74 MKII Arrives ..

Hi All ,, My nice red 74 MKII Roadster finally arrived safe and sound from California this week ,, I would like to post pics but I can not figure out how to do it yet , seems to be different than tripples online ? ,,
I do have a question : when riding the bike the clutch seems to be either in or out, there is no in between, I am constantly stalling and athough it starts 1st kick ( has tri-spark fitted ) the kick lever compression compared to my BSA R3 is so much greater , I am having to develop a much bigger :shock: right leg muscle .. Is there any ajustment I can make to the clutch to smooth out the take up or is this normal for an 850 ,, .. This commando is low milage and in very nice original condition apart from the tri-spark ,, Thanks in advance for your help ..
Cheers
Paul

Paul,
Good to hear you've got the best Commando, I should know I've got one too. (Flak screen going up)

The most obvious things are the clutch cable path, gummed plates, notched centre hub and a dodgy actuator lever.

The clutch cable itself should be lubricates with a very light oil or cable lube. It must have no kinks and as much free wide bends from the lever onto under the right side of the tank, alongside the main frame top tube, behind the right side frame tube alongside the oil tank and down to the gearbox.

If the bike has been standing for some time, its likely the clutch plates are gummed up with oil residue. This means you;ve have to pop off the left foot hanger assembly and the outer primary cover. To remove the pressure spring and plates within, You MUST only use the proper spring compressor tool. This allow safe removal of the pressure spring by withdrawing the circumfrential retainer band. Its easy when you've got the tools and the hang of it.

When the plates are out and cleaned, also inspect the inner centre hub for spline wear that develops notches. The tangs on the plates catch on these and create a jerky action. Its worth replacing the centre hub if its worn.

The actuator mechanism in the gearbox is less prone to playing up. But clutch pushrod adjustment may be needed - With the handlebar lever free, i.e. cable adjuster loose, on the clutch spring centre is the adjuster screw and lock nut. On the gearbox side, remove the inspection cap and see and feel the actuator lever is slightly upright from the horizontal. Loosen the cluch pressure spring centre lock nut, carefully wind in the adjuster screw until gets resistance. If you put one finger into the gearbox you can feel the adjuster screw taking up the slack on the actuator lever as you wind in with the screw driver. The clutch adjuster screw should just butt up the pushrod to the actuator and then be slackened off half a turn. Hold in place with the screw driver and tighten up the locknut. One the handlebar, wind in the cable adjuster until there is about 3 to 5 mm of free play at the lever cable junction.

Mick








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Thanks Mick ,, I will copy yout letter and hopefully have a look at the problem using your advise next week ,, Nice to hear you think the 74 MKII 's are one of the best Commando's produced ,, I am sure I am going to enjoy this one ,, Will try again to post images ! ,, Cheers Paul

nznorton said:

when riding the bike the clutch seems to be either in or out, there is no in between, I am constantly stalling and athough it starts 1st kick ( has tri-spark fitted ) the kick lever compression compared to my BSA R3 is so much greater , I am having to develop a much bigger :shock: right leg muscle .. Is there any ajustment I can make to the clutch to smooth out the take up or is this normal for an 850

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I think most Commando clutches tend to engage rather abruptly-especially if you've been used to a BSA/Triumph triple clutch perhaps, so there's probably nothing wrong and I'm sure you will soon get used to it, although as with any new bike, it's worth checking all adjustments are correct. The workshop manual recommendation to back off the clutch pushrod adjuster by "one turn" is usually too much, as a third to a half a turn is usually sufficient to give the required amount of free-play at the lifter arm.

