Getting old sucks

joe czech said:

coming up on 73. one knee replaced - the other overdue. arthritis and cubital tunnel in the hands. I've learned to live with most of it - my main concern, is I don't seem to have the balance while standing on my feet that I did in my 20's. doesn't seem to affect riding the bike other than trying to kick start while off the center stand. also, hard to dismount the bike unless i'm on the side stand. e-start and cNw easy pull clutch solved most problems. hopefully I can ride for a few more years.

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Interesting - I thought the balance thing was just me. I have a problem at low speed when pulling away from a stop, or maneuvering into a parking space. I actually fell over a month ago just turning the bike around at zero mph. Minimal damage to both machine and rider but sore ribs and very embarassed. Getting old sucks.

Do you mean balance or balancing? A good sense of balance will not help if your legs are losing strength . I make a point of putting both feet down - something I never used to do

My clutch is the best it has ever been and I have to admit that's not very good, but in comparison to some other Commandos probably great, which is why I copied the link to the snake oil reduction box. If an addition keeps a man on his bike, regardless the looks, then I'm for giving it a shot.... Inexpensive enough to be worthy of a toss of the bones because I've done all of the piddling I'll do with that clutch from surplus WWII Matilda tanks..... Simple to maintain and extremely reliable though.

oldmikew said:

Do you mean balance or balancing? A good sense of balance will not help if your legs are losing strength . I make a point of putting both feet down - something I never used to do

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ditto - both feet down. don't have a good secure feeling with just one foot.

Heck, I put both feet down at a stop when I started riding motos as a teen and never quit!

Something I've been meaning to look further into, but didn't around to yet...

A couple of years ago whilst approaching a set of red traffic lights on my way to work, I went to change down, pulled in the clutch and the cable snapped (in the gearbox as it happened). As luck would have it I was 100 metres from a motorcycle clothing and accessory shop. I waited for it to open and again luckily they stocked an emergency cable kit. The inner cables were much thinner that the Norton but all I needed to do was get to work and home again. I pulled out the broken inner and pushed through the temporary one, then fitted a screw on nipple at the lever end. 25 minutes after it broke I was on my way again. The pull was unbelievably lighter, which I put it down to the old inner being frayed. Anyway I ordered a new "Featherlight" (back in the day that was a condom) cable from Venhill and continued to use the bike as it was. When the new cable arrived I fitted it expecting a lovely smooth and light action. No, on the contrary it was pretty much the same as it had been before it broke. I've been too busy / lazy to pull the tank and investigate more, but recently I also read somewhere that going down a size on the inner will improve the action. I have a Morini 500 Camel which has an "Italian" clutch. It's easier to play about with that as you don't need to pull the tank each time. I'll test on that and report back.


Cheers,

cliffa.

Britbike850, I feel for you. The ulnar nerve in my right arm is playing up, it is binding somewhere but doctor is not sure where.
About your clutch, just checking, have you checked whether the height of the plates pack is in line with dynodave's research and recommendations?
Good starting point in the quest for onefinger clutch operation. If setup ok, no more need for an Atlas lever.

Being a bit on the short side, I'm not actually sure if I can get both heels down at a stop on my P11. I know I can pull the clutch in though. Not difficult at 7 decades with various arthritic maladies. I use Magura levers. However, I could give rats rump about what Norton used on my P11. I just like stuff to work.

My favorite motorcycle hands down.

Has anyone tried one of those “Stunt Clutch” or sometimes called easy pull devices that attach to your cable by the lever. A simple leverage improvement for a 30% less pull. MX stores or flea bay has many of them.

I like this thread... reminds me of the old adage, "Misery loves company". I sincerely hope that the OP gets his clutch sorted to the point that riding his Norton doesn't hurt.

So do I.... Mine is sidelined until it cools enough for me to work on, but I cannot conceive of my riding privilege being gone because of clutch operation. However I shall purchase one of those magic boxes just in case faced with the same issue someday when I become old. Heh heh.
BB850 I really do hope you overcome this and can get back to riding one of the truly great pleasures still around.

jbruney said:

My clutch is the best it has ever been and I have to admit that's not very good, but in comparison to some other Commandos probably great, which is why I copied the link to the snake oil reduction box. If an addition keeps a man on his bike, regardless the looks, then I'm for giving it a shot.... Inexpensive enough to be worthy of a toss of the bones because I've done all of the piddling I'll do with that clutch from surplus WWII Matilda tanks..... Simple to maintain and extremely reliable though.

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It isn't snake oil, or magic, it is based on a very basic mechanical principle of lever length. Inside the box is a lever on a pivot, the cables entering either side can be installed in different position to vary the leverage by changing the relationship of the clutch cable to the short link cable. In fact they can be used either way round.

So you can reduce clutch release movement and reduce the pressure at the handlebar lever (the design intent), or increase the required pressure at the handlebar and increase the clutch release movement (my intent).

I have one here that I want to use to increase the movement of the clutch pushrod to help with a clutch drag problem I have on a Norman White Belt Drive and TTi gearbox combination. I think the problem only exists because of the specific combination, but Brooking850 had similar issues with another belt drive and the TTi box and his chosen bar lever.

I bought mine through 24MX in France, cheaper than the US link our French friend Marin Atlas posted. They are popular on modern off road bikes to reduce lever pressure ( I think mainly for Enduro where fatigue is a bigger issue than in my 20 minute road races! )

To a true purist it would be both, but I'm neither so forgive the puns. I am serious about the acquisition though because that clutch lever is painful..... more so with each passing month and murderous in cold/damp weather.

