The bike I have been talking about restoring for a while is finally getting started.

Heres a link to the pictures I have taken so far, and I will document everything with pictures as work gets done.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattthomas ... 004655365/

I am wondering if anyone has a preferred method of restoring a bike like this, (what order do you usually do thing in?)
I also plan on painting or powder coating the frame and some other small parts, what method is best paint or powder coat?

Thanks,
Matt

Looks like you have a pretty good specimen there. Mine was in much worse shape, however, just go at it a piece at a time. I found powder coating cheaper and probably better than paint. Here in the US the paint is getting expensive from the EPA. But it is your preference, some really don't like the P/C because you cannot repair it. You need to decide how far you want to go. I was just going to get mine running, but ended up replacing all the bad parts, and did a total rebuild. If you can afford the time and money, it is a big weight off your mind when you are riding that you know what went into it instead of someone else telling you something they really didn't do. You never know unless you put your hands on all the parts.

Dave
69S

I'd tear it all down as dogt suggests. No way of knowing what kind of shape the engine and gearbox are in until you have a look-see! With most of these old bikes, I have found that previous owners can't remember what they did, and even if they did rebuild something, you never know if they did it right. With help from the very helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum, you will have that bike up and running and looking spectacular in no time!

Thanks,

I am leaning towards powder coating, and actually i didn't even know it was cheaper. I have opened up the three primary chain case access holes, and also removed the drain plug on the case, i was happy to see that there was still a fair amount of oil draining out of the case, and everything looked very good. (if i can get some good pictures ill post them) And since I am the original owner; nothing major has happened to the engine or any other parts. I do plan on opening everything up even if it may be perfectly fine, I'm interested to see.

Heres a link to some pictures of the inside of the primary case. It looks pretty good to me, but ill still open it up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattthomas ... 004655365/

You have a nice looking specimen to work with and lots of space too. While it's nice to work on one thing at a time we often get deadlocked for lack of parts, out sourcing machining or in need of a special tool etc. and we end up working on several things at a time. The main thing is just diving in and getting started but take lots of photos and take notes of the order of spacers, thrust washers, shims etc.
Your broken chaincase is quite common. The chain will throw oil all over without that flange in there. Yours looks like there is nothing left of the flange. Might be best to find a used one on ebay unless you know a good aluminum welder who thinks he can fix it cheaper.
Keep in mind powder coating is thicker than paint so care must be taken to mask areas where the extra thickness will cause problems like isolastic mount points and swing arm. Old Britts web site has good info on this as well as some older posts here.

Thanks,

I think I will buy the old britts blanking kit for powder coating, and I do think that buying a new case will unfortunately be the only option. My dad had decided to try and turn the engine over a few years ago and forgot the bike was in gear!

Matt

I've begun to dismantle the bike, it's coming along pretty well after only a couple of hours work. I am wondering what the two wires connecting to the right hand Z-plate are for? Here's a picture.

http://flickr.com/photos/mattthomas4444/5074041540/

Matt

looks like ground wires

After some more work, the parts are starting to get cleaned up. A lot of wire brushing! Here are some pictures without the links, of the bike and some clean parts. Cause everyone likes pictures.










Dirty Horn



Clean Horn



Clean Horn



Inside Primary Case

mattthomas4444 wrote: I am wondering what the two wires connecting to the right hand Z-plate are for? Here's a picture.

You've probably figured it out by now but that is the zener diode. It passes excess electricity (from the charging system) off as heat through the z-plate.

Hi Matt,
Looks like you have a completley standard 72 Interstate.
Mine was made in september 72 & ive had it from new.
All your parts look standard. Some the the air filter bits look to be missing but these can be replaced.
Its also nice to see it has the low level exhaust system on it. Most people put pea shooters on them but I have the original low level system on mine still.
Your barrels are black & if this is original it means you have the combat hi compression engine.
Mine had silver barrels when new which meant it had the standard compression engine & not the combat version.
I would recommend keeping the electronic ignition that looks to be on it & maybe fitting a Dave Taylor type head steady. These help with easy starting & better handling.
Ive also fitted Avon Roadrider tyres to mine now which also make it handle really well.
Best of luck & I hope to see it ready & running for spring next year.
Cheers Don

The small gap between the lowest head fin and the highest barrel fin also shouts out Combat, if you look at the top of the head you should see a C stamped on the top. The Front brake being a disc is also a clue for 72 as they were a matched option.

kommando wrote:The small gap between the lowest head fin and the highest barrel fin also shouts out Combat

However ALL Commandos have a reduced fin gap at the barrel to head joint, so it's by no means a definitive way to identify a Combat head.

(Are my eyes deceiving me or, is that an 850 engine number starting with a "3"?

Don, your assessment was 100% correct the bike is a combat, with the electronic ignition I do plan on keeping. The bike is my dads that he has practically left unchanged since he bought it new as a teenager. Personally I also am a fan of the low level exhaust. I've noticed that my headsteady is cracked and I've looked into upgrading. The engine is combat, and actually still has compression after thirty years of sitting around. If anyone has any other suggested upgrades I would love to hear about what the best ones are.

Matt