My First Commando...

Roasters are my fave , but I am firm believer in “different strokes” concept ... when buying parts you will have to decide on quality/price usually between 2/3 options , from my experience get the best you can .... I have a split set of gaiters on forks 18 months old , should have got the more expensive set .....
Craig

Craig said:

Roasters are my fave , but I am firm believer in “different strokes” concept ... when buying parts you will have to decide on quality/price usually between 2/3 options , from my experience get the best you can .... I have a split set of gaiters on forks 18 months old , should have got the more expensive set .....
Craig

Click to expand...

The bitterness of poor quality lingers well after the sweetness of low price has faded.

- Ancient proverb found on a local Korean food truck.

Yeah ... I like that .... so true eh ?
Craig

Swapped on UK Roadster bars...starting to look right now!




One new problem...these UK bars turn out to be nearly 1 mm narrower diameter than OEM HiRider Ape Hangers...so now the bar switch gear will not clamp down tight enough. Suggestions? Was thinking to wrap a bit of UHMW tape around the clamp points to give them more bite. This tape is high density plastic with pretty aggressive adhesive backing. And less thick than electrical tape.

Also what should I do about cabling? Can originals be shortened somehow with new nipples applied? I have no adjuster junction box along choke and throttle lines.
Cheers.

Your UK bars look a little high than set on my bike which I sourced in the Uk .... surprised your bars are different OD than original set .... I got a kit from BritCycle and made up my own throttle cable , running a single Mikuni , adjuster at carb top and handle bar , no choke cable/lever to clutter up bars , just a enricher lever on carb itself .... I guess the tape under your mounts would do no harm ... good luck , looks good ....
Craig

Craig said:

Your UK bars look a little high than set on my bike which I sourced in the Uk .... surprised your bars are different OD than original set .... I got a kit from BritCycle and made up my own throttle cable , running a single Mikuni , adjuster at carb top and handle bar , no choke cable/lever to clutter up bars , just a enricher lever on carb itself .... I guess the tape under your mounts would do no harm ... good luck , looks good ....
Craig

Click to expand...

Might just look higher due to no tank or how I have them rotated at the moment? I'll look into cabline kits...so these have a method to secure the various end fittings and such?

The Bike looks really clean .
Screw the reg coffee idea, I want lattes!
Do yourself a huge favour and order all new cables from Venhills .
These are the best cables money can buy and it's likely that you won't ever wear them out.
The Commando is one of just a few Vintage bikes which Venhills stocks for. Because they are stock items, the price is low.
Very low when you consider these are SS inners with telflon lined outers and silver soldered ends.
The stainless on Teflon is so slippery that these cables when dry require far less pull than regular cables freshly oiled. You really notice this on the clutch pull. Its much lighter with the Venhills.
Do not oil the Venhills ever, just fit and use

Glen

Bars are definitely higher than your "normal" uk bars. The bars should be 7/8 diameter. If you actually end up with UK bars, you have begun the process of turning the bike into a roadster, in which case you are probably in the market for a roadster tank.

Your original post wondered about chromed vs stainless spokes? Stainless, every time. You also wondered about used rims. Waste of time, IMHO, unless somebody local pushes a perfect example in your hands for free. Buy a stainless rim and be done with it.

Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill said:

Bars are definitely higher than your "normal" uk bars. The bars should be 7/8 diameter. If you actually end up with UK bars, you have begun the process of turning the bike into a roadster, in which case you are probably in the market for a roadster tank.

Your original post wondered about chromed vs stainless spokes? Stainless, every time. You also wondered about used rims. Waste of time, IMHO, unless somebody local pushes a perfect example in your hands for free. Buy a stainless rim and be done with it.

Stephen Hill

Click to expand...

What measurements can I make to confirm the bar type? Re-checked my order and it states they are Euro Roadster bars.

As for diameter differnce...seems there are threads on here from years ago where folks report similar diameter changes on replacement bars from stock....and they describe a "Beer Can" fix to get the clamps to grip right.

worntorn said:

The Bike looks really clean .
Screw the reg coffee idea, I want lattes!
Do yourself a huge favour and order all new cables from Venhills .
These are the best cables money can buy and it's likely that you won't ever wear them out.
The Commando is one of just a few Vintage bikes which Venhills stocks for. Because they are stock items, the price is low.
Very low when you consider these are SS inners with telflon lined outers and silver soldered ends.
The stainless on Teflon is so slippery that these cables when dry require far less pull than regular cables freshly oiled. You really notice this on the clutch pull. Its much lighter with the Venhills.
Do not oil the Venhills ever, just fit and use

Glen

Click to expand...