Paul,

I've got a '74 MkIIA with a Trispark, and what you describe exactly mirrors my experiences: The clutch is an on-off switch, but I found that by setting the clutch lever to disengage as early as possible, it improves the feel significantly (this is quite the reverse of the mechanical advantage varying with lever position, and seems to be more to do with my fingers working better if they're not already bunched up!).
Mine still has the original bronze plates running dry with a beltdrive; it is possible that changing the plates (Surflex seem popular) may alter things, but I suspect it's more a function of the diaphragm clutch action.
I've got a 20T sprocket ready to fit as I think that with the original 22T fitted it is hugely overgeared (I rarely get the thing into 4th on the local roads), and it'll be interesting to see if this makes any difference - it should do...I haven't stalled mine for a while now, but it does play on my subconscious when I'm riding!

The compression is quite severe too - I'm 15st and can quite easily stand on the kickstart without it moving. The standard cam has very little valve overlap, so feels like a higher compression motor when it isn't the case (my Ducati bevel has huge valve overlap and is easy to kick over with a very similar kickstart ratio). Fitting hotter cams would be a solution, but would louse up the motor's 'best of the bunch' power characteristics - The whole forum advised me not to change the cam profile when I was rebuilding mine, and I'm glad I took the advice

These issues are a small price to pay for the best Brit out there, and I far prefer it to my old T150.

Good advice above but the clutch is a diaphragm and will feel a little different.

I had my first Commando at University when I was a 130lb weakling. Put the bike on the centre stand and press the kickstart lever unit it comes near top dead centre (you can feel it) then stop. Then give it a full kick. They often start if you are starting that second proper kick from some way down the swing of the kickstart as you are more likley to follow thro and under; you don't need speed just the follow thro' to turn the engine. When the bike starts don't rev it too much or it will set off without you. Once was at some traffic lights at Sherburn in Elmet (a motorcycle cafe in Yorkshire UK) and stalled the bike. Had a mate on the back so I asked him to get off. I put the bike on the centre stand and kicked it. The single Mikuni was having the usual cable stick problems (spring is too light) and the bike stuck at probably 2000 rpm. The bike was floating/vibrating down the road on the centre stand. There were hundreds of bikers around (it typically had 3000-4000 bikers at the meets then) pissing their pants with laughter including my mate behind on his Yamaha Fazer (barsteward)...

Your going to like the bike and will have plenty of tales to tell with a Commando.

nznorton said:

Hi All ,, My nice red 74 MKII Roadster finally arrived safe and sound from California this week ,, I would like to post pics but I can not figure out how to do it yet , seems to be different than tripples online ? ,,
I do have a question : when riding the bike the clutch seems to be either in or out, there is no in between, I am constantly stalling and athough it starts 1st kick ( has tri-spark fitted ) the kick lever compression compared to my BSA R3 is so much greater , I am having to develop a much bigger :shock: right leg muscle .. Is there any ajustment I can make to the clutch to smooth out the take up or is this normal for an 850 ,, .. This commando is low milage and in very nice original condition apart from the tri-spark ,, Thanks in advance for your help ..
Cheers
Paul

Click to expand...

Hi Paul if this is the first time you have ridden a bike with a diaphragm clutch that is how it feels. But if you are getting drag and slip at the same time remove the Primary Chain cover (As its a MK11 only one nut to remove ) get the correct diaphragm cluch tool dismantle the cluch and thoroughly clean the plates, you can also check the plain plates for distortion ( this is unlikely unless the bike has beed ridden incorrecctly or with a badly set up clutch.) As for starting it does need a good technique to get it right...the engine should be turned over until just before TDC then release the kickstart by holding in the clutch and set it to a best to get the maximum turning moment ...........90 degrees then use weight and a straight leg to turn her over.........works for me

Could it have Barnett clutch plates installed? I read here that they are a bit more aggressive than others.

Good Question Foxy, my 69 fastback has aftermarket plates possibly Barnett and it is vicious [like a light switch on or off] i sugest Paul opens the primary and Checks as previously sugested, if Barnett replace, if sintered bronze and steel- clean dry and give a light beadblast, check the centre drum and cable as previous sugested and reinstall, i have had good results using a two stroke gear oil as primary lube [Maxima MTL 75wgt] which is equivilent to a 30 wgt engine oil and use this in all my Nortons.
Al