So this might be considered heresy but I am curious what others think who have real world experience (that is, not theoretical). I am new to Norton Commando improvements and fetteling and I do not profess to know all about the specifics of this bike BUT, I have many years of working on bikes(mostly Hondas and Ducatis).
I had a Commando given to me and am in the middle of a ground up restoration and want to make all the reccomended improvements but this swingarm mod seems to me to be total bullshit. I will explain my harsh conclusion.
My bike has perfectly tight bushings and a swingarm pivot in very good condition, no play or sloppiness whatsoever. The spindle retaining bolt threads tightly into the spindle and cinches down tightly.
My understanding of the need for these clamps is that lateral loads cause some kind of swingarm movement that unsettles handeling in bends. Can someone explain where this movement occurs and how these janky collars solve the problem. The reason I am skeptical is that the tiny tapered tip 3/16” grub screws tighten against a polished and hardened steel shaft less than 2”away to “stabilize” things. How much clamping power can this tiny bit of purchase provide? The factory clamping bolt threads into the shaft securely and seems to do the job.
The grub screw is only long enough to just touch the shaft if you want to tighten the locking nut so I am assuming it is not intended to go into a drilled and threaded hole. I tried to drill a dimple in the shaft with a new cobalt bit and got nowhere. To make a threaded hole I would need to grind a flat to get a good punched starting point. I only want to do that if there is a good reason to do this mod.
My experience with other retro-mod projects is that there are lots of “modifications” aftermarket suppliers are willing to sell you and plenty of people who have done the mod and think you should do it too (because they have). I have learned through experience some are total BS and I am thinking this is one of them. I am especially interested in a cogent explanation of how this mod is supposed to work. Thanks all for bearing with my rant, I just hate wasting money on junk because I got all excited about a new project.
I had a Commando given to me and am in the middle of a ground up restoration and want to make all the reccomended improvements but this swingarm mod seems to me to be total bullshit. I will explain my harsh conclusion.
My bike has perfectly tight bushings and a swingarm pivot in very good condition, no play or sloppiness whatsoever. The spindle retaining bolt threads tightly into the spindle and cinches down tightly.
My understanding of the need for these clamps is that lateral loads cause some kind of swingarm movement that unsettles handeling in bends. Can someone explain where this movement occurs and how these janky collars solve the problem. The reason I am skeptical is that the tiny tapered tip 3/16” grub screws tighten against a polished and hardened steel shaft less than 2”away to “stabilize” things. How much clamping power can this tiny bit of purchase provide? The factory clamping bolt threads into the shaft securely and seems to do the job.
The grub screw is only long enough to just touch the shaft if you want to tighten the locking nut so I am assuming it is not intended to go into a drilled and threaded hole. I tried to drill a dimple in the shaft with a new cobalt bit and got nowhere. To make a threaded hole I would need to grind a flat to get a good punched starting point. I only want to do that if there is a good reason to do this mod.
My experience with other retro-mod projects is that there are lots of “modifications” aftermarket suppliers are willing to sell you and plenty of people who have done the mod and think you should do it too (because they have). I have learned through experience some are total BS and I am thinking this is one of them. I am especially interested in a cogent explanation of how this mod is supposed to work. Thanks all for bearing with my rant, I just hate wasting money on junk because I got all excited about a new project.
