Mark, you're doing it for the right reasons but rebuilding a bike of this type is a considerable committment and you'll find yourself making improvements and not just bolting back together.

In my opinion, what you're intending to do is the only way to obtain a bike that you know to be in good order and which is exactly as you want it. Really good, properly set-up Commandos don't come on the market all that often. They're either kept because they're addictive or sold on because the owner can't sort them.

The major advantage of restoring first is that you'll know exactly what's inside and will be able to deal with any future problems based on an understanding of how it all works. Bringing a bike back to life gives you a connection to it that no cheque book can equal.

You may (will ?) end up spending more than the cost of a tidy runner but appearances can be deceptive and you could end up with a bill for thousands there.

Gino, you're overstating the mileage that I do these days. I'll have to do something about that. I like the Whisky comparison. If my bike pumped out liquid like I do when I've been downing scotch then I'd definitely tear its head off the next morning.

I think 1500$ is quite doable. I only put $700 in mine to make it perfectly road worthy. And a big chunk of that was for new replacment bronze clutch plates to replace the barnett crap that was in it and didn't work proper.

Tires, swingarm bushings, head stud, top end gasket kit, mc and caliper kits, carb kits, air filter, oil filter, fork seals, oils, clutch, battery. and a couple rattle cans of rustoleum for the frame. That really was all it needed. The other was just labor.

She's a 1 or 2 kicker at most and runs just beautifully. Picture was posted earlier so I think the results speak for themselves.

Again, to what I posted earlier. I could have taken the advice of some and tore everything down to check and replace, by why do that if it doesn't need it. I figure it had an oil filter so most of the crap should have been kept out of the motor. I flushed everything real well, primed everything well, and got her running with little effort. That was over 2 years ago and she's served me well since. But I bought a good low miles bike that was stored in a dry climate. Money saved on the restore was spent on getting the right bike and getting it home.