Growing pains

kernel65 said:

"Bipolar alcoholic girlfriend" is the best description I've heard yet....

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+1 & welcome .....we need pictures

auldblue said:

kernel65 said:

"Bipolar alcoholic girlfriend" is the best description I've heard yet. And from personal experience with both, so true...

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Have you still got her number?

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Oh no. The second time around quickly reminded me why I left in the first place. The Commando on the other hand is a different story.

Fix the swing arm and avoid the hinge.

Scott

. That thing kicked back like a thoroughbred and destroyed my ankle. Didn't throw me over the bars but I guess my boot was not adequate for ankle support. I sat on the curb for a second trying to downplay how much it rocked me, waiting for the pain to pass. When I went to stand up I couldn't put any weight on it.

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Take it like a man . Stiff Upper lip & all that . :lol: No advance & kick back - the knee into the handle bar trick - and ' Not taking that -
from the #*!/ and pretend not to limp for the next few days . Yea , soft soled shoes no goodu . Found some old winkle pickers , these got the Gear shift trouble free . ( Rubber soles on a getoff will get you catapulting about too :x ) Olde Leather soled zipped racer type boots
( real racers - the greasey black 60's ones ) BOOTS arnt bad , as they SLIDE . Yr a ace when you grind the sides off and get bleedy little toes )

:shock: :?

Youll have to try 2AM , or just follow emergency vehicals , if you must ride in the city . Found Offensive ( rather than Defensive ) riding ,
where you assume your rightfull position in command of the road preferable . With the right mental attitude other road users realize your
superior disposition and give ground , right of way and generally make your day pleasant . If they think youll turn at them on the slightest pretext .

Serially Now , ' we ' pull neutral while rolling in , at lights .

Firing Up , POITIONING the cylinders ( pistons ) then Kickstart ( free it with clutch ) then Leaping skyward straightening leg so your WEIGHT
pushes the contraption THROUGH seldom gets more than a whup in the resistance is it swings , if you grit your teeth right & use a steely glare
into the middle distance .

Serious I.o.M. riders ( on the girder / ridgids - pre war , used to run ( jog ?? ) 20 plus miles a day training , and often were LORRIE ( no power steer ) DRIVERS , who had adequate byceps to hold the things straight - as the track wasn't all smooth & girlie like now . :wink:

Spitfire ( Supermarine ) Operators Notes ( online ) can help in developing the correct menatal disposition , for taking on the enemy . :mrgreen:

With the standard LUCAS contact breaker assembly , or Auto Advance . The A.A. can get sticky ( twist it & see if its stickey :wink: )

if its sticky , or someones locked it these sorts of things do happen . Authoritive operation is necessary .

Welcome trialbyfire

Others have mentioned it already but if fear of a banged up ankle in the future gives you second thoughts while starting an electronic ignition is a very common out of site non original mod for this bike.
No maintenance and highly reliable, except when they aren't. They have as a rule a good retard setting for start up.
Boyers used to not retard when battery voltage gets a bit low, however maybe by now they are improved.
I personally use a Pazon Sure Fire which is cheap compared to others and has a great start retard and will even down around 8 volts.
Other good ones out there that have been described by others.
Lots of ignition threads on this site to review.

Welcome again

Welcome to the forum.

Your intro story is a good one. Sorry about the ankle, but you'll get over it soon enough.

Test run on posting pics, more to come. Thanks for all the input.

I had a timberland work boot on but broken lace prevented a tight tie up. I'll be picking up some more serious boots for sure.

Clutch in at traffic lights? I would prefer this, only reason I was going back to neutral every time is I heard these bikes can overheat or "act up" if you sit too long in first holding the clutch.

Welcome. A couple of things I noticed. There is no air filter perforated surround so you may consider fitting one , you"ll find it a somewhat awkward job. At the same time ( to use the working room ) as the filter is off I would change out the fuel lines . When they get that colour it usually means old and brittle. The long cross over tube should be eliminated , but you may have to get different angle bottom junctions to do the very short crossover between the junctions. Hope this helps .

Just about to post the same thing about the surround, RGM has in plain steel for 10 quid and 28 for SS.
Despite what the book says I find the easiest install is to do up the element and surround and front
plate before installing the rubber connectors which can be weaseled in between carbs and filter.

May I suggest sleeving ( purchasing an already sleeved unit) the master cylinder? It makes a big
difference in lever pull and stopping power. Don't ignore having the disc ground true and new
high friction pads. If you ride in B'klyn you must do this.
I got mine from http://www.britishbikeconnection.com/ 210 bucks exchange with yours.

....and almost forgot: take real care that some swine doesnt pinch your ride.

weather good or bad for tranny I do not hold clutch in long at stops as N is so easy to snick in AMC's in good shape. There are stories of those holding clutch all the time at intersections... till cable broke... Its VERY hard to over heat a Cdo just sitting at idle though I'm looked at as totally stupid on this but I'm one the few that actually measured temp of 3 major things so know mine don't over heat at still idle but still not good for blow by oil and chamber pollution and cam lobe wear. Idle will not warm oil up enough to cook off moisture, at least in my slip shod Commandos so better mechanics may have over heating concerns to fit oil cooler and fans like HD's.

hobot said:

weather good or bad for tranny I do not hold clutch in long at stops as N is so easy to snick in AMC's in good shape. There are stories of those holding clutch all the time at intersections... till cable broke... Its VERY hard to over heat a Cdo just sitting at idle though I'm looked at as totally stupid on this but I'm one the few that actually measured temp of 3 major things so know mine don't over heat at still idle but still not good for blow by oil and chamber pollution and cam lobe wear. Idle will not warm oil up enough to cook off moisture, at least in my slip shod Commandos so better mechanics may have over heating concerns to fit oil cooler and fans like HD's.

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Isn't there also some concern that the actuator pressing in on the end of the rod that runs through the gearbox will overheat and wear the end of the rod? I know when I went through my gearbox the rod had some wear so I reversed it to get a fresh start. Also put a small dab of grease on it at assembly.

Another point of possibly concern is that even though the clutch plates arn't pressed together when clutch pulled they may have enough friction to heat up and wear. Although I suppose if they are touching by much you would feel the bike wanting to pull away a bit.

A box that is properly set up with a well adjusted clutch should allow an easy click into neutral. On pulling away I find putting into first as I pull the clutch lever always gives a nice light snick and feel to let me know its engaged. And yes stalling at a light is no fun with a kick start bike so I'm very carefull to roll on a little throttle while I slip the clutch a bit to get a smooth roll off.

You will find that with some time on the bike this all gets smoother and more automatic.