Another Noob

Not sure what I'm going to do with this yet...



This 1974 Roadster has been sitting for the last 25 years in a dry Arizona barn. Supposedly ran when parked. Came with an extra oil tank, side panels and a new 750 roadster seat.

The good:

No rust
Everything turns freely
Good compression
Numbers match
Mostly there

The bad:

Some dry rot
Badly bent and poorly repaired rear loop
Bent pegs and hangers

I'm debating whether to try and get it running or just tear it down now. Also can't decide if I want to put a short rear loop on the frame and do a cafe custom or start looking for a replacement frame for a restoration. Thoughts?

The rear frame loop does not affect the handling in anyway so can be repaired fairly easily so no need for a new frame. I'd be inclined to get it running first and see how it runs, its had an oil filter all it life so just the tyres and rubber hoses etc are toast. Then you can fix things as you go along but check the layshaft bearing fairly quickly even if there are no symptoms of impending failure.

Pure luck of the draw if you can get away long just getting it running. I got a deal on my current Trixie Combat stored for years in New Orleans, amazed how easy to get a road worthy Combat for under $4000 and got about 3 wks timid use before it blew up d/t Al gasket extruding into the bore of oil slotted pistons which came apart.
Just opening up to cases would have found and fixed the following trauma.
The brake and forks will be full of rust and maybe pitted. My 1st Combat had hidden leak in mastercylinders and worked a treat one pull down to total gone the next.
Likely bottom end fine but not bad idea to go through the rest in one big ongoing party at home than piecemeal out and away. Unless owner just couldn't ride then suspect some reason it was put away wet and runing.

I'm sure someone will unreasonably offer to take the nice problem case off your mind.

An Arizona barn? Are you sure it wasn't the Batcave? The combination of that seat and a fairing are kinda strange!

No kidding - does look like some thing Robin would of road back then, heck me too.

Believe it or not, the PO had a detailed explanation for every piece that was added to the bike. It almost made sense...as a matter of fact, I'm sure it made perfect sense to him at the time.

As hobot mentioned, I am also suspicious as to why the bike was parked. PO had no explanation for that.

As a huge fan of mid size twins, the Commando has always been on my short list and I am really getting excited about digging in on this one. I have done a few restorations (maybe more like refurburations?) in the past but have not worked on anything with quite this level of parts and info support. Looks like fun!

You have an excellent basis there for doing anything from a standard Roadster to a full on production racer or anything in between. I personally would not try to start it before at least having a look inside the engine and gearbox. I bought a project bike where the engine was allegedly rebuilt, indeed it was and had brand new pistons and a new oil pump, but the crank had been reground incorrectly, the con-rod nuts were mismatched and held together with loctite, it had the wrong main bearings and a catalogue of other problems that would have destroyed the engine if I had tried to start it. If you intend to keep this bike for any length of time you would be well-advised to ensure that the critical components will be able to provide safe and reliable service on the road.

Fixing the frame loop is a (relatively) easy deal, Fred at Old Britts has some very nice stiffeners and the repair process is well documented (yours is not the first bent loop).

The nice thing about a Commando rebuild is that there are no "Uncharted Waters", everything has been done before (and I mean everything!).

Welcome to the Loony-Bin, it is nice in here.

Vince

Unclviny said:

Fixing the frame loop is a (relatively) easy deal, Fred at Old Britts has some very nice stiffeners and the repair process is well documented (yours is not the first bent loop).

The nice thing about a Commando rebuild is that there are no "Uncharted Waters", everything has been done before (and I mean everything!).

Welcome to the Loony-Bin, it is nice in here.

Vince

Click to expand...

That's like saying every song or riff has been written or played, it isn't so. While it is true that many choose the same path because they like the look, some do take a lonely road, just look at the "Café rouge" or CNW's #038 café, neither follows the beaten path yet they are very fine custom creations. Many may not like the Café Rouge, but the workmanship is second to none and the ideas plentiful.

So Silverhammer, my advice is to first look at many pictures and then decide what to do unless of course you already know what you want to do.

Jean

silverhammer said:

Not sure what I'm going to do with this yet...

Click to expand...

Very good "before" picture for the "Most improved 2011" contest.

...or 2012...

Welcome to the forum.

It would certainly be interesting to ride with that fairing before deciding whether or not you wanted to keep it. Is that a standard fairing? How about some more pics of it?

Russ