What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

Torontonian said:

Suddenly rich on both Wassell carbs ( 1 yr. old . ) . Will pull carbs tomorrow to check . Pulled out and tossed the choke cables and assembly yesterday . No difference .

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Had that on my bike once, it was the air filter element. I had washed the bike and got water over the filter. New filter fixed it.

RamonArmstrong said:

Just wondering if there are any Motorcycle backpacks that offer water tanks. I checked the Viking bags and RevZilla but could not find any backpacks with water bottle/tank.

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Ramon,
Check out the Aerostitch website to get a sense of what is out there.They are pricey but their stuff is first rate.You have a lot of options with a little research.
Mike

Dellis said:

Fitted an RGM belt drive. However, as I’ve had to adjust the gearbox forwards to accommodate the belt I’ve run out of adjustment on the rear chain so I’ve just ordered a longer one then the alignment fun can begin…View attachment 110020

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Finished the job off today, I aligned the clutch and engine sprocket using a pair of squares as described here https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/belt-alignment.13931/ It worked a treat, belt runs without tracking to either side and tracked correctly when I test rode it with the primary cover off. I’ve replaced the bronze plates with Ferodo fibre plates and adjusted the stack height to give me a nice light clutch action, you can pull it with one finger at a stretch but two finger operation is very easy. The fibre plates have improved clutch take up, don’t slip and don’t drag. I only have one problem and that is the inner chaincase sealing disc is catching on the back of the clutch basket so that needs some minor fettling.

Dave

Nothing!

Got mine up on the lift in readiness for new fork seals/bushes yet to be purchased from NYC, reseal brake caliper, install Ferodo pads, new AN master cylinder and braided hose.

Back from my 5 day Covid exodus on the Norton . Perfect weather . Hot due to global warming but the full moon was nice each night . Air mattress burst on 3 rd. night so slept on ground after listening to Coyotes howl at the full moon .
Took apart the tranny again on Today's return . I have first and second gears to fit as still not finding neutral . From my second MK 111 .
Wife in full recovery , not contagious .

Torontonian said:

Back from my 5 day Covid exodus on the Norton . Perfect weather . Hot due to global warming but the full moon was nice each night . Air mattress burst on 3 rd. night so slept on ground after listening to Coyotes howl at the full moon .
Took apart the tranny again on Today's return . I have first and second gears to fit as still not finding neutral . From my second MK 111 .
Wife in full recovery , not contagious .

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Glad your wife is well.

Fantastic riding conditions out to Squamish BC today.

Tornado said:

Fantastic riding conditions out to Squamish BC today.
View attachment 110230

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I love Squamish .
Was in Campbell River a month back for the pinks .

Torontonian said:

but the full moon was nice each night . Air mattress burst on 3 rd. night so slept on ground after listening to Coyotes howl at the full moon .

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FYI,
What you were seeing was a Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, phases.
You only get one full moon per month. Except occasionally you will get "two" full moons in a calendar month. One at the beginning and one at the end of the month because... The moon has a 27d, 7h, 43m, 11s orbit cycle. On rare occasions you may see a lunar eclipse. Isn't it wonderful how we get our tides? The Bay of Fundy has the highest in the world.
Author: Terence Dickinson "Night Watch A Practical Guide to the Universe."
Sorry for that, back on track.

Cheers,
T

CanukNortonNut said:

FYI,
What you were seeing was a Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, phases.
You only get one full moon per month. Except occasionally you will get "two" full moons in a calendar month. One at the beginning and one at the end of the month because... The moon has a 27d, 7h, 43m, 11s orbit cycle. On rare occasions you may see a lunar eclipse. Isn't it wonderful how we get our tides? The Bay of Fundy has the highest in the world.
Author: Terence Dickinson "Night Watch A Practical Guide to the Universe."
Sorry for that, back on track.

Cheers,
T

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I quickly loaded up the bike as soon as she tested double red for Covid . A tent , a sleeping bag , a single air mattress ( which failed on night 3 of 4 ) , some food in the saddlebags , and of course the fishin' rod . The moon was overpowering for 2 nights then started to wane , the last 2 nights were sleeping under the stars style . Ate pickerel and trout until the season closed legally .
Had to ask for help from 3 off road 4 x 4 vehicle people to push the Norton up a sand/gravel hill exit of my Pine River camping spot . Lose that pride . Pride goeth before a fall they say .

Torontonian said:

I quickly loaded up the bike as soon as she tested double red for Covid . A tent , a sleeping bag , a single air mattress ( which failed on night 3 of 4 ) , some food in the saddlebags , and of course the fishin' rod . The moon was overpowering for 2 nights then started to wane , the last 2 nights were sleeping under the stars style . Ate pickerel and trout until the season closed legally .
Had to ask for help from 3 off road 4 x 4 vehicle people to push the Norton up a sand/gravel hill exit of my Pine River camping spot . Lose that pride . Pride goeth before a fall they say .

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Rebuilt the gearbox ( again ) this aft. on the sidewalk in beautiful weather . New first and second gears and shifter ratchet mechanism all fit great using copious amounts of grease to hold things in place . Test ride went good . All in one afternoon !

