rvich wrote:Hey Matt,
First, I took some of my pieces to a chrome shop in the Seattle, Washington area. Both foot rests, brake pedal, kick start, shift lever and headlight bucket. They wanted a thousand dollars to do them! Ouch. The shop I went to does top end stuff but still. I stopped at another and they wouldn't even quote me...so I think you are doing OK at 200 bucks.

How close are you to needing those photos of the side panels? LOL, I forgot to get some pics to you. Still need them?

Russ

Russ,
Ouch! I had the muffler plates in there as well and that added another $100 so i decided to take them out of the deal.
No worries about the pics hahah, the tank is still being painted...the guys dont have the best customer service in the world and there was confusion b/w them, my dad, and the pin stripe lady...
If it was a steel tank I would pay for a nice experience, and nice work from Brent the Vintage Vendor, but I dont want to take a chance with the f/g tank.
It was so long ago i want to make sure, you were sending pics for the decal placement right?? Anyways, I will let you know when I need the pics if I end up needing them. If you ever magically feel the urge to take pictures of your panels though, feel free to post 'em here - we'd all love to see them. Thanks again for offering!

swooshdave wrote:Why do you let your mom in the garage?

I wish I could find an answer for you...but she started doing it so long ago, she cant break the habit

Matt

The quote I got on chroming was so high I figured I could buy new stuff from Andover for about the same price. It increased my enthusiasm for finding original parts with good chrome. I was able to buy some stuff through the wanted ads on the forum (Thanks Jean) and others I have been working on picking up as I find them. The headlight bucket got painted and will be sporting a new chrome ring.

I had heard that I should go to BC to look for a chrome shop as supposedly the prices would be better. I decided not to go that route at this point as I could spend the equivalent amount of money on gas and hotels trying to figure out where to go. Not that I don't like travelling in BC, but learning about the industrial areas of Vancouver isn't on my list just yet. So I would like to see the chrome job you get. Ask if it is triple chroming. I figure that there must be enough of us with bits that need chroming that we should find a shop that will do Commando stuff in bulk.

As for the side panels. Since they are black, I should really get them out now while we have snow on the ground as it is probably my best shot at getting a decent photo of them for decal placement.

Keep up the good work.

Russ

rvich wrote:I had heard that I should go to BC to look for a chrome shop as supposedly the prices would be better. I decided not to go that route at this point as I could spend the equivalent amount of money on gas and hotels trying to figure out where to go. Not that I don't like travelling in BC, but learning about the industrial areas of Vancouver isn't on my list just yet. So I would like to see the chrome job you get. Ask if it is triple chroming. I figure that there must be enough of us with bits that need chroming that we should find a shop that will do Commando stuff in bulk.

Russ

Im not even sure how much better BC would treat ya. They are no doubt the most notorious province for protecting the environment in Canada.

I also was told today that by my dad that the big parts order has came in from Walridge!!!! and my mom is away for 4 days so we dont have to hide them from her...yet. Im going to go to his shop tomorrow and if not tomorrow some time this weekend to have a look and get working on some stuff! Ill keep everyone posted.

Matt

I went to the shop today, took some pics and got some stuff set up. As well as opened all the new parts that came in. Now I think we have everything we need to assemble the bike. A few pictures of the workspace to start off:

This is the general area, we want to move some of those skids out of the way and get a bench in there and a tool box. Thats our job for tomorrow.




Looking out our "window" we've got a 25' drop down to the "bindery department" area. That big machine in the background is a paper folder - folds paper at hundreds of sheets per minute.


Back upstairs, we have all of our new parts still in boxes and two new Avon's


Matt

Lots of good work last weekend! I got the oil tank cleaned and ready for paint along with lots of other small parts and laced up the front and rear wheels. The front was laced a few months ago but with the arrival of a new rear rim from walridge the chrome did not match very well so we bought a new front rim as well. Got em laced up and all shiny with bearings installed etc. They are off for trueing tomorrow - I tried to do it myself but just couldn't do it/didn't have the patience. I'm happy with being able to lace them though. Stem bearings are also installed, I'm painting the trees very soon and they will be installed shortly after. Everything is finally starting to come together!! Here are some shots of the wheels. I might try and shine up the rear hub a bit more too.