Lattes it is then Sir!

a dial caliper should show 7/8" if its less, i'd return and get a proper set. it is also possible that the twist grip outer collars are deformed from being overtightened (after 40+ yrs no surprise) easy to check, remove the twist grip part and tighten them up gently, if you can see through the bolted joint ... they are stretched.




it looks to me like the bars you got are the north american roadster bar,
old britts has a page showing the bars for UK and USA

https://www.oldbritts.com/70_20.html

Can't really tell from the pic, but it does look like you have the "western" bars rather than the "euro" bars which have only 2" of rise and 6" of pullback.
Click on any of the bars on this page, and it will bring up another pic showing the differences. http://www.oldbritts.com/nor_comm_73_22.html
The Euro bar is incorrectly labelled 06-4132 in the picture; it shd say 06-4123.
Important to have 7/8 all the way, for clamps, controls, throttle.

Venhill teflon, great products, You have to specify your bars to get the correct lengths:
http://www.venhillusa.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=norton+commando+cables or venhilldirect on eBay.

Being a long time commando owner, I found it pretty cool following your original post about wanting to get a commando. I'm actually kind of psyched for you now that you are on your path to converting your commando. I know the thrill of working hard to get it all to come together, then firing it up to enjoy all the work you've put into it... Much different than getting a bank loan for a modern bike and picking it up at the dealership.. (not that the other is a bad thing either, just different than being the rider/wrencher)

Are you going to convert to dual amals, or just get it going on the single first?? I'm curious....

Seriously , that is one fine looking Commando at a very good price.

From here it has the look of either correct original miles and well cared for, or, restored and well cared for.
I look forward to hearing it run.

As you probably read, my freebie rim won't fit your bike.
Probably just as well, there are better choices than the stock rims.
This is one area where I agree with..having some trouble saying it..agree with Fullauto.
Get yourself some WM4 rims, or at least 1 for the rear.
As far as the handling goes, I do not think it matters one whit whether you go 18 or 19 on the rear.
If you go 18 you can get a proper rear Roadrider with the deeper tread and longer life.
If you go 19 there is less choice but you can go 100/90/19 Universal front and rear ( shallower tread) then shift the front to rear when the rear wears out.

Glen

Holy Cow, you got this bike Thursday and not started it up and ridden it yet. That's insane.

Kidding. Git yourself situated and figure it out. If you want 'Home' or 'Export' bars. Or High Rider. They all require different cables and it's hard to adjust/fit if they're not proper. Looks like you have some time to work on your new ride. It will be an experience, believe me.

It's nice to hear (read) hobot again. As usual I have to read the Dixiespeak it as fast as I can tolerate, but there's good info in there.

Nice to have a new victim.

Lucked the fuck out find a good turn key Commando. IF matured wise enough will keep Hi Ride kit for future higher IQ smarter next owner to appreciate flaunting its valid existence in face of prime proper cafe' only configuration-ists. My late Wesley kept the sissy bar for cargo attaching on long out of state travel kit and the sexy annoying low range tank with western bars and Corbin seat for very practical almost as quick as Combat Commando delighter. ONlY the solo oriented seat causing passenger to press against ya is only real negative on this factory model. As Norton riders rarely have masculinity ego enough for their gal to trust enough - so of course Hi Riders are recoiled at, as can't match the obnoxious HOG crowds with their barely covered bitches on back. With Hi bars steering is a bit more hip action like the illegal ape hangers HD's tell me while snickering at the cafe' dudes with back packs for politically correct tastes in fashion.

850commando said:

a dial caliper should show 7/8" if its less, i'd return and get a proper set. it is also possible that the twist grip outer collars are deformed from being overtightened (after 40+ yrs no surprise) easy to check, remove the twist grip part and tighten them up gently, if you can see through the bolted joint ... they are stretched.

it looks to me like the bars you got are the north american roadster bar,
old britts has a page showing the bars for UK and USA

https://www.oldbritts.com/70_20.html

Click to expand...

Mr. Rick said:

Can't really tell from the pic, but it does look like you have the "western" bars rather than the "euro" bars which have only 2" of rise and 6" of pullback.
Click on any of the bars on this page, and it will bring up another pic showing the differences. http://www.oldbritts.com/nor_comm_73_22.html
The Euro bar is incorrectly labelled 06-4132 in the picture; it shd say 06-4123.
Important to have 7/8 all the way, for clamps, controls, throttle.

Venhill teflon, great products, You have to specify your bars to get the correct lengths:
http://www.venhillusa.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=norton+commando+cables or venhilldirect on eBay.

Click to expand...

The Ape Hangers come in at 0.896" while the "Euro" bars I was sold are 0.865"...which is about 0.9mm smaller. Checking Height: 2.5"; PullBack 3"....so quite a bit different than the OldBrits listed UK bar.

