What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

I test rode my new Emgo mufflers Sunday. Not that much quieter than the BUBS, but much nicer exhaust note and I THINK the bike has just a tad more horsepower. They are mounted on Isolastics and don't shake. I torqued the muffler clamps after running the bike a bit to heat things up. Went out for forty miles or so. Plan to shine up the BUBs and list for sale shortly

I never make use of the steering lock, still I thought it would be wise to test it.
Got it moving, but after a couple of turns with the key, the switch desintegrated itself.
Cheapest potmetal ever.
Instead of a new switch, I went for this ram ball mount, for fitting a Garmin.

This morning I’ve done a couple of things:

I’ve had the carbs off to fix an air leak which is now sorted.

I’ve decided I really don’t like the look of the 18" rear wheel I had built a couple of years ago and decided to go back to a 19". I know I’ll have to run a universal tyre on the rear and won’t get as much mileage but that 18" rear has been niggling away at me and it just has to go. I’ve ordered a 100/90 19 Roadrider, messaged the wheel builder and asked him to order a rim so that’s now set in stone.

When it’s done I’ll have an 18" flangeless alloy rim, the matching stainless spokes, tube and a 4.00 x 18 Roadrider up for grabs and I’ll pop them in the for sale section.

Dave

Interesting, and here I am thinking of sending my rear hub to Buchanans to convert it to an 18” to mount the bridgestone battlax tire I ordered in the summer. I’m curious about your experience with it and, other than the looks, why the about face In going back to the 19”.

I’m getting ready to hoist up my Commando on the lift and start the summer maintenance. I’m going to also rebuild the brake caliper and get started on replacing the isolastics. All this while holding my breath for my cNw electric start kit to arrive in time to complete my work for the riding season.

Starvingphotog said:

Interesting, and here I am thinking of sending my rear hub to Buchanans to convert it to an 18” to mount the bridgestone battlax tire I ordered in the summer. I’m curious about your experience with it and, other than the looks, why the about face In going back to the 19”.

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I went to 19/18 as my rims needed replacing and I decided to go for WM 2.5 as they are the correct width for most modern tyres with the original WM 1.85 width being too narrow. The 18" rear was a purely practical decision based on the ability to fit a dedicated rear tyre with the additional tread depth (more mileage) that come from that choice. I was careful to match the diameters of the tyres so that the attitude of the bike would remain as per the 19 / 19 combination which it did. However, I was never convinced by the look of the 18" rear but thought it would grow on me which it hasn’t. I was happy with the handling with the 18" rear, it’s just the looks which in my opinion just don’t suit the bike as well as the 19/19 combination. The 18" rear is a 4 x18 Roadrider which is slightly wider than the 100/90 x 19 that will replace it but as we’re not talking about massive power that won’t be detrimental in any way.

If you are going to go to an 18 rear just check that your current spoke offset is correct, if it’s not then you can get the wheel built to the correct offset. I only mention this as the original rear on my bike was offset incorrectly, I had it adjusted which gave a good improvement particularly with high speed stability. Mine needed shunting over by 5mm.

Dave

“I was happy with the handling with the 18" rear, it’s just the looks which in my opinion just don’t suit the bike as well as the 19/19 combination.”

Its all in the eye of the beholder. At first I did not like the looks of the 18, but then it grew on me and I got to where I did not like the looks of the 19. There are many reasons to support either size, just need to pick and choose and go with it, IMHO.

jamesp said:

“I was happy with the handling with the 18" rear, it’s just the looks which in my opinion just don’t suit the bike as well as the 19/19 combination.”

Its all in the eye of the beholder. At first I did not like the looks of the 18, but then it grew on me and I got to where I did not like the looks of the 19. There are many reasons to support either size, just need to pick and choose and go with it, IMHO.

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James,
I agree that this subject is all about ones opinion.Myself I like the look of 19” wheels on both ends.The ones on mine are both WM4 and the front clears the stock fender arms.This was what I was looking for.
Mike

Moved the Commando out of the cold, cramped garage (single garage + 3 x bikes + assorted junk = the stuff of nightmares) and back into the nice, cosy, warm & bright spare bedroom while I do a few little jobs.

Had a play with fitting the Interstate tank again...



..but we have connection ...

Getting tired of replacing rubber bumper on side stand- they don’t last 100 miles . Having a go with 1/2 “ heater hose cemented on with mastic and wrapped with self fusing tape . Fingers crossed but won’t know the effectiveness till spring .

Bonzo said:

Had a play with fitting the Interstate tank again...



..but we have connection ...

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Is there room on the mounts to slide the tank back a bit?

MichaelB said:

Is there room on the mounts to slide the tank back a bit?

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A little bit on the front , stock .
On my Interstate tank I've eliminated the rear hod down piece .
You could cut back or reweld up with a sliding back situation on the front .

I'm gonna try something like that , with the bump stop .

MichaelB said:

Is there room on the mounts to slide the tank back a bit?

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Sadly not.

It's right back in the frame lugs at the front of the tank. It's more the short brake line routing from the M/C.

Torontonian said:

A little bit on the front , stock .
On my Interstate tank I've eliminated the rear hod down piece .
You could cut back or reweld up with a sliding back situation on the front .

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Torontonian,

Why did you eliminate using the rear mounting strap?Mine fits even with an Indian tank.
Mike

Bonzo said:

Sadly not.

It's right back in the frame lugs at the front of the tank. It's more the short brake line routing from the M/C.

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Had a similar issue with new bars, then tweaked their position slightly and the position of mc on them. Helped to pull throttle grip away by small amount and do same at lh bar end so it matched.

YING said:

Torontonian,

Why did you eliminate using the rear mounting strap?Mine fits even with an Indian tank.
Mike

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I'm not sure why , Likely I just felt it was unnecessary as the 2 front ones do a good job combined with fuel weight . Same reason I eliminated the heavy kicker after installing the CNW and D.D. starter components . Changing the heavy bronze clutch plates to light fibre next time the primary cover is off will be upcoming too . I removed the heavy center stand last year .

Torontonian said:

I'm not sure why , Likely I just felt it was unnecessary as the 2 front ones do a good job combined with fuel weight . Same reason I eliminated the heavy kicker after installing the CNW and D.D. starter components . Changing the heavy bronze clutch plates to light fibre next time the primary cover is off will be upcoming too . I removed the heavy center stand last year .

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Agreed, I’ve had my interstate tank for 35 years, never had a rear strap installed.

Richard Tool said:

Getting tired of replacing rubber bumper on side stand- they don’t last 100 miles . Having a go with 1/2 “ heater hose cemented on with mastic and wrapped with self fusing tape . Fingers crossed but won’t know the effectiveness till spring .
View attachment 112258

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I tapped a thread in the end of the lug and machined a delrin replacement for the rubber as I had the same issue.

Dave