Basket Case. . . How bad is bad?

Cookie · Aug 4, 2009

If you are going to recondition everything anyway a complete basket case could save you money.
Seems like runners I see are a couple of thousand more.
I would think what a person chooses might depend on thier use for the bike, I like mine a bit worn and sort of oil rag so my choice would be different than my friend Doug, who does concours with his and hates to get his tires dirty.

bpatton · Aug 4, 2009

If you know Commandos inside and out then a basket is the way to go. It's actually like a new construction. When you are choosing components you already know what you want. There's a lot less wastage. For that matter, you could just start getting parts from scratch. (Need a frame with a tag though.) If someone has never ridden a Commando before the premium for at least a ratty runner is worth it. Otherwise it's like getting thrown into the deep end. If it's a purely monetary consideration, it's like car resto's. The saying is that the cheapest way to restore a beater is to buy one, restored. Everybody looses money restoring stuff. Just write it off as entertainment. Hrs/$ it's a bargain.

JimC · Aug 4, 2009

If you consider your time at shop rate, add the parts and any additional outside specialty work, the CNW price of $27,000 doesn't seem too bad. Not to mention, the resale of a CNW Norton is probably considerably more than a home-built.

Cookie · Aug 4, 2009

Yup,

You have to figure those guys have to make a living and they are building a hand made bike. I bet the quality of one of theirs is better than a late 70s Norton was.
I just do this stuff to relax after work with no real rush, I always have at least a couple of bikes ready to ride, at the moment three.
Nortons are fairly simple bikes and there is some joy to be had when things are going well.

bpatton · Aug 4, 2009

JimC said:
If you consider your time at shop rate, add the parts and any additional outside specialty work, the CNW price of $27,000 doesn't seem too bad. Not to mention, the resale of a CNW Norton is probably considerably more than a home-built.

The thing about the CNW bikes is that they are like Coddington roadsters. They're a known quantity, they have provenance, and they are , incidentally so bitchen that you could probably sell one sight unseen. I saw one up close a few years ago and it was stunning.

B+Bogus · Aug 5, 2009

Cookie said:
I just do this stuff to relax after work with no real rush, I always have at least a couple of bikes ready to ride,

+1 :wink:

Ron L · Aug 5, 2009

If you know Commandos inside and out then a basket is the way to go.

Having built Commando's from both ratty "rolling basket case" and literally starting with a set of engine cases and a title, it's much faster to take inventory of what you need and need to re-condition from a roller. It's much more difficult to look at a half dozen boxes of parts and make a list of what is not there. Granted, if the engine and tranny is apart you can easily see what needs to be replaced, but typically if the engine and tranny is together, I count on replacing all the bearings and bushings as well as pistons and rebore and valves, springs, and guides anyway.

Cookie · Aug 5, 2009

I prefer to buy a bike that was not modified and all together if possible. As mentioned it is just so much easier to inventory and collect parts.
I recently bought a non running first year Goldwing and actually have semi assembled it in non running status. One of the reasons I bought it is that I know I had most of the correct items or missing items off the bike, original 75 valve covers for example. now I know I need seat brackets, I've gotten a seat and rear brake stop bolt.
I plan to work on it next winter and by then I should have all the original hard to find small stock items in stock before the tear down.

htown16 · Aug 5, 2009

I bought two basket cases, a 72 and a 74. Between them there is enough to piece together one complete bike, except for seat and front fender. There will be enough left over to put together a decent rolling project bike to sell. Thank goodness Norton parts interchange between years for the most part.

Bonwit · Aug 8, 2009

swooshdave said:
Pics of the pile of parts?

Anyone see anything really ugly I should know about?
I've since learned that the head-steady boss is okay, just the bolt was bent.

pelican · Aug 8, 2009

Are those the stock trees? Look way different than ones I've seen.

Cookie · Aug 8, 2009

If that was priced right I'd go for it. Looks to me that the hard to find stuff is there. I assume that is the glass tank I always had trouble with.

splatt · Aug 8, 2009

That bike looks like it has come to a sudden stop at some stage

Cookie · Aug 8, 2009

I think that is the set of trees that were around 70-71. If they are what I think they are I had a few sets over the years. We'll see what the others guys have to say, I haven't owned a set since the mid eighties.

Bonwit · Aug 8, 2009

Cookie said:
If that was priced right I'd go for it. Looks to me that the hard to find stuff is there. I assume that is the glass tank I always had trouble with.

Yes, tank is glass. The exterior looks pretty good. The interior is pretty ugly however. It will have to be coated anyway.

Bonwit · Aug 8, 2009

splatt said:
That bike looks like it has come to a sudden stop at some stage

Please explain? What specifically are you looking at?

Bonwit · Aug 8, 2009

Cookie said:
I think that is the set of trees that were around 70-71. If they are what I think they are I had a few sets over the years. We'll see what the others guys have to say, I haven't owned a set since the mid eighties.

How are these different? Would I necessarily want to replace them?

JimC · Aug 8, 2009

Please explain? What specifically are you looking at?

The frame backbone and kickbrace tube appear to be bent in a vertical plane. The backside of the righthand downtube appears to have a dent. Photos can be very deceiving. The large backbone did acquire a slight bend during fabrication. The smaller tube from the steering head to the bottom of the backbone should be straight, to the best of my knowledge. A straightedge will tell you what's happening.

splatt · Aug 8, 2009

JimC said:
The frame backbone and kickbrace tube appear to be bent in a vertical plane. The backside of the righthand downtube appears to have a dent. Photos can be very deceiving. The large backbone did acquire a slight bend during fabrication. The smaller tube from the steering head to the bottom of the backbone should be straight, to the best of my knowledge. A straightedge will tell you what's happening.

YES, I also thought the weld around the front down tube looked a bit shabby and the paints cracking off the coil mount ,like somthing has bent there,still I reckon you have the start of a good project

Bonwit · Aug 8, 2009

JimC said:
Please explain? What specifically are you looking at?

Click to expand...

The frame backbone and kickbrace tube appear to be bent in a vertical plane. The backside of the righthand downtube appears to have a dent. Photos can be very deceiving. The large backbone did acquire a slight bend during fabrication. The smaller tube from the steering head to the bottom of the backbone should be straight, to the best of my knowledge. A straightedge will tell you what's happening.

You might be right, but in person I thought everything appears pretty straight (at least to my eye, but I don't even know what a "kick brace" is) So, the smaller tube that runs below the backbone (the one the head-steady is connected to) is suppose to be straight? Well it sure isn't. As for the dents in the down-tubes (both are slightly dented), it does appear to be the result of a clamping force, perhaps a crash-bar install. the indention is only about 1/8".

If these are after market trees, perhaps that's how they came to be replaced.

Thanks

Basket Case. . . How bad is bad?

Cookie

bpatton

JimC

Cookie

bpatton

B+Bogus

Ron L

Cookie

htown16

Bonwit

pelican

Attachments

Cookie

splatt

Cookie

Bonwit

Bonwit

Bonwit

JimC

splatt

Bonwit

Similar threads