The Commando main shaft is longer than previous AMC boxes , so too presumably is the clutch push rod which is known to flex under load. The archimedes screw will transmit oil from gear box to clutchplates and theprimary chaincase, but on a worse case scenario might actually fowl the id of the gearbox mainshaft- Increasing leverage at hbar to get round this also increases the distance the clutch hbar lever has totravel . Surely better to correct theproblem at source with the rgm kit

If its a problem of the clutch rod bending under load, the solution is to cut into two pieces , and suitably shorten to enable another ball bearing between the 2 rods.

Getting old is not all in the mind, but maintaining a healthy mindset is important - however difficult that might be. The most difficult thing as we get older lies in maintaining the urge. I have had a grief thing for about 5 years now - ever since two of my motorsport friends died. Grief does not last forever - you just have to wait it out. For some time now I have not even been able to look at my bike. A few days ago, I started working on it again. But it is still not easy. I do a bit and walk away until the next time - I don't force myself.

oldmikew said:

which is known to flex under load

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The commando push rod is 3mm longer and only has to push 220lbs. flex??? this is a first in 30 years...even BDM never mentions it...or I missed it...
Even the RGM instructions do not even mention flexing.
Is this kit necessary for the "NEW" style circliped clutch center?
For me your argument for this kit lacks merit.

PC16
NEEDLE ROLLER CLUTCH PUSHROD CONVERSIONDETAILS AND FITTING INSTRUCTIONS.
The purpose of the needle roller conversion is to reduce clutch drag, whilst at the same time helping to eliminate oil contamination which causes both slip and drag. Clutch drag is reduced in two ways. Firstly the needle roller bearing reduces friction between the clutch and pushrod. Secondly the flat area of the mushroom and adjuster assists the clutch pressure plate to lift squarely.Oil contamination. There can be a problem with clutches becoming contaminated with gearboxoil. This is pumped along the mainshaft by the clutch pushrod, segmenting the pushrod helpsto eliminate this

CONTENTS. (FIT IN THIS ORDER)
1 SHORT CLUTCH PUSHROD
1 1/4 1/4 ROLLER (THIS IS USED AS A PACKING PIECE AND WILL NOT BE NECESSARY ON MACHINES FITTED WITH A SHORTER GEARBOX MAINSHAFT)
1 1/4 BALL BEARING
1 HARDENED STEEL/GROUND MUSHROOM PUSHER
1 NEEDLE ROLLER
1 NEEDLE ROLLER THRUST WASHER
1 SPECIAL CLUTCH ADJUSTER

INSTRUCTIONS.
1 IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE THE BACK OF THE MUSHROOM AS CLOSE TO THEGEARBOX MAINSHAFT AS POSSIBLE, SHORTEN THE PUSHROD OR REMOVE THE 1/41/4 ROLLER IF THERE IS EXCESSIVE CLEARANCE (i.e. NOT ENOUGH SPACE, SEEBELOW)
2 THERE MUST BE A MINIMUM OF APPROX 3/8” BETWEEN THE GEARBOX MAINSHAFTAND THE INNER FACE OF THE CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE. THE EXACT AMOUNT AVAILABLE DEPENDS ON THE THICKNESS OF THE CLUTCH PLATE STACK. THEAMOUNT REQUIRED CAN BE REDUCED TO AROUND 1/4” BY REMOVING THE THRUST WASHER AND RUNNING THE BEARING DIRECTLY AGAINST THE ADJUSTER, THIS WILL ACCELERATE BEARING WEAR BUT WE CAN SUPPLY NEW NEEDLE ROLLERS FOR £2.70 INC .REMOVE OUTER CHAINCASE AND CLUTCH OUTER PLATE (THE ONE CARRYING THE ADJUSTER) AND CLUTCH PUSHROD INSERT SHORT PUSHROD INTO MAINSHAFT FOLLOWED BY 1/4 1/4 ROLLER FOLLOWED BY 1/4 1/4 BALLFOLLOWED BY MUSHROOMFIT NEW ADJUSTER, SECURE THRUST WASHER AND NEEDLE ROLLER TO ADJUSTER WITH A LITTLE COPPER SLIP OR HIGH MELTING POINT GREASE, (JUST A SMEAR).ASSEMBLE CLUTCH AND ADJUST AS STANDARD.NOTE! CAUTION! COMMANDO OWNERS WILL HAVE TO USE ONE OF THE NUTS FROM THEIR CLUTCH COMPRESSOR TO JOIN THE COMPRESSOR TO THE ADJUSTER, WE HAVE TRIED THIS OUT SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT MISHAP, BUT PLEASE BE CAREFUL.

Britbike850
You don't need this kit... The CCRS you now have is all you need.
It might have value in a atlas coil spring clutch
The description of reducing "clutch drag" is not the definition of inter plate drag which adversly affects finding neutral or pulling the bike while in neutral.
Clutch rod to clutch center drag is microscopic in the big picture.

dynodave said:

The commando push rod is 3mm longer and only has to push 220lbs. flex??? this is a first in 30 years...even BDM never mentions it...or I missed it...
Even the RGM instructions do not even mention flexing.

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Actually they do and certainly the Service notes written by John Hudsn and Tim Stevens mention that the clutch pushrod bends under load. Who or what is BDM?

oldmikew said:

Actually they do and certainly the Service notes written by John Hudsn and Tim Stevens mention that the clutch pushrod bends under load. Who or what is BDM?

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Wow an obscure comment on page 35 of the NOC’s Commando Service Notes.
CLUTCH DRAG: “Yet another cause is for gearbox oil to travel down the pushrod by virtue of the clutch pushrod acting as a pump, when it bends under load.”