What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

Starvingphotog said:

I'll give that a go TW. I did put shorter shocks on there, because I'm a wee guy, 11.9" Emgos. One inch shorter than stock. Will this affect my kicking efficiency?

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No that is an inch lower than stock so the kick start lever will be lower also.
It might make it a little more difficult to get it on the main stand though due to the reduced angle when the stand feet touch down that you have to pull up and over.

Starvingphotog said:

Interesting Les. Thanks for taking a photo so quickly of your bike to give me an idea. Ok, my USA brothers and sisters, any idea where I can get something similar to this here in Michigan? I wonder how secure it would be for kicking the bike over.

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Harbor Freight has wheel chocks

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I have an inexpensive paddock stand I use in conjunction with the center stand or when I need to remove the front wheel or can't use the center stand. Got it unused for $20.

Starvingphotog said:

I'll give that a go TW. I did put shorter shocks on there, because I'm a wee guy, 11.9" Emgos. One inch shorter than stock. Will this affect my kicking efficiency?

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Those shorter shocks will be part of the reason you struggle to use the centre stand, you're having to lift the bike by that inch before the stand starts to work as intended.

Contentious I know, but this is belt and braces. The sealed microswitch is a changeover, so it will break the ignition circuit and power a buzzer when the switch is in the off position ( which happens in just a few degrees of rotation towards off). The switch pivots on one of it's two mounting holes and is pressed down by the cam on the quadrant.

Starvingphotog said:

Time Warp, good call. Thing is I'm so daft I can't even get my bike on the centre stand myself. I usually need someone else to help me. Also, at this point, I'm just going out for a ride for a few hours and back. I don't really stop anywhere, yet, so the engine is constantly running while I'm out. I agree with you, I do have to work on kicking it properly without stand use. Maybe this year I will get the balance right and not dump my bike on the ground trying to kick it started.

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Check out You Tube . There are loads of video's showing easy ways to put your bike on the center stand .. Best part of it , they are almost all the same ..

Ron Hulton said:

Check out You Tube . There are loads of video's showing easy ways to put your bike on the center stand .. Best part of it , they are almost all the same ..

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Getting it off with altered geometry / poor stand design can be even more difficult. I seriously put out my back last year getting my Velo off it's stand.

Well, I was surprised yesterday with the early delivery of my Baxley Sport Chock. What a beauty and it's built to last! It came in a very large box all assembled. All I did was take it out and push the bike on. So easy. I'm hoping I can mount it with the rear tire. From the looks of it I don't think it should be a problem. That way I can dock it in the garage at the end of a ride. And when I start it up, I do that in the dock, and just pull away out of the garage. Theoretically, it sounds easy.

I also replaced my original USA spec'd bars with a Euro low rise bar, the same one that is on my Combat. It's narrower, and lower, as a result. I'm curious how it will feel, compared to the original ones, this coming riding season. I should have taken a before and after photo of the bars but I forgot.



I also installed a USB charger on both bikes, in case I need to charge my phone on the go or my Blinky lights that I turn on in busy places I ride. You can see it attached and charging in the photo. One thing to remember if you install these on your bike is that the cable is live, of course, and will ground on the bike frame if you leave it plugged into the USB port and disconnect it from you device and let it dangle. DON'T DO THAT. Unplug the USB cable completely from the charger if you're not charging anything. It's convenient as well because of the voltage readout.

i have those bars on my bike i likes em'

Starvingphotog said:

All I did was take it out and push the bike on. So easy.

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Moving the front mount to the other pin location should make it more secure for a 19" wheel.

Starvingphotog said:

Interesting Les. Thanks for taking a photo so quickly of your bike to give me an idea. Ok, my USA brothers and sisters, any idea where I can get something similar to this here in Michigan? I wonder how secure it would be for kicking the bike over.

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Look up Condor wheel chocks. I have mine mounted on my lift but can put it on the floor at any time
Mike

I drained the sump, fired it up and got it warm. (it's been a week.) It wasn't as easy as the first time. The bike has aftermarket handlebar switches and the kill switch has been wired backward. Even my wife says it's backward because I made her look. Other than that, it runs just fine. It's a sweetie.

That does make a difference in stability LAB. Thanks for the tip!

I got my WOF today. Was funny. The guy I go to is a ex-Speedway racer, pretty good in his day. I told him one up three down. He tried to shift the brake. Then shifted into second. Stalled it. I yelled "one up three down" again. He got it, and was put off when the Barnett's squealed and nearly stalled it. Passed the warrant tho. Enjoyed my ride back and forth. Need a small change to the clutch pull height, and it is a tad too deep in the throw.

I still remember test riding my H2 in 1980 from the shop. (Moller's Yamaha before Graeme Crosby bought it)
The sales dude was saying something but I was off (Gt North Road in traffic)
It wouldn't go into first gear so I used second and revs to match which made for an interesting take off (He was saying Neutral is at the bottom and 5 up so I was actually in first gear)
I bought the bike of course after nearly flipping it.

Commando for today.
Bearings @ $15.46 a piece plus tax.

Finally got round to doing some of the engine repairs on my '72 Combat I bought myself for Christmas two years ago. Fitted the nice billet manifolds I bought from Jim, matched them to the head and done a bit of port work. Made some colsibro valve guides and some new exhaust valve seats yesterday, fitted them and cut the valve seats. Today I repaired the exhaust threads by making some bronze inserts. Back to the day job tomorrow but a bit of forward progress at last.

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Keith.

laverdakeith said:

Finally got round to doing some of the engine repairs on my '72 Combat I bought myself for Christmas two years ago. Fitted the nice billet manifolds I bought from Jim, matched them to the head and done a bit of port work. Made some colsibro valve guides and some new exhaust valve seats yesterday, fitted them and cut the valve seats. Today I repaired the exhaust threads by making some bronze inserts. Back to the day job tomorrow but a bit of forward progress at last.so

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51912856699_baf95690d6_c.jpg
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Keith.

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I wish.

The temperature reached 65 degrees today so I decided to reawaken my bike after its winter slumber. Drained the sump, filled with fuel and pushed it outside in the warm sun. Pushed the starter button……and nothing! Forgot to put the battery on the charger. Two hours wasted waiting for it to charge. Finally got it started and went on a test ride. The bike ran pretty good except for the backfiring on deacceleration. The bike is a mk3 with a 34mm Mikuni. Should I turn the air screw in or out? Thanks.

Popping is usually lean. I don't know the Mikuni, but if it's a pilot air screw, in is richer. But, if the bike stood for a couple of months, with ethanol content fuel in the carb, it could be some crud in the pilot fuel circuit. Worth cleaning through.

Mart UK said:

I don't know the Mikuni, but if it's a pilot air screw, in is richer

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It is a pilot air screw on the VM (as it appears to be in previous pictures).
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