My Big Girl 960 Seeley Commando

Chris

Chris

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The oil tank neck had come loose & needed welding back in. The welder I took it to said there wasnt room between the Monza cap & the tank to run a fillet around. He tried to pull the filler cap/neck up & the opening cracked like a star burst. Suddenly a whole new ball game! It now needs a whole new top panel & the neck welding in.
So I hunted around for something that would work & lashed up my Mk4 tank. Filled it with oil & a new oil filter. Stripped the timing cover & drive side for new oil seals. Loaded up for Pembrey.
Unfortunately it's gone pop! I have a feeling its oil pressure related, so time for a full strip & rebuild. Time will tell what went wrong & how much damage has been done.
IMG-20230611-WA0000.jpg
 
Bad luck Chris.

Hope there’s not too many horrors inside.

Do keep us posted mate.
 
Probably can't help with any engine bits Chris, but just incase you're going to cut up any old oil tanks, I have a couple you can have a look at next time you're here.
 
Chris said:
The oil tank neck had come loose & needed welding back in. The welder I took it to said there wasnt room between the Monza cap & the tank to run a fillet around. He tried to pull the filler cap/neck up & the opening cracked like a star burst. Suddenly a whole new ball game! It now needs a whole new top panel & the neck welding in.
So I hunted around for something that would work & lashed up my Mk4 tank. Filled it with oil & a new oil filter. Stripped the timing cover & drive side for new oil seals. Loaded up for Pembrey.
Unfortunately it's gone pop! I have a feeling its oil pressure related, so time for a full strip & rebuild. Time will tell what went wrong & how much damage has been done.View attachment 107674
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Have you got room to use alloy brazing rod , or some tanks are a top and bottom , I have done a tank , ground right around the seam , split the tank , done repairs and tig-ed back together .
 
Looking good running rough Ken. I will get whatever needs doing done, as its been my favorite bike for a good while now.
Shelby I have a contact now to sort the tank & as you say, thats how he will approach the job.
Paul thanks I have the tank in a bag in the van lol.
 
Sorry to hear that Chris.
What are the bore and stroke dimensions to get 960? Is this a Maney engine?

Glen
 
A great shame we could not sort it out on the weekend at Pembrey Chris , fingers crossed that nothing nasty has happened .
 
I think maybe it has but making progress in the garage. I will soon have enough room to look😂
 
I suggest you will never regret buying that. With any race bike, you need to re-build the motor before you race it the first time. What gearbox does it have ? I found the biggest improvement to performance came when I fitted a close ratio gear cluster. With the standard Norton box, you lose too many revs on each upchange when racing, and coming down through the gears ia never smooth. My motor stays between 5,500 and 7000 RPM during races. Where it is competitive, it should not be competitive
I do not believe performance im provements to a Commando motor actually achieve much.
Another thing is - measure your fork yoke offset - mine is 53mm. The way my bike can be made to accelerate through corners after braking is really great. It took me a while to realise a Seeley can do that.
A good bike makes a good rider.
 
With a Seeley, every race becomes safer. A Seeley G50 should out-handle a 500cc Manx.
 
Not yet mate. I would just kill what space I have. Lots going on at the moment, hoping to do Kempton jumble in July as Im just moving things around!
 
The main thing with the motor is probably the crank. You need to check the big ends - fit new bearings. Also, if the crank still has the big balancing hole - fill it with a threaded steel plug, securely Loctited in place.
 
acotrel said:
The main thing with the motor is probably the crank. You need to check the big ends - fit new bearings. Also, if the crank still has the big balancing hole - fill it with a threaded steel plug, securely Loctited in place.
Click to expand...
Chris’ bike has a 93mm stroke Maney crank in it Al. No threaded plugs.
 
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