go for a private property burn test for motivation. :wink:

Torontonian said:

Or just leave it rusty and just drive it around in circles in the farm bush, Total cost a battery and gas.

Click to expand...

I believe you are kidding yourself if you think that bike will run with gas and a new battery. :roll:

Why not. My Crazy started up for a test ride in parking lot and she was far rustier n' neglected. $2000 then the $ 10,000 n' labour later,,, :roll:

Thanks for all the good and bad information I will try to sell the whole bike but looks like bike is worth more in parts the #'s do match engine 20m3s 145881 . I can't ride anymore because of health guess I was just dreaming when i bought it.

dizzy1953 said:

Thanks for all the good and bad information I will try to sell the whole bike but looks like bike is worth more in parts the #'s do match engine 20m3s 145881 . I can't ride anymore because of health guess I was just dreaming when i bought it.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that, perhaps a Commando with a sidecar rig and Alton e-start?

I've seen worse,
and I guarantee that it wouldn't cost me anywhere near 10 grand to put it back on the road.

what do you think $ 2700.

Seems about right. Keep it together , otherwise 1 less Snorter existing. :|

Mark,

I agree with you. I was using 10k as an example of what it would cost for a new bike. With decent mechanical skills and the fortitude not to get carried away with bling, and the willingness to put a lot of sweat equity, the cost should not be $10,000. But it is easy to get nickle and dime'd (sp?) to death. There are quite a few guys with ground up restores w/ 20k + price tags too. It comes down to what you want, and how bad you want it.

Pete

dizzy1953 said:

Thanks for all the good and bad information I will try to sell the whole bike but looks like bike is worth more in parts the #'s do match engine 20m3s 145881 . I can't ride anymore because of health guess I was just dreaming when i bought it.

Click to expand...

Yes if you have health issues the last thing you need is a couple of years of learning while doing the restoration of a bike that will at times frustrate you while at the same time cost more than buying a reasonably restored similar Commando.
Plus it is a kick start that at times can get a bit physical.
If you have a clear title and are willing to coordinate overseas shipping you would get the best price from Australia.
There have been others on this board that described how they managed the process.
I don't know if they have an Australia specific auction site like E-Bay but if they do it may be worth your while listing.

Roadrash said:

Torontonian said:

Or just leave it rusty and just drive it around in circles in the farm bush, Total cost a battery and gas.

Click to expand...

I believe you are kidding yourself if you think that bike will run with gas and a new battery. :roll:

Click to expand...

We should Take Bets on that .

Check the points and oil . Direct Wire if anything theres suss .
a Compression Test would be the first check on condition .

If your looking for a project , overhauling to ' within tolerance ' isn't the same as everything as new .
And its Pre - run In :mrgreen: , this way . almost .

like any cycle , a visual inspection will tell you a lot as to previous negligence or maintenance .
A typical 70.000 mile car , will just require stripping & cleaning if its been laid up a decade or two.
Removeing all the deposits / contaminants . while a commando has a few ' see too ' areas ,
points - oil pump - layshaft bearing , in 1970 they were pretty much as good as any and better than most ,
overall . If requiring typical British Maintanance . A bit of external oil stopped them rusting -
pretty important on salted roads .
Most glitches are owner negligence & ignorance . theyre not a ' run flat ' in the gears japer ,
and youd be over the speed limit double quick if you did .

As a ' project ' , stripping & cleaning , and dumping all the alloy in acetone to return the sparkle
would be a imensly rewarding endevour , if your in it for ' the love of the sport ' rather than out
to impress the neigbours .
Rattle spray cans don't cost $ 10.000 , unless your doing the Queen Mary .

RIGHT , theyre NOT ' Hi Rider ' bars . That's a later seat , and theyre ' cocktail shaker ' mufflers ,

SO WHAT . a 1000 point concourse restorations Not Mandatory . Wots wong wiff ow it is . :?:

First Priority is gunk / contamination removal . ANYWAY , lets ' spot the parts ' as far as a 70 roadster goes , Chasps .

If the chains & sprockets are fine , likely the rests been looked after . The early points assemblies wore , but generally
they were a reliable motorcycle - that didn't fall off the road in corners like those Japanese things back then . :shock:

have a read of this drivle . http://www.classicbike.biz/ itll keep you going for at least twelve months . :x :lol: