All dressed up no where to go : (

I had me a two gas stop ride day in spring time delight over 3 counties working up nerve to risk police and traction in paradise sweepers. Pleased my chain is no longer being oiled by over fill of primary and gear box, nil mess by return home. So put on armor tied down luggage to head to appointment, turned on taps, tickled the minimal wetness, keyed on and wife came out and said Oh Its Dripping, Silly woman I thought, of course its dripping I just tickied it I explained as I glanced at tickler for another BBISS Blank Brit Iron Staring State ......

At carb bowl hanging skewed with RH bowl gasket sticking out... ugh. One of the few times I've gotten this close to ride and decided to undress and take the cage, because was too pensive to make it to pavement suddendly by Shivers up spine.

Ok no more Combating till both carbs rebuilt and new solution to screws which my buddy Wes spend much time and squating to snug damn well with me checking to. Air boot needs cutting down too. Oh well ride and wrench ride and wrench...

Don't you hate that?!

It last happened to me when I was overtaking a Jaguar XJ6... went on to one cylinder and when I pulled over the float chamber was hanging by the fuel pipe, and the float had exited Stage Left, along with half a gallon of 4-star :cry:

I Got going by blocking the fuel link pipe and robbed a screw out of each carb top. A carbful of fuel was good for 3-4 miles.
Got me to Journey's end 50 miles away with regular twiddling of the fuel tap.

Character building dtuff!

Hehe an all British adventure tale Andy. Will keep in mind your limp home solution. When I saw bowl so loose, the distances away from civilization as well as home flushed me a bit. I did notice back fires in 2nd on low-ish trhottle, now know it was lean-ness. Last fall I tired mild loctite and amost ruined the scews and my nerves to get em back off. Maybe JBW and retap, if teflon or such don't jam em in good. I still have one spare screw left, so could get er done to ride tomorrow. I was so looking forward to stepping on kicker for a roar and wind in the face to settle the morning coffee rush.

Just finished a foray into your area. Houston to Fayetteville AR to visit family and back including the Rt 23 Pig trail and Talimena Trail between OK and AR, Alas, on my 1200R Sportster and not a Commando, which is about half together at this point. Maybe next year. You are very fortunate to live amongst some of the best twisties in the central part of the country. I have ridden just about every road in NW quarter of AR on my various trips there and enjoyed everyone.

Hehe, I got here fast as I could in '99 to find you really can't take a wrong turn anywhere in the Ozarks, unless off the main roads on to you know what. I"m about 45 min car ride south east from Eureka Springs or about 35 on motorcycle. Its always indeterminate if one of my old cycles or me is roadworthy. I've got lots of areas left to explore and make note to return too. I think stuff falls off Sportsters too don't they, eventually?

Yeah...I fell off mine once. Wild tankslapper coming home from Philly in '68. Thank God someone later discovered where I kept it in the city and stole that damn thing.

B+Bogus said:

Don't you hate that?!

It last happened to me when I was overtaking a Jaguar XJ6... went on to one cylinder and when I pulled over the float chamber was hanging by the fuel pipe, and the float had exited Stage Left, along with half a gallon of 4-star :cry:

I Got going by blocking the fuel link pipe and robbed a screw out of each carb top. A carbful of fuel was good for 3-4 miles.
Got me to Journey's end 50 miles away with regular twiddling of the fuel tap.

Character building dtuff!

Click to expand...

Every time i read these post's i smile and think "what the hell are we doing,with these milk shaker's?" OK Character's one thing ,but mounting a bid vertical twin in rubber,that shakes it's head off and set's about self destruction...beggers belief.

But we all enjoy them,mayby it's just the challange to get back home intact? Float bowls falling off, Lock wire the screws ..well the racers have to , with many other parts:!:

There's different levels and ways to take on the rubber baby buggy, one of the hardest is trying to stick to Norton issued components. Could weld the head on barrel instead of the re-torque discipline for instance. These carbs have about 16,000 miles on them and hold up pretty good until I let Combat come on came for any lenght of time like the last leg of Trixie's trip home before the last rough ride section. Seriously I've yet to see carb screws saftety wires nor the tedium process to drill em. Will have to stew on how to keep em easy on and off. Peel will have more saftey wire than racers as I like string art.

On the 73' 850 I lost the float bowl screws on a set of concentrics before riding down highway 7 in Ohio towards Steubenville. I found a coat hanger on the road and stuck pieces of it through the bolt holes in the bowl and carb and twisted it up tight, got me where I was going. Maybe should have left the coat hanger in there as it probably was better than the stock screws anyway on those POS.

My 2004 Sporty has a rubber mounted engine. You can sit at a light and watch it do its dance but actually pretty smooth at highway speeds. Good ideas never die just get recycled. Couple of weeks ago it started knocking in lower part of engine. Bad news I thought. Turned out to be the nut on the end of the crankshaft had unscrewed itself. However, 80 ft/lbs of torque coming out of tite corners is a blast.

I found a coat hanger on the road and stuck pieces of it through the bolt holes in the bowl and carb and twisted it up tight, got me where I was going. Maybe should have left the coat hanger in there as it probably was better than the stock screws anyway on those POS.

Click to expand...

Oh my beng that opens up a whole road side hardware store to pick from to secure carb bowls. Makes me think of RTV gluing the bowl seam and zip tie them stable.

