What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

grandpaul said:
Well, it was actually yesterday, but I loaded up my Dreer prototype monoshock Commando and took it (along with my Bonneville race bike) to the Austin Relic Cycles "Handbuilt" show to display this weekend.

It was a lot of work with a re-dislocated shoulder held by a medical strap gizmo, and a slight limp from my formerly broken ankle with the plate and screws feeling decidedly gamey. When I bring them home, I WILL have at least one of my sons helping me...
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Grand Paul,
Do you mean the Revival show?They always have some beautiful bikes of all makes.Good idea for getting your sons help!
Mike
 
Today was a nice day. Rain is forecast for rest of week, starting tomorrow. They have just reopened one of my favorite roads after a landslide. So I got Norton out and went for a spin. Ended up in a little town with a farmers market, music, coffee drinks and crepes. Ordered a pesto feta and tomato crepe (good, but unknown to le cuisine francais) and a caffe latte, sat on a bench and people watched as I ate lunch. Rode home. Checked lights and oil level, oil was just below the "L" mark so I added an ounce to bring up above the mark. Bike is charging, tail light works. Happiness is a sunny day and a smooth running Norton
 
I put the oil tank on the 71 Commando I'm fixing up for sale (long story) with new Harley Davidson heavy-duty mount studs, as the originals were broken in half. Cleaning the tank out was a chore; much sludge. But it's clean and painted now. I read up on mods here and put some dense foam on the bottom. Installation is quite a job; the order of assembly is tricky. Loosen this, tighten that. Rinse and repeat.

Like many Norton things, you take one step forward and two steps back. After doing it I know the precise order, but holy gawd, what a nightmare getting the bottom bolt in. I eventually figured out that the best way would be to use my borescope, which hooks up to my phone, to see which way I needed to push the tank to get the bolt's hole lined up. It seemed like a job for two people as I had to hold a pry bar strategically located to put pressure on the tank - I held the prybar (tire iron) in place with my armpit (!) to try to recreate the right direction I'd seen on the camera, enabling the bolt to find its hole. I used a magnet to fish in the bolt upside down to the area and feel for the hole (I dropped that bolt several times - once it found its way into the swingarm, other times it bounced into hiding spots in the garage), and mashed my hand into that tiny space with little room to turn the bolt. After many choice words and failed attempts, I got it started, then used a ratcheting box-end wrench to get it tight. Norton engineers: My bad back thanks you yet again!

These bikes seem so cobbled together. I like them, but they are punishment to work on. It took me well over an hour, and some tricks to get one friggin' bolt in. Every job on Nortons seems like this.
 
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nortonmargie said:
Today was a nice day. Rain is forecast for rest of week, starting tomorrow. They have just reopened one of my favorite roads after a landslide. So I got Norton out and went for a spin. Ended up in a little town with a farmers market, music, coffee drinks and crepes. Ordered a pesto feta and tomato crepe (good, but unknown to le cuisine francais) and a caffe latte, sat on a bench and people watched as I ate lunch. Rode home. Checked lights and oil level, oil was just below the "L" mark so I added an ounce to bring up above the mark. Bike is charging, tail light works. Happiness is a sunny day and a smooth running Norton
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Yes it is!
 
Thanks a bunch Mike. Greg Marsh, I’ve read some things he’s posted so informative it’s how without ever touching an Amal carb since the late 70’s l feel like l know a lot about them.
 
First ride of the season. Glorious!
Short ride to the storage unit to charge up the battery on my MG.
During my shakedown I noticed that my swingarm wiggles about 1/8" to the side. Ordered a roller bearing conversion kit from a fellow Canuk up in Ottawa. Heard from Matt that I'm "on deck" for my electric start kit and might see it this year (I've lost track of the years that have gone by since I ordered it, but not my patience so all good). So, I'm happy to know that, and maybe do both at the same time, since I'll be in there....maybe...fingers crossed...:)

IMG_3350.JPEG
 
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Starvingphotog said:
First ride of the season. Glorious!
Short ride to the storage unit to charge up the battery on my MG.
During my shakedown I noticed that my swingarm wiggles about 1/8" to the side. Ordered a roller bearing conversion kit from a fellow Canuk up in Ottawa. Heard from Matt that I'm "on deck" for my electric start kit and might see it this year (I've lost track of the years that have gone by since I ordered it, but not my patience so all good). So, I'm happy to know that, and maybe do both at the same time, since I'll be in there....maybe...fingers crossed...:)

View attachment 119215
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Good idea to do both the starter and the swing arm at the same time as you will have the inner primary case off.You might want to check the small bolt on the swing arm to make sure it hasn’t come off while you are waiting for parts. I had one come off many years ago and it was not fun to get the bike to a stop in the middle of the night!This was a new bike at the time.
Mike
 


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