VIP Photo Contest - Racing Commandos

Photo contest

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lcrken

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Well, the front brake photo contest was so much fun:rolleyes: that I'm taking Jerry up on the challenge of posting another one. This time it's for pictures of racing Commandos. I'll try to make the rules clear enough that we don't get confused (right!). Winner is the one with the most votes at the end of 31 July. That should be enough time for everyone who wants to participate to sort out a picture and post it. Enter as many time as you want, but only one picture per bike and only one picture per post.

1. Must be Commando engine and frame, modifications allowed. No Seeleys, Rickmans, etc.
2. Must have been or about to be raced. Road racers, landspeed racers, hillclimbers, ice racers, flat track, motocross, trials, etc., as long as it's racing.
3. Poster must be personally involved in some way with the bike, owner, rider, bulder, mechanic, sponsor, pit tootsie, etc. Edited to also include photos taken personally by the poster, even if no other involvement in the bike. Still no fair just posting a picture of something you saw online.
4. Vote for it on whatever basis you like, photo quality, originality of design, racing history, blingness, or just plain coolness.

Ken
 
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Well, the front brake photo contest was so much fun:rolleyes: that I'm taking Jerry up on the challenge of posting another one. This time it's for pictures of racing Commandos. I'll try to make the rules clear enough that we don't get confused (right!). Winner is the one with the most votes at the end of 31 July. That should be enough time for everyone who wants to participate to sort out a picture and post it.

1. Must be Commando engine and frame, modifications allowed. No Seeleys, Rickmans, etc.
2. Must have been or about to be raced. Road racers, landspeed racers, hillclimbers, ice racers, flat track, motocross, trials, etc., as long as it's racing.
3. Poster must be personally involved in some way with the bike, owner, rider, bulder, mechanic, sponsor, pit tootsie, etc. No fair just posting a picture of something you saw online.
4. Vote for it on whatever basis you like, photo quality, originality of design, racing history, blingness, or just plain coolness.

Ken
Oh, this is going to be good...
 
That seemed to work pretty well. This is my post to start it going. This is my PR in it's final iteration as an AMA ProTwins racer. Picture taken by Japanese magazine Bikers Station at Daytona in 1990.

VIP Photo Contest - Racing Commandos


Ken
 
If anyone has additions or changes to suggest to make the rules more explicit, please post them asap, and I'll consider making changes, as long as they don't affect entries already posted.

Ken
 
Seems like you could get away with a single qualifier being just commando engine race bikes only, rather than exclude the seely's and rickman's. After all it's a race bike, so there's going to be non-norton parts in the brakes, maybe front yokes/forks/etc. just my opinion... because I want to see all the commando based race bike pictures...
 
Seems like you could get away with a single qualifier being just commando engine race bikes only, rather than exclude the seely's and rickman's. After all it's a race bike, so there's going to be non-norton parts in the brakes, maybe front yokes/forks/etc. just my opinion... because I want to see all the commando based race bike pictures...

I thought about that, but I thought it would be fun to see actual Commandos (with isolastics:)) that were raced, and not have to judge them against purpose built race bikes. If someone else doesn't beat me to it, I'll also post a contest for bikes with Commando engines in other chassis. The question there would be should it just be race bikes, or any bike with a Commando engine. I'm leaning towards the any bike criteria. There are a fair number of really interesting street bikes out there with Commando engines in other chassis. The Cushman/Commando comes to mind.

Also, if we don't get enough entries, I could expand the field by not requiring the poster to have some sort of personal involvement with the bike. Maybe allow pictures of other bikes as long as they were taken by the poster. I'm just trying to keep this about bikes that somehow relate to list members.

Opinions, please.

Ken
 
Oops! That's a Cushman/Atlas, not Commando. Oh well, plenty of other interesting Commando hybrids around.

Ken
 
Considering that we're still in the testing stage on this photo contest thing, I don't feel too bad about making changes to the rules for this one. So I'm changing the personal involvement requirement to include any pictures of Commando racers that the poster personally took, even if he had no other involvement in the bike. That should open up the field a bit.

Ken
 
Not seeing a lot of response here. Maybe there aren't as many Commando racers left out there as I thought. Or maybe the rules are still too tight. In any case, I'm posting this one of Fred Eiker's Commando at Daytona in 1986. I eventually bought it from Fred when he switched to racing Moto-Guzzis and Ducatis and stopped racing the Commando. Fred won a lot of vintage races at Willow Springs on this bike, as well as running it in the La Carrera Mexican Road Race in 1986.

VIP Photo Contest - Racing Commandos


Ken
 
Not seeing a lot of response here. Maybe there aren't as many Commando racers left out there as I thought. Or maybe the rules are still too tight. In any case, I'm posting this one of Fred Eiker's Commando at Daytona in 1986. I eventually bought it from Fred when he switched to racing Moto-Guzzis and Ducatis and stopped racing the Commando. Fred won a lot of vintage races at Willow Springs on this bike, as well as running it in the La Carrera Mexican Road Race in 1986.

View attachment 16523

Ken
I spent a lot of time trying to get around that bike - only to be repassed by Fred. Only beat him once or twice. He was a great racer. There's a vid on youtube of Fred beating Jimmy Adamo at Willow springs.
 
My yellow peril
Being rebuilt with the big tank & original pipes as I have some Gus Khun footrest hangers I want to use.View attachment 16536
I remember collecting it for you and delivering it as shown here at Cadwell Park, traded for a day riding it! I have some video of it and some track pictures somewhere.

I also remember one carb dropped a needle at one point.....

Here it is at Cadwell Mountain...

VIP Photo Contest - Racing Commandos
 
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Still well pleased with buying it Steve. Even if the first thing I did was have to send it off to Steve Maney tI have the knackered threads in the head redone. Ran it on the road with an original race 2 into 1 & had to hide lol. Different engine in it now.
 
I think this must be the minimum you can do to a road bike and go racing....prepared and raced in 1975...

Tomasseli clip ons and levers, Unity Equipe rear sets, number plates. Set of Amal bell mouths on the original 30mm carbs. Removed the rear light and licence plates. AM4 front brake linings. Required safety wire locking and a few bits of tape. I did pull the motor apart just to make sure it was sound, but no modifications.

Fitting the AM4 linings was fun, I rode it over the Pennines to Chapel en le Frith and took the wheel out in the car park and Ferodo did it there and then, very cautious ride home bedding it in.....

Got me through the race novice period, a number of 6th places and qualified for my national licence.

Job done. Put it back on the road at the end of the season.


img009 - Copy - Copy.jpg
 
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