1972 rebuid

Gents, I am starting to re assemble my bike and wondering if the original iso's are worth replacing with the adjustable options available, also not sure if the clearance measurements of .010 is taken with the thru bolts fully torqued. I have done most of the usual upgrades to the engine/trans and I am at the point fitting it all together. The only other non engine upgrade so far has been the one piece axle. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated Gary in SW Virginia

Garry157 said:

I am starting to re assemble my bike and wondering if the original iso's are worth replacing with the adjustable options available,

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I'd say it depends on their condition, but you don't need to replace the complete Iso. assemblies if you fit the pre-Mk3 vernier conversion kits.
('Hemmings' kit)

Garry157 said:

also not sure if the clearance measurements of .010 is taken with the thru bolts fully torqued.

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Yes, fully torqued.

Thanks L.A.B, those were the ones I was looking at, how hard is it to get a hold of Mr. Hemmings, or a distributor here in the states that might carry? I haven't been successful via faxing his number ......

Garry157 said:

Thanks L.A.B, those were the ones I was looking at, how hard is it to get a hold of Mr. Hemmings, or a distributor here in the states that might carry? I haven't been successful via faxing his number ......

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I think Mick is more likely to answer a phone call, however, you could try OldBritts: http://www.oldbritts.com/13_600002.html

I used the vernier adjustable ISO kit , that needed no machine work to front mounting .... along with the Dave Taylor head steady and lighter wheels ( madass ) .... these 3 upgrades have transformed the handling performance of my '72 Combat Roadster .... best mods to date for my bike ....
Craig

The vernier adjuster makes it easier to adjust but I can't see how it would affect handling. Possibly the old rubbers were trashed and needed replacing. The Dave Taylor head steady improved the handling greatly on my '72. I used one for quite a while and now using the CNW one. Made a huge difference in my bike.

I'm still using the shimmed isolastics and it really is no problem. You don't have to set these very often. Someone recently mentioned on here that they preferred the factory verniers which require modification of the older iso mount in the front (cutting 1/4" off squarely), over the aftermarket kind that do not require any mod to the iso mount (Hemmings?). Is it because there is more room to work with? Years ago I bought an extra front iso mount to modify but never got any further.

Russ

Commando Specialties and Clubman Racing have the retro-fitable ISO mounts. The vernier adjustable mounts turn a 1-2 hour job into 10 to 15 minutes.

Yup ,I was replacing 40 yr old iso's along with the new adjusters .... for me the much easier adjustment process allowed me to get it just where I wanted it without the repetition of multiple checks to get it right ..... for me it was an upgrade .... same as head steady and lighter wheels with rear solid axle .....
Craig

Thanks for the input , I think I am going to keep the original setup for now, the original bits all look to be in good shape. My bike has the
'improved" head steady but after poking around it seems a more noticeable upgrade might be one of those fancy options ! Gary

I've only ridden the two Commando prototypes, so I'm not familiar with the head steady (much later than 1968, when I emigrated) . Does it affect the overall vibration felt by the rider or is it tuned to complement the ISOs?

Not able to answer as the improved steady was on my original bike in 72. I found this bike and it had the "box" style head steady which is what I assume is Nortons' upgrade......I know of some after market units offered for sale that claim better handling and vibration control but haven't made up my mind for this year