What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

I opened the door to see the 850 on a haphazard angle suspended off the engine crane.

Back up on the 600 mm high table and crane length ways to it with a soft sling around the top frame tube.
I had been using it (the crane) to lift the bike to have the main stand up or down to load and unload the front isolastic and must have got sidetracked late in the evening and left it on the crane, wheels on the table but main stand up and it slowly leaked down through the night.
Lucky there was not a bump / crash in the night.
So, might be safer out on the street under a foot of snow :) .
 
So you’re happy for none uber rich to knock it over then …
35 Cm. is about 13.8 inches of snow in one big dump. So more than a foot. Day 3 now and no snow plow down the street. Biggest in 10 years , when we had to call in the Army. Some elderly did not survive that event.
With the help of a Mate we figured out a way to make things more visible. When the bike was knocked over in previous years it had a black cover. The new one is Day glow orange. For each end we got 2 large orange pylons , filled them with cement and dropped into the tip ends 2 6 ft. poles. Painted them fluorescent orange. This works quite well . Street parking is free for motorbikes as an encouragement to use alternative modes of transportation from cars.
 
Well, selling one of them. Black 74 on BAT. My 75 will never leave me til I die. Working on a 650SS currently. My 75 is up for some major changes this year.
As you can see in my Avatar , I have a nice well sorted 76. Also a 75 in buckets . The 75 has undergone some major changes this year . At 63 yrs. young , it was time to address vibration. So Jim Schmidt and Gord Bush Performance made it happen with the long rods/short pistons ,78 mm. The76 until I croak , but the 75 engine is ready to be dropped into place in the 76 , at the end of the next season . Big job , but fun and challenging . It's just money , right ?
 
As you can see in my Avatar , I have a nice well sorted 76. Also a 75 in buckets . The 75 has undergone some major changes this year . At 63 yrs. young , it was time to address vibration. So Jim Schmidt and Gord Bush Performance made it happen with the long rods/short pistons ,78 mm. The76 until I croak , but the 75 engine is ready to be dropped into place in the 76 , at the end of the next season . Big job , but fun and challenging . It's just money , right ?
You are right. I have never seen a hearst pulling a U-haul. It makes me shiver to think about a Commando buried in slush and snow for the sake of free parking.
 
As you can see in my Avatar , I have a nice well sorted 76. Also a 75 in buckets . The 75 has undergone some major changes this year . At 63 yrs. young , it was time to address vibration. So Jim Schmidt and Gord Bush Performance made it happen with the long rods/short pistons ,78 mm. The76 until I croak , but the 75 engine is ready to be dropped into place in the 76 , at the end of the next season . Big job , but fun and challenging . It's just money , right ?
Nice! Your bike looks like mine! ;) I'm going to backdate my 75 to a 74 spec mostly. Jim C. did a big valve head for me, his rods, pistons, Webcam cam. CNW electric start kit as well. I just like the right shift better and all the MKIII parts will go on a shelf. Deciding whether to keep the rear disc or not. Probably won't as I rarely use the rear brake anyway. I've had it since 1977.
 
Nice! Your bike looks like mine! ;) I'm going to backdate my 75 to a 74 spec mostly. Jim C. did a big valve head for me, his rods, pistons, Webcam cam. CNW electric start kit as well. I just like the right shift better and all the MKIII parts will go on a shelf. Deciding whether to keep the rear disc or not. Probably won't as I rarely use the rear brake anyway. I've had it since 1977.
All goodly.
Rear brake is used only when sliding up to a quick changing light. Most of your real braking power remains up front.
Interesting Interstatey thingy. Enjoy it. Vroom !
 
