Taylor head steady
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baz
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How many more times Al ????
As pointed out to you many times before a Manx Norton needs a good head steady or the handling is affected
Why don't you mention this?
Fast Eddie
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Indeed. In fact when you say ‘needs’ you couldn’t be more correct. It’s a fundamentally important part of the Manx chassis design. Without one, the frame is actually very weak. This is why the Manx came with an adjustable head steady, so that it could be 100% perfect on every bike. It WAS NOT so the rake could be adjusted, as some seem to believe.
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If shims had been fitted to the mating halves of the clamp before boring, mine wouldn't have been a rather amusingly useless sliding fit.
a millimetre machined off each mating face got things back on track, and what a great bit of kit - so very British; great once it's been fixed
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The head steady on a Manx Norton is used to adjust the trail. How much trail does a Commando have ? It does not usually even have a steering damper. The first Commandos probably had the correct steering geometry, but a steering damper would have cast doubt on it's handling. 'Keeping up appearances' is a British thing. Any motorcycle can be ridden past the limit of it's handling. When that happens an hydraulic damper can save your life - it straightens the bike out, so you can regain control, without falling on your head. The pressure in the damper increases with the speed of it's use.
When you drop a bike on a public road, you do not usually know how it happened, because the corners do not repeat often enough. When you fall off on a race track, you usually know how you did it.
Those kids who crashed after riding over cats' eyes in the wet, probably tried to fight the bike to regain control. When you do that, you usually make things worse. Most people do not grab the tank and wait. But if you do not have the hydraulic damper, the gyrations will never stop.
When you ride a motorcycle, you need to be confident that you can handle any situation which arises. Handling problems can come from nowhere and grab you by the throat.
If I had a road-going Commando, I would have a very nice adjustable steering damper on it. They cost almost nothing.
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No, NO, NO a Thousand time NO.
You have a very poor understanding of Nortons, Manx , Commandos and everything in between
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If you try to compere the handling of a Commando with that of a Manx, you probably need more experience. I learned to race by crashing. My mate's Triton has a piece of tube welded into its frame behind the steering head to stop the rake from changing. My own Triton used to crack it's frame due to the forces involved. Your Commando has a hinge in the middle. So how can you compere them ? The Manx I rode was much better than any Triton.
I think a Commando is a lovely road bike, but it is not designed to be ridden at high speeds. A 650SS was probably better for that. I know what I would rather be riding if speed was involved.
Many years ago, I was going to build a second bike and I looked at a Commando frame. I just could not go there.
I do not mean to pontificate, but I have been bitten too many times. Nobody should ever do what I did. If the officials had been doing their jobs properly, I would never have been allowed onto a race track.
When I was a kid, I made a conscious decision not to race in Europe, but to stay in Australia and raise a family. I would not have lasted a month over there, with my mindset.
These days, if I race, I do it easily with no anxiety. But thinking back is horrendous. It was all fun - but wrong !
Do not ride hybrids or converted road bikes in road races. A Seeley Commando is not that. And a factory production racer is better, but you learn less.
I think a Commando is a lovely road bike, but it is not designed to be ridden at high speeds. A 650SS was probably better for that. I know what I would rather be riding if speed was involved.
Many years ago, I was going to build a second bike and I looked at a Commando frame. I just could not go there.
I do not mean to pontificate, but I have been bitten too many times. Nobody should ever do what I did. If the officials had been doing their jobs properly, I would never have been allowed onto a race track.
When I was a kid, I made a conscious decision not to race in Europe, but to stay in Australia and raise a family. I would not have lasted a month over there, with my mindset.
These days, if I race, I do it easily with no anxiety. But thinking back is horrendous. It was all fun - but wrong !
Do not ride hybrids or converted road bikes in road races. A Seeley Commando is not that. And a factory production racer is better, but you learn less.
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LOL
Fast Eddie
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There have been a few people who have been able to make them go around race tracks respectably over the years Al…
baz
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Nobody is comparing the handling of a Manx Norton with a commando!
What I said was a Manx Norton or any Norton featherbed relies on the head steady for good handling
It's part of the frames structure!
What is difficult to understand about that?
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It just happens to be untrue. Do not make excuses for poor design. The turnbuckle behind the steering head of a featherbed frame can be used to adjust the trail. But if it come loose, it does not usually chuck you down the road. If that mount on the top of a Commando engine significantly affects the handling, you have a problem.
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Yet again you have succeeded in steering a thread off-topic.
The subject under discussion here are parts for the Taylor head steady and thread for the suspensory "spring saddle" fasteners and I ask once more for you to STAY ON TOPIC so no more posts about Manx Nortons, handling, racing, etc., etc. in this thread...
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Ok then, please explain how the Commando isolastic system actually works, and why it needs a non-rigid headsteady.... When have you actually measured how much the trail can be altered on a Manx frame, as you say it can??
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