1972 Combat Commando.

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A brit bike is oil tight compared to a radial.
Perhaps with modern sealants and seal engineering they
could be made a lot less oily. But truth is if they dont
leak it they usually drink it.
Our brit bikes are vastly less oily than they were back in the day.
My secret to a clean bike was wanton use of the varsol gun
EVERY DAY!
:-O
 
Well the Norton is sitting comfortably in the garage. I have had no time to ride it and It has rained almost every night and some days since I finished it. I guess I found the cure for the drought.
 
Got it out for a few laps around the neighborhood Thursday night. Each one is about 1/2 mile. So far so good.

Yesterday I set the timing with a light. I have yet to get it out since.

A few tweaks here and there. I was very close on the timing statically. And the leaks are almost all gone.

Hopefully I can get it out tomorrow.
 
Got it out for 3 laps tonight. Running better, but still some hesitation during acceleration starting at about 3k. If I feather the throttle I can work thru it. Some more tuning needed. On the plus side it started second kick while I was sitting on it with no stands. I am finding the shifting easier to get used to than I thought.
 
It ain't rpm so much as throttle opening position to clue in what to look at changing. I'd try lifting the needles first. When about right they are pleasingly easy to start all the time.
 
So far no matter what I adjust, it starts easily 1st or 2nd kick. I think my timing is off. I'll dig into it when I find some time. I need to open up the timing cover to fix the last oil leak, so it will be a good time to readjust the timing.

I did have another one of my wild ideas yesterday, and fabbed this up last night.

1972 Combat Commando.

1972 Combat Commando.

1972 Combat Commando.


I am just waiting for some fittings I ordered this morning to plumb it in. For some reason I am uneasy not knowing.
I guess after one engine eats itself due to an oil issue you want to be reassured.

1972 Combat Commando.

1972 Combat Commando.

1972 Combat Commando.
 
bwolfie said:
I am just waiting for some fittings I ordered this morning to plumb it in. For some reason I am uneasy not knowing.
I guess after one engine eats itself due to an oil issue you want to be reassured.

OR, it could be one more thing to worry about :roll:

Jean
 
Best way to dial in ignitions I've found is adv till kick backs then retard till just don't, then go look to see where it lands on a dial. Much as its good idea for PSI gauge to comfort one's soul, Nortons take a bit of time to develop pressure on starts and many of em live a long time w/o pressure showing on guages so by time its apparent pressure ain't what it should to be, may be too late. Al bits can get stuck in the case sump passages and once cooled off are trapped=jammed so need heat to re-expand the cases and hi pressure air or fluid to try to flush out. Wire won't make the bends well to fish out much stuck up clog. But that the return side not the supply so only makes a wet sump mess not blow ups. Magnets don't attract non Ferric pieces either.
 
Here is how I get the timing down on my Bikes, after the first set at the theoretical number.
I have a big hill nearby. It is about a 15 percent grade and maybe a half mile long. Ill hit the bottom in top gear at exactly 70 mph on the speedo, then lean into the throttle as I go up. If the timing is spot on, the Commando will gradually pick up speed on the hill and reach 75 or 76 mph by the top. A tweak in timing either way will result in a reduction of 2-3 mph in the speed at top. There is a bit of a range where the speed stays at the 76 mph, perhaps 2degrees. I set the timing at the retarded side of this range.

I call this hill "Dyno Hill"
 
yeah, I set myself up for that one. :D

I guess I should say that a simple thing like using a big hill and doing what the oldtimers called "Power Timing" gives you a result better than any theoretical timing number from a book. This way you get an actual result that takes into account the idiosyncrasies of your particular engine, it's condition etc.

Still, this could be a tough thing to come up with if you happen to live in Florida or anywhere on the Prairies.

An aside-
My wife and I went back to Saskatoon (we live in Mountainous BC)a few years ago to visit friends. I brought the Commando along. I asked our friends if there was a good destination for a 100 mile or so round trip MC ride. They suggested a Provincial Park to the South. In giving directions, they said "Once you leave Saskatoon you will see the ski Hill 50 miles away. Ride towards it"
And sure enough once out of the city, there was this lone hump of dirt off in the distance. It looked just like a dump truck load of dirt, but since it was 50 miles away, it had to be a large dump truck load. When I got there is was a perfectly uniform pile of dirt maybe 200 feet high, shaped just like it came out of a dump truck box. I guess it was many dump truck loads, but no one thought to try to create an interesting shape, it was enough of a thrill just to have a hill.
I can see why Saskatoon is not the top ski destination in North America!
It is a lovely city tho, great mountain bike trails right thru the city along the Saskatchewan river.

Glen
 
Alright worntorn I like your finding finest spark time method and will adopt it here with plenty of places like you use. if I can make it out to pavement. After seeing what degree's give best speed under load then can look as the electrode hooks and change heat range for heat stain right about the bend point.

I'm in a bit of an upward mood as hadn't started Trixie in like 3 wks but had a visitor into vintage things so gave a good tickle [was pissed then pleased I'd not close the taps but no leaks, yea] took 5 kicks then hit for some proper sooty smoke with just hints of white oil smoke then cleared up and responsed to throttle like Combats are won't to do. Battery was rather low barely beepped but contact breakers and cool ballast to 6 v coils did their low voltage thing.
 
Old Shocks
1972 Combat Commando.

New Shocks
1972 Combat Commando.


Still waiting on some little parts and Time. I think I am going to work on pissing off the neighbor this weekend.
 
My oil banjo fittings arrived. Mad up the line and installed it. I put new one piece SS rocker spindle covers on and installed the oil gauge. Rolled the bike int the driveway,
Started second kick. Not a drop of oil from the spindle covers or the oil gauge system. The gauge works really well. I am very happy with the outcome.
 
Got a few loose ends taken care of. Starts easily, idles great when warm. Oil pressure gauge works well. I installed a breether valve, so far so good. I took it out for a 3 mile jaunt in the neighborhood, ran well. I need to start going for longer trips. I also need to work on the front brake, it is pathetic.

1972 Combat Commando.
 
Brent, try two simple things for the front brake, one make sure there are dry surfaces on friction area, which I assume it is as so new, secondly pull the guts out the m/c while still on bars and poke a Cherry Red Hot 6 penny nail of such through the tiny resistor valve hole in the rubber boot deep in the bore, then get back to us.
 
So the weather is going downhill fast. I cleaned and rearranged the garage. Lost the workbench to gain a parking spot. I think it was a good trade.
The shelf adjustment was something I wanted to do 10 years ago when I put them in, but just never got around to it. And of course it took all of 10 minutes.

1972 Combat Commando.

1972 Combat Commando.
 
My new coils arrived on friday. Got around to installing them today. The bike wet sumped something fierce, it hasn't been started in over a month. I messed around and finally got it going.
I never really noticed before, but the right side hasn't been running all the time. I have had some strange noise coming from the head, found both intake valves way out of tolerance. I reset them and no noise. Then I started troubleshooting for fuel, spark, and compression. I have all 3. But what I have found is excessive oil in the cylinder, causing the plug to foul out. So now it's off with the barrel to investigate. Just what I need to do.
 
Clearly you own/store a lot of crappola. Never store yer crappola up in the rafters. Have found out the hard way. Just a tip.
 
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