35 Cm. is about 13.8 inches of snow in one big dump. So more than a foot. Day 3 now and no snow plow down the street. Biggest in 10 years , when we had to call in the Army. Some elderly did not survive that event.
With the help of a Mate we figured out a way to make things more visible. When the bike was knocked over in previous years it had a black cover. The new one is Day glow orange. For each end we got 2 large orange pylons , filled them with cement and dropped into the tip ends 2 6 ft. poles. Painted them fluorescent orange. This works quite well . Street parking is free for motorbikes as an encouragement to use alternative modes of transportation from cars.
Day 7 after the huge T.O. dump. No snowplow or removal equipment seen to date. All our inner city residential streets remain functionally as one ways , only , with cage drivers taking turns as to who proceeds first. Most are polite about out of necessity with one exception the past week , a BMW sports car ( older Uber rich , again ) , unwilling to show any courtesy to my e-bike . It went up a snow bank and down it sliding just to get around me . Off to Beaverton to Ice Fish now with my buddy Fraser M. (manx racer) . He just sold his BMW/7 . so I will help him prep it for the buyer pick- up. May have to shovel more snow.
 
Snow would not be for me or bitter cold.
I remember taking this 'winter photo when I bought my place sight unseen and went to see what I got.

The Africa Twin is ready to go get a tap and banjo bolt to finish a Commando mod. (7:30 and a blue sky 25c)

What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
Day 7 after the huge T.O. dump. No snowplow or removal equipment seen to date. All our inner city residential streets remain functionally as one ways , only , with cage drivers taking turns as to who proceeds first. Most are polite about out of necessity with one exception the past week , a BMW sports car ( older Uber rich , again ) , unwilling to show any courtesy to my e-bike . It went up a snow bank and down it sliding just to get around me . Off to Beaverton to Ice Fish now with my buddy Fraser M. (manx racer) . He just sold his BMW/7 . so I will help him prep it for the buyer pick- up. May have to shovel more snow.
Day 10 after Toronto dump. No Plows on return to central T.O. streets after 10 days. Snow 4 ft. high banks. Been ice fishing north Lake Simcoe for 3 days . Caught lots of good perch. Heated ice hut and snowmobile. ( -21 C. ) On trip home , visited Gord Bush Performance , Etobicoke to pick up Fraser's BMW /7 heads , refurbished . Norton still stuck in a snowbank. We are off to Mexico for 3 months so this will be my final post until the complex covid rules return . Mexico does not care much about Covid. Enjoy.
 
Installed a new puke can for my oil tank vent pipe. Looks better than the one I was currently using.
 

Attachments

  • What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
    20220127_180955.jpg
    274.9 KB · Views: 97
  • What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
    20220127_181019.jpg
    351.5 KB · Views: 93
  • What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
    20220127_181016.jpg
    329.9 KB · Views: 89
Didn’t do anything as the shop doors were drifted in … a shame as it would have been an interesting day for a ride . 23 degrees - 20” of snow and 30 mph winds .
What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
Didn’t do anything as the shop doors were drifted in … a shame as it would have been an interesting day for a ride . 23 degrees - 20” of snow and 30 mph winds .
View attachment 84626
View attachment 84627
Used to ride my BSA to work in snow like that.. Some parts of rural UK never saw a snow plough or gritter. Every night an adventure!!
Biggest downside was getting dressed/undressed took as long as the journey...
Someone else's recollection of that winter (87):

'In 1987 in January we had 2 weeks of snow on and off combined with very cold temperatures here in essex the temperatures were in the -18 degrees centigrade region virtually every night for 2 weeks, everywhere was iced up. I had to go to work by public transport and I got a bus from Benfleet to Rayleigh every day - Benfleet creek was iced up with. On the South Coast of England the sea was iced up extending 200 yards out to sea in many places! We all used to congregate on a big hill after work in the night and go sledging. I remember there were snowdrifts near William Edwards school in Grays that were 15-20 foot deep and a snow plough had cut through them and on one side a wall of snow towered above the road. Now that's proper man snow - not this girlie snow we've got at the moment and it was bloody cold!'
 
Last edited:
Back
Top