Wes and I talk about getting rid or our pain in the ass parts dropping Cdo's for Sportsters but we'd have to sell most of our bikes to do so. I don't seek out any contests at all on my factory Combat but have got Buell's dead in Ms Peel's sights with rather more than 80 ft lbs on tap and fully capable of hooking it up leaned to point of even launching up side ways at will. If ya ain't using that torque before entries then missing out on more than half the fun of Big Twin Grunt!

When I did get where I was going I found a few screws out of a parts carb and RTV'd the threads on them before screwing them home as tight as I dared, was good for the 125 mile trip back home, and many more miles after that.

I always did as little as possible to that bike to keep riding, usually it did not need much though. When the exhaust cracked I grabbed a coat hanger also, and used it as welding rod to fuse cracks around the crossover tube. I guess everyone should carry a coat-hanger.....

RTV'd the threads

Click to expand...

Ha! just when I think I know everything I learn more options. I've had such bad experiences with RTV on various things I always try to put it out of mind and sight. But in this case I'll make an exception on your recommendation. I am a nut and washer picker upper and just found a rusty coat hanger I'm putting in my tool bag. Wes and I can steel fence wire out here most the times.

Right now facing a small life/death dilemma, I've time to boil carbs and refresh air filter and a better way to fit the air boots and ride with the wind again but there's a 'Moo' mini Woodstock gathering 70 miles up in the highest part of Ozarks south of here with deer bombers galore out and about, about the time I'd be getting there.
i'll be bleary eye'd next am too, if did on didn't make it there.

Do I act like mature old man or kick up heels and share bed with lovelies?

Got the carbs cleaned and installed with Wes in attendance, to have leaks on the opposite carb and its tickler hanging up like the R one prior. Check the float level to find them so far down the gas couldn't lift floats to put any valve pressure on seat just not lift the float needle off its seat. Ugh. I also found pilot screws way off like .5 turn on one and 2 on the other. How floats changed and pilot screws changed is another mystery as I'm a bit of stickler to diddle base line fuel level so best idle is 1.5 out.
Eyeball upside down squared off nail drifted float seats to reasonable level and got Trixie started but runs kinda rough now, Ticklers unstuck on L side but barely drips fuel anymore. Wes said he looked at his vintage bikes and effort to service to go for a ride, so took his space age push button scooter instead. If I'm still interested in Commando's Sunday may go through the tedium to dial each side in after points timing recheck that a season ago was about spot on.

Hehe I did have a bad thought or two on Wes down and dirt 90' screw driver method to get the manifold allen heads usable tight went I couldn't find any of the 3 cut down allen keys, as it buggered the sockets so key wouldn't go in till I filed the key down some. Made it to 1st day of mini Woodstock where many asked where my Norton was as they liked its presence, told em had planned ahead especially to do so but she was on the rag again...

If I was Charlie Brown and Lucy yanked that ball away one more time, cops would still be looking for that bitches head. (some comedian)

Steve, me thinks it's time to stop dicking around with those carbs and pony up to a pair of new premires. Bolt them on and ride. Possibly regain some sanity and happyness. There will be other things to deal with, make your carbs not be one of them.

Brent when Ms Peel comes online it will take a double take to ID it as a Norton based cycle ok, but that's very easy to do like you and every customized bastardized Commando, the hardest challenge is ruining , i mean running one as factory issued. I've Miki carb and Pazion in shed. To follow your suggested logic I'd end up with a new scooter, a SR1000 or big V twin. I know the limits of a factory Cdo in any way ya care to compare so have no desire for more power or handling just ordinary riding w/o constant routine show stoppers. Its a test for me that may end as someone else's joy of a real factory Combat head and heart ache.

Got me a bit sweaty diddling details on Trixie but just rode butt naked a mile and back so time to suit up and test luck and fates again. Timing spot on each contact breaker at 28.5 ish full advance, Got pilot screws adjusted on hot single cylinder running to see Wes and my eye ball float setting gives 3/4 turn out R and .9 turn out L best idle so both floats set a bit high yet. Anyway Trixie is back to normal Combat factory state, mere step on over TDC starts, stable idle as low as I dare oil pressure and a rip snorting Bark off idle that spin rear quickly enough not to have any effect on THE Gravel but a dark groove in THE Grit : ) I did have a tad of stumble off idle snaps till I fudged pilot screws 1/4 turn in richer. If throttle only respondes sluggishly at low rpms on THE G grips to throw ya off path instead of easing the aim. Snort correct Snort correct Snort correct, SNorrrrrttt to skew a bit longer farther on the counter slope turns of course.

Well it happened again today. Enjoyed most of last wk riding here and there on missions and spent half of last Saturday joy riding with Wes on his Bonnie. Started easy and rode around my lot Sunday for 15 min. till full hot for the zn/ph protective layer to form before shut down. No issues I could detect on low throttle creeping with instants of blips to feel the rear get loose on Gravel and grass. Today suited up and put on cargo for appointment but Trixie only ran on one or the other cylinders, both sides smoked on start up but cleared up and both pipes were hot but sluggish rough throttle response made chancing it a no go again. Maybe just need one heat range higher? My S.O. put me on heavy labor rest of today so didn't examine anything but nothing obvious seen before I took the cage instead. Wes showed me a BritCycle post of a UK fella owning his '72 since age 15, before legal to ride it and taking it around most the world on tours who stopped counting mileage after the first 300,000...