Checked the plastic sleeve part number label and matches what my invoice states...Euro Commando Handlebars (WW3 is also written in pen next to printed 06-4132S/S part number). These were from Walridge in Ontario. Might just be a mix up in the labelling...had that happen once before when buying an aftermarket Norman Hyde center stand for the T100...label was for T100 while the stand was actually for the smaller wheel/lower SE....mixed up packaging at the factory. I will reach out to them to see what they think. They were on Xmas sale pricing at $55 CDN.

DogT said:

Holy Cow, you got this bike Thursday and not started it up and ridden it yet. That's insane.

Kidding. Git yourself situated and figure it out. If you want 'Home' or 'Export' bars. Or High Rider. They all require different cables and it's hard to adjust/fit if they're not proper. Looks like you have some time to work on your new ride. It will be an experience, believe me.

It's nice to hear (read) hobot again. As usual I have to read the Dixiespeak it as fast as I can tolerate, but there's good info in there.

Nice to have a new victim.

Click to expand...

LOL.
Ya, Kinda freaked out to attempt a start right now. Got to find a "B.F'ing" spanner to take off that sump drain plug and confirm wet sumped or not. Oil tank is below the low mark...seller stated he'd put oil in and ran the bike around in his parking lot a few months ago. Oil does look very clean, not black. I did hook up a battery (wrong sized YTX12BS) which doesn't seem tall enough to reach the bike's cables...but rigged a couple of battery clamps to hold in place until better sorted. Noted bike does not have any type of battery hold down strap/bracket...any photos to help me out how these are meant to be?

All lighting seems to work except no tail light increase with brake application (front or back). The rear switch seems immobile and may be stuck on or off. The blinkers work but seem real slow to flash...could it be due to less than ideal voltage on just the fully charged battery 12v? Horn just clicks. Discovered on cracked signal lamp lens. Tail lamp is not Lucas and is smaller than the metal back plate. I picked up a '74 tail light cowl...can someone show me how this is supposed to interface with the lamp back plate?...does not seem to fit over the edges as I'd expect....




Also, discovered I do in fact have all three warning lamps on the headlight! Two are well hidden beneath the instrument clocks! What's up with that? Are the clocks meant to sit offset/splayed out to expose the lamps? Note this headlight is only 5 3/4" as per High Rider spec (interestingly, my T100 stock lamp also was 5 3/4" for the Steve McQueen special edition. I'm cursed with tiny headlamp bikes!)

worntorn said:

Seriously , that is one fine looking Commando at a very good price.

From here it has the look of either correct original miles and well cared for, or, restored and well cared for.
I look forward to hearing it run.

As you probably read, my freebie rim won't fit your bike.
Probably just as well, there are better choices than the stock rims.
This is one area where I agree with..having some trouble saying it..agree with Fullauto.
Get yourself some WM4 rims, or at least 1 for the rear.
As far as the handling goes, I do not think it matters one whit whether you go 18 or 19 on the rear.
If you go 18 you can get a proper rear Roadrider with the deeper tread and longer life.
If you go 19 there is less choice but you can go 100/90/19 Universal front and rear ( shallower tread) then shift the front to rear when the rear wears out.

Glen

Click to expand...

WM4? I thought the 18"'ers were WM3's? The link to Madass' website seems to be the best balance price/quality...about $200 USD for rim/spokes/nips plus shipping...they are alloy, not SS...doesn't state make. If I want to be extra cheap, there's always the Royal Enfield County "brand" from India/Pakistan...$54 per rim with FREE SHIPPING ;-)

I do want to run the chain guard...so need to take that into wheel sizing account I suppose?
Yes I'm beginning to believe clock does not lie....there are some very minor scraps/dings in the bezel of the Tacho which tells me these were not just newbies thrown on after a hellish life to get better resale price. There is some evidence of a few tip overs....silencers have dings/scraps (mostly minor) and foot pets don't seem to be fully horizontal. Rear brake pedal not properly lined/parallel up with foot rest. And there is a good kink in the right side down tube likely from running engine dresser or highway bars when a tip happened. Gonna get that looked at by a pro to see if can be fully straightened in-situ. I've seen worse repaired on bicycle frames using two half shell heavy steel clamps bolted up and torqued to reshape the tube...

o0norton0o said:

Being a long time commando owner, I found it pretty cool following your original post about wanting to get a commando. I'm actually kind of psyched for you now that you are on your path to converting your commando. I know the thrill of working hard to get it all to come together, then firing it up to enjoy all the work you've put into it... Much different than getting a bank loan for a modern bike and picking it up at the dealership.. (not that the other is a bad thing either, just different than being the rider/wrencher)

Are you going to convert to dual amals, or just get it going on the single first?? I'm curious....

Click to expand...

I think I'll be starting off with single Amal...just too much to do and learn at this point...I see no immediate reason to add more complexity at this stage. Recall, I have zero carb experience and trying to figure out how to make one work/not leak etc is challenging enough!