Er, I put on 50 miles came home and drained the oil. 1k on it Castrol Classic, darker than I would like, Castrol
does seem to get dark quickly. Bike runs like a top, plug colour ok. Not quite up to the preceding story!

Onder said:

Er, I put on 50 miles came home and drained the oil. 1k on it Castrol Classic, darker than I would like, Castrol
does seem to get dark quickly. Bike runs like a top, plug colour ok. Not quite up to the preceding story!

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If you recall Sir Comnoz’ tests, Castrol performed incredibly well for its price etc. But it had a heat issue, meaning it would breakdown relatively quickly.

So if you’ve been enjoying this (particularly warm) summer, in sunny Kernow, I would imagine 1000 miles is about all you could expect from it. I’d imagine all the Emits meant a lot more sitting in traffic and slow riding too, which means even more heat. Even in normal temps / conditions I’d be changing it every 1,500 or so personally.

My normal change has always been 1K even back to the Days of My Youth. Air cooled motors live a hard life even in the best of conditions. You usually can avoid heat traps with a bike and with an old bike it is your duty to
plan ahead. Oil is not getting any cheaper but then neither are overhauls. Autumn is the best time of year for old bikes, low temps, clear roads.

Howdy folks,

I've been pretty quiet on the Commando front for the past few weeks as I try to catch up with other things life seems to throw up.

Other things! Things other than the Norton! Crazy, I know

I got the call from the painter that the side panels were ready for collection, so popped out & grabbed 'em and with a couple of hours spare removed the Roadster trim and offered up the Interstate bits. Obviously not all plumbed in & finalized yet, but have had to abandon for today.

Pretty happy with the side panels. Really good fit (after minimal oil tank mounting hole tweak) and did as advised by some of you, collected the panels once painted, brought home and aligned & applied the decals, while on the bike, then returned for the clear coat & polish. £150 - not too bad (certainly cheaper than me buying paint and bollocksing up the job )

Observations.

1. I don't think the bike looks as classy in Interstate trim as in does as a Roadster (my opinion), which is odd, as when I began my search for one it was the Interstate I had in mind.
2. It could be familiarity as I've taken the panels & tank off the Roadster so many times I could do it blindfolded, but the Interstate seems to be more of a pain in the arse.
3. Removing/refitting the passenger seat rail on those brackets seems an unnecessarily difficult faff.

Oil changes colour quickly no matter what, its how it stands up to the feel test that counts, since 1977 I have ran an oil cooler on my Norton and all my air cooled British bikes I do oil changes every 2500 miles without fail the oil is always black as the ace of spades but still has its smooth feels to it and I also run STP mixed with my oil since 1980 never any metal on the drain plug magnet, for over 30 years I ran a straight 50 grade Pennzoil in my motor but these days here in Aus the Pennzoil is not the same as what I use to get direct from the importer.
My Norton was an everyday rider from new till 2013 and is only on its first rebore with well over 160k miles on it, these days I run Penrite oil for classic bikes and still run STP mixture, I have never had any motor failures in 47+ years of ownership.
I have never pussied my Norton, have always ridden it hard, its not what colour the oil is but how it stands up to the heat, I run my oil cooler all year round without a themo but I do live in the sub tropics.
A lot of people might say no need to run an oil cooler on our Norton's but I think its one of the reasons my Norton has always been reliable and I have got long mileage out of my motor no matter how I ride it and running STP mixture also helps in its long life.

Ashley

Bonzo said:

Howdy folks,

I've been pretty quiet on the Commando front for the past few weeks as I try to catch up with other things life seems to throw up.

Other things! Things other than the Norton! Crazy, I know

I got the call from the painter that the side panels were ready for collection, so popped out & grabbed 'em and with a couple of hours spare removed the Roadster trim and offered up the Interstate bits. Obviously not all plumbed in & finalized yet, but have had to abandon for today.

Pretty happy with the side panels. Really good fit (after minimal oil tank mounting hole tweak) and did as advised by some of you, collected the panels once painted, brought home and aligned & applied the decals, then returned for the clear coat & polish. £150 - not too bad (certainly cheaper than me buying paint and bollocksing up the job )

Observations.

1. I don't think the bike looks as classy in Interstate trim as in does as a Roadster (my opinion), which is odd, as when I began my search for one it was the Interstate I had in mind.
2. It could be familiarity as I've taken the panels & tank off the Roadster so many times I could do it blindfolded, but the Interstate seems to be more of a pain in the arse.
3. Removing/refitting the passenger seat rail on those brackets seems an unnecessarily difficult faff.

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Looks OK too me and just think how much further you can go without stopping and just think with both tanks you can have a change anytime and if you clock up a lot of traveling miles that interstate tank is the way to go.

ashman said:

Looks OK too me and just think how much further you can go without stopping and just think with both tanks you can have a change anytime and if you clock up a lot of traveling miles that interstate tank is the way to go.

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Yep, that was my motivation for getting the Interstate parts. Nice to have options