Who manufactures/sells Commando rearset kits that aren't so expensive?

When I first converted my 850 to the Featherbed frame back in the early 80s I brought a new set of Dunstall rear sets, they look great and worked well, well for a short time anyway, after 6 months they were starting to flog out with wear and tear and the folding foot peg for the kicker was so worn the peg was angled down more and my foot kept sliding off the foot peg, the linkages were getting sloppy and my foot was pointing more to the grown and when pushing in the tight corners I had to lift my feet on the pegs so my boot didn't get caught up on the road and pushed under the peg towards the rear, was glad to get rid of them, I like RobSS shorten foot pegs idea sort of 1/2 rear sets.
But for me the Featherbed frame/set up is a shorter bike than a Commando and the rear sets make my feet angle and my toes pointing down to far, but the stock modifications from the Commando foot pegs works well on the Featherbed but my foot pegs also sits a bit higher than the Commando, everything on my Featherbed was built high or tucked in so no way for anything to scrap when throwing it in the corners.
If you want quality you got to pay the price, if you go cheap then they might flog out real quick and you be looking again, save your money and buy a good set if you want to go down that road, I paid good money at the time for my Dunstall rear sets and they were garbage as well the chrome was sh*t and by the time I sold them they were rusty scrap metal all within one year.

Ashley

Look for a quality second hand set if price matters that much....or live with the compromise.

I (with the help of my welder/neighbour) made these a couple of years ago. Very happy
The set-up jig is available free + postage if interested
Cheers

Nobody has mentioned it but Colorado Norton makes a set. You know it is expensive and blingy but although I have not tried it I bet it works just great.
Using the backwards lever works a tad better if you toss the rubber allowing the shifter to slide a bit on your boot. Have wondered if making a sleeve with a needle bearing would help.

Onder,

I did make a needle bearing tip and tried that on a couple of bikes (customer testing them) when developing the rear sets. The feedback was that it felt out of control like walking on ball bearings. While it rolled back and forth as intended, that in itself made the shifting less positive.

As far as the reverse shift lever, I like the idea of less linkage since the further away from the point of engagement you get, with joints, gears or shafts, the more likely it is that you will loose some of the positive shifting that we have with the pre 75 gear boxes. Its always a trade off of course.

I found that what will work with rear sets can be very different from one person to another. There is so much that plays part like a persons foot size, leg size, seat used, handlebars used etc, that it’s nearly impossible to build something that fits all perfectly. What is comfortable for someone may be really hard to make work for another.

Matt

This is the nicest home made setup for the gear lever I have seen.

I bought a generic set off fleabay and modified to suit, using the extended, folding kickstart from RGM. I did not like using the "normal" way where the gear-lever link loops up & over to allow the use of the standard kickstart, because it forces you to place your foot rather too far out to clear the kickstart.

tThe RGM lever allows you to use a straight linkage (mine came from a Honda I think?). The lever on the gear change shaft has to have the correct spline, but this is available from RGM I think.



The generic brake lever will have to be heated and bent in a dogleg to clear the primary drive - I had a suitable lever in my box of bits, so I made up some spacers to fit it onto the new footpeg.

I guess rear sets are like handlebars: to each his own. Probably the same with all our rides, at some point we have them setup for our own preferences.
...disappointed about the needle bearing shifter but now I don't have to worry about it!

Matt (cNw) said :"As far as the reverse shift lever, I like the idea of less linkage since the further away from the point of engagement you get, with joints, gears or shafts, the more likely it is that you will loose some of the positive shifting that we have with the pre 75 gear boxes. Its always a trade off of course."

Matt, Since you're watching this thread... Do you have...or plan to have, a more compact shift lever for those of us who have your rear-sets and your electric start, and plan to remove the kick lever?

SteveBorland said:

I bought a generic set off fleabay and modified to suit, using the extended, folding kickstart from RGM. I did not like using the "normal" way where the gear-lever link loops up & over to allow the use of the standard kickstart, because it forces you to place your foot rather too far out to clear the kickstart.

tThe RGM lever allows you to use a straight linkage (mine came from a Honda I think?). The lever on the gear change shaft has to have the correct spline, but this is available from RGM I think.

View attachment 109230

The generic brake lever will have to be heated and bent in a dogleg to clear the primary drive - I had a suitable lever in my box of bits, so I made up some spacers to fit it onto the new footpeg.

Click to expand...

The reason for me doing my own is that, for me, a footpeg in the centre of the 3 hanger studs (or further back in your case) is a loooong way back (8" or more)
Too much for me. I'd feel like Rollie Free

In your photo the original footpeg position was near the gearbox shift shaft.
BTW - very nicely executed but just not for me.

Yakatak said:

Matt (cNw) said :"As far as the reverse shift lever, I like the idea of less linkage since the further away from the point of engagement you get, with joints, gears or shafts, the more likely it is that you will loose some of the positive shifting that we have with the pre 75 gear boxes. Its always a trade off of course."

Matt, Since you're watching this thread... Do you have...or plan to have, a more compact shift lever for those of us who have your rear-sets and your electric start, and plan to remove the kick lever ?

Click to expand...

Yak,

No plans to make a different lever than what I have available. The lever that comes with the kit appears to be working well based on the feedback I have been getting. This is actually the first time I have heard about needing something different.

To design, program and make a fixture to machine a lever that may only work for a few would be hard to make sense out of. This could work for someone that may have access to a machine capable of making such a part as a one off but as far as a production run, I don't think that will happen.

Sorry.

Matt

Yakatak said:

Matt, Since you're watching this thread... Do you have...or plan to have, a more compact shift lever for those of us who have your rear-sets and your electric start, and plan to remove the kick lever?

Click to expand...

An option: