My HeadSteady conclusions

I built a head steady yesterday by copying info from recent topics and had some interesting findings.
First impressions were how smooth the bike ran around streets. Then went out on the highway and found that it was equal or a little better from 4 grand up to 5 or so (75-90) mph. Too cold and too busy to go faster. For comparison sake I put the stock unit back on to confirm the findings. Vibrations till 3g’s and relative on the highway with stock. Super smooth at low rpm and good at High rpm with the ball joint unit.
With the new belt drive from RGM, I have a slightly higher gear ratio making the smoothness at low rpm fantastic with the new homebuilt unit. Very happy.



With all this swapping, my new quick release fuel line connectors were great along with the 5/16 fine locking wing nuts.
I got these connectors at a good hardware store that specialized in plumbing services. I soaked them in 110 octane for a week or so to see if they would hold up. No problems!

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

Hi,

Thanks for the info. good to know.

Slightly off topic, what type of carb are you running?

Thanks

Kevin

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

click said:

Slightly off topic, what type of carb are you running?

Kevin

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36MM Mukuni. I can't tell you what main I have. Modified with number drills. Couldn't be happier with it though. I still have a set of original Combat amals (26 and 27). I slap em on once in a while to remind me why I converted. Oh, they run proper and all but at 56, I prefer the no brainer performance.

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

pvisseriii said:

I built a head steady yesterday by coping infro from recent topics and had some interesting findings.

Click to expand...

What did you use to cut the aluminum?

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

swooshdave said:

What did you use to cut the aluminum?

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Small $30 angle grinder with 4" grinding disk. Stuck it in a vice and follow the lines I laid out. Finish it off with with one of those overlapping sanding disks and a mill file. Also used a cutoff wheel in the grinder for other parts and a small table top belt/disk sander.

You can make straight cuts with a table saw with carbide blade, which they pretty much all are these days.
Take it slow. NO FORCING. Cuts like butter.

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

pvisseriii said:

With all this swapping, my new quick release fuel line connectors were great along with the 5/16 fine locking wing nuts.
I got these connectors at a good hardware store that specialized in plumbing services. I soaked them in 110 octane for a week or so to see if they would hold up. No problems!

Click to expand...

What is the red handle? I can see in the background near the timing side cover?

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

plj850 said:

What is the red handle? I can see in the background near the timing side cover?

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Ball Valve on the supply line. When the handle is in the off position, it protrudes to he kick start. If the bike sits for more than a few days, I'll use it.

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

pvisseriii said:

plj850 said:

What is the red handle? I can see in the background near the timing side cover?

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Ball Valve on the supply line. When the handle is in the off position, it protrudes to he kick start. If the bike sits for more than a few days, I'll use it.

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At last one other Commando owner who has fitted what I have and mine stops me from kicking it over when it is in the closed position too...
feeling a bit smug since I do not have to deal with a wet sump valve recall :wink:

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

FOUR concurrent head steady threads, and that's just on the first page of current posts!

I like your project results, pvisseriii

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

grandpaul said:

FOUR concurrent head steady threads, and that's just on the first page of current posts!

I like your project results, pvisseriii

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Four!! that is worrying maybe everybodies Commandos are running perfectly and have got too much time on their hands...

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

plj850 said:

grandpaul said:

FOUR concurrent head steady threads, and that's just on the first page of current posts!

I like your project results, pvisseriii

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Four!! that is worrying maybe everybodies Commandos are running perfectly and have got too much time on their hands...

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Here's my theory. All of the basic issues with the Commando are known, well known. Points not accurate? Electronic ignition. Not enough juice? Better alternator. Amals too simple for you? Mukuni. Etc.

Now we start looking at the "little rocks" (I listen too much to the corpo-speak at work...) like the stock headsteady, engine breathing and front forks. We're just furthering the evolution of the timeless Commando.

Gday Swoosh, when cutting aluminium, squirt CRC onto the blade as this stops the soft alloy sticking to it and makes a much neater cut. :wink:
Foxy

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

swooshdave said:

pvisseriii said:

I built a head steady yesterday by coping infro from recent topics and had some interesting findings.

Click to expand...

What did you use to cut the aluminum?

Click to expand...

I use either a small band saw with a 1/8" 16 TPI blade for making curved cuts or a radial arm saw for straight cuts. I just bought a dual blade saw like this (https://www.dualsaw.com/) except I bought it at a local hardware store (RONA) for $139 and I can vouch for the fact that they do cut well without any kickback. The saw kerf is a bit wide, but it is a lot safer than my radial arm saw.

Jean

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

swooshdave said:

Now we start looking at the "little rocks" (I listen too much to the corpo-speak at work...) like the stock headsteady, engine breathing and front forks. We're just furthering the evolution of the timeless Commando.

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Totally agree - let's let go of the low-hanging fruit and grab the problem in big handfuls - take the helicopter view, run it up the flagpole and see how it flies.

I'm off to puke now... :?

The headsteady looks rather good to me, but I worked out the hourly rate and a day off my BS day-job to do the work...

Foxy said:

Gday Swoosh, when cutting aluminium, squirt CRC onto the blade as this stops the soft alloy sticking to it and makes a much neater cut. :wink:
Foxy

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Too late now. :mrgreen:

Re: HeadSteady conclusions

B+Bogus said:

swooshdave said:

Now we start looking at the "little rocks" (I listen too much to the corpo-speak at work...) like the stock headsteady, engine breathing and front forks. We're just furthering the evolution of the timeless Commando.

Click to expand...

Totally agree - let's let go of the low-hanging fruit and grab the problem in big handfuls - take the helicopter view, run it up the flagpole and see how it flies.

(

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I guess the final mod will be fitting a Hayabusa engine in there....