Matt

OK.
Now the tank really is out for paint and should be ready soon. The painter is putting down black, a lady who does pinstriping who will lay down the pinstripe and decal, then clear over it all. Also, right now would be a helpful time to see some pictures of side cover decal placement on interstates. We have no reference pictures to work from.

Ive painted the yokes, oil tank, and master cylinder and they all look good. No pictures yet, sorry. I do have some of the yokes that I installed just a few minutes ago though. I used VHT high temp header paint (flat aluminum) it looks to be almost a perfect color match to the old paint.

This is where we are at, hopefully this weekend we can get access to a shop press to press in the swing arm bushes and a drill press to drill the holes for the oil filter mount. Since oil filters arent on 1972s, how noticeable are they when they are placed in the stock location?

If your wondering why the frame is back at the house not the shop, its because we needed a freezer to install the steering head and wheel bearings. It will be back at the shop this weekend. Hate to leave it in the house for more than a week!


Matt

If the cradle is black and the filter is black, no one will notice it. I've got some WIX filters and they're white, they kinda show up, but you still have to look for them under the cradle.

Dave
69S

DogT wrote:If the cradle is black and the filter is black, no one will notice it. I've got some WIX filters and they're white, they kinda show up, but you still have to look for them under the cradle.

Dave
69S

Sounds good to me, everything is black. I wasnt too worried about it, but my dad thought it might look ugly. I was pretty sure that they arent easily seen but wanted to make sure.

Matt

From the drive side you can't even see it, from the timing side:



It's the white thing in front of the wheel and behind the swing arm and this is with the rear guard off.

Dave
69S

Thanks Dave.

Im also now on the hunt for 140 wt oil for the swing arm. Im having a hard time finding anything. Where do you guys get yours/what kind is it?

Matt

mattthomas4444 wrote:Thanks Dave.

Im also now on the hunt for 140 wt oil for the swing arm. Im having a hard time finding anything. Where do you guys get yours/what kind is it?

Matt

Valvoline Gear Oil

Matt,
Google Moss Motors.They have shops in both California and Virginia.They stock straight 140w oil.About $16.oo qt.
YING

Thanks for the oil help. Ive also found that Lucas Oil also sells straight 140 so my local stores might have some if I am lucky. If not Ill probably grab some mixed blend 75(or 85)w140 unless you guys see a major problem.

Anyways, I have made some decent progress today. Got my holes drilled in the cradle to accept the oil filter, pressed in the swing arm bushings, and also installed the forks.



Im itching to get the wheels mounted so I can get the bike off that horrible jack. It wobbles all over the place and Im always scared of it falling over. Tomorrow, I hope to get the cradle mounted with the swing arm in there as well. Hopefully we'll get the wheels back from truing by the end of the week and then start putting the engine in and some other fun stuff. Also, my spring break starts on thursday so hopefully by the end of it, I will have something that looks like a motorcycle.

Matt

Earlier today, I fit the new rear vernier isolastic to the engine cradle in hopes to get the swing arm installed as well. The ISO went in fairly easy and was all set up in about 5-10 minutes. The only weird thing is that there is only a set screw on one side so the adjustable side can turn pretty easy without anything holding it in place. Am I missing a part here? Or is it just held in place by the gaitor and the bolt being torqued down?
The swing arm though was being very difficult. First, the swing arm wasnt wide enough to fit over the cradle, so I sanded the paint off in those areas and it is still not going over the cradle. I think with the help of another pair of hands, my dad and I together should be able to make it fit. But is it always supposed to be so hard to get on?

Also, the swing arm spindle itself fits nicely into one bushing, and the other bushing it fits much snugger in and it needs to be pounded in to sit all the way in place. Is this something to worry about, both the bushings and spindle are brand new? Will the tightness in the one bush restrict the swing arm from functioning properly when riding or is it okay to be a really tight fit (almost like a wheel bearing into its bore)?



Matt

Cehck if you need spindle clamps while you've got it apart Matt.
Makes it sooo much easier. Don't wait 'till it's together to find out you need 'em.