TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc.

Time Warp said:
Ed, Ideally the bearing surface will not come into any friction loaded contact with the crankshaft journal ever.
There would be nothing to bed in with those parts.

I personally use Suzuki branded Moly paste on a lot of parts to minimise friction at start up even with the system oil primed.
One reason I make sure everything is clean is, anything in a oil passage will go straight to the rod bearing long before it see's the oil filter and that includes engines with a filter on the pressure side.

This was a new billet rear bearing that I fit to my Moto Guzzi but after I deburred it (CNC machined bearing)

Looks shiny.
View attachment 19642

There were plenty of others.
You can see all the rag around the oil feed hole, waiting unless removed before installation.

View attachment 19643

My first ride on a Commando was the late 1970's but it is a bit hazy now, it might have been 1980 when my daily ride was a 1974 Kawasaki 750 H2B (which I kept)
I was offered a ride on a freshly restored '750 Combat not that I knew what a Combat was, it was OK but not enough to buy one.

My recollections of Commando's was, they blew up or more precisely threw connecting rods.
Another mate had a Combat and recall some time in the late 1980's we set off on what might have been a 2000 to 4000 km trip (I had my first bevel drive 900 Ducati by then (which I kept also)

He flatted in a house that backed onto the motorway so we had to go a short distance north to an on ramp then south again, any thoughts of 'born to be wild were soon a few second memory as it blew a head gasket near level with the house we had just left.
I remember annealing a replacement head gasket for him.

We rescheduled the departure date but the following week it threw a connecting rod all but destroying the engine.
I remember another mate I rode with had bought a Commando brand new, when I said I was looking for a Commando he frowned some and he was a fairly hard core Norton guy.......... who went to Japanese bikes.

The point, the crankshaft must rotate smoothly and be happy to do so, the other bits need to be happy going up and down and there must be a clean and reliable supply of oil to the connecting rod bearings which is why nothing (to me) is to much trouble in that quest.

View attachment 19641

I will machine an oil pressure gauge (Marlin's/USA) mount that will attach under the top triple clamp considering a pressure gauge non optional.
Just to complicate it a bit there will be no hose going to the gauge directly, the oil will flow through the mount itself.

Oil, oil pressure confirmed and all should be good.

Most melt downs show the shell has tried to weld itself to the journal when oil supply is lost. (worst case at speed)
If you are then more unlucky the shell will try to spin inside the rod big end and something will fail, the rod, maybe a rod bolt.
If there is a reliable oil wedge and bearing clearance that is unlikely to happen.

This is a shiny on the inside bike, as is on the outside.
Click to expand...
I was in the business for 35 years, I never saw a Commando throw a rod, I did see a BMW pop a cylinder and head off the right side of the engine.
 
It can't be all billets of alloy, some glue, clamping and a small stainless steel strong back for a neighbours outside chair.
A professional would have radiused the corners even though it is out of sight.

w1.jpg


First up today is post some custom parts to the land of Joe.

a.jpg
 
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I started looking at parts to build a CNC mill of some sort.
It would save a lot of time and could make things at another level not possible done manually.
Don't watch this space.

p3.jpg
 
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I made that gantry with the carburettors and manifolds bolted to the mill angle plate on the bench (From when the holes were plotted with the DRO and manifolds faced)

There came a time when I wondered if it would fit, a test showed I had forgotten about the engine offset and the right hand arm hit the frame at around half throttle, I just laughed. ( 'It is what it was)
It might fit a Seeley if the fuel tank allowed it (non central spline frame)

I used the pedestals on the new version.
All manually done external radius's (14) on a 'Chinese mill/drill and rotary table.

Days would have taken minutes/hours on a CNC machine.

G7.jpg


Custom 3 mm Bakelite gasket for the FA.

TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc.
 
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Just picked up upon and started reading this thread at PAGE SIXTEEN and currently working backwards to page one from where I start reading forward again to the end .....

First impressions .... Time Warp keep up the good work ..... really enjoying your project and the photographs are excellent !!

..... time to get reading again, see you later
 
I doubt anyone would put an engine commissioned by Dulux in a TR5T in place of one the best engines to come out of the UK (Late unit 500), I did get a B50MX seat for the one at the back though along with a 1970's Malcolm Smith tank.
The head is done (Kibblewhite / new valve seats etc) cylinder rebored and a bunch of NOS parts from rockers to replacement shafts and gears.
It should look something like this depending on the tank used.

Medal winners at the 1973 ISDT which was quite a feat against the two strokes of the time.
Only 929 built for the red 1974 version.


TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc.
 
Nearly time to pack my bag ready for the morning.

Some pics for folk who like shiny things.

Kubota alternator - 14 amp / 168 watts ( 20 amp / 240 watt as a future option) to 1949 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe.
I sold my 1954 S7D a year or so back.

TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc. TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc.

Machine an OD thread the units rear mount
Machine an ID threaded mount for that to thread in, the mount cap screw lock the two together after tightening.

TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc. TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc.

Coupling is a four prong drive with soft flange insert (The engine drives the coupling, the coupling drives the alternator indirectly)
The outer shell is the same dimensions as the original Lucas dynamo, its end cap reused.

TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc. TW wrecks a perfectly good Commando etc.
 
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