Build Sequence question

All,

As some of you know I have been working on building a Commando. Up to now I have taken one apart, painted and prepped and done some dry fitting.

I'm about to begin the final build and was wondering if anyone could point me to a thread dealing with the sequence of the build.

I think I should start with the front yokes and forks and then attach the swing arm and engine cradle.

Any suggestions?

If it's original, start with the horn, it's a barsteward to fit later. Forks first sounds good approach.

Yep lore has it that Norton factory had posts the horn was hung on then rest of bike assembled around it. To put on horn on fully assembled Commando implies blood sweat and swearing. 1st the Forks and rear suspension, then cradle with or w/o bottom of engine installed, then tranny [if not not a Combat with interfering oil baffle then must put tranny in first] then put on rest of engine then wiring then hoses and carbs, igntion coils and cables. I like to put bottom in cradle to use cradle as handle then just slip in the two iso bolts. Then start up oil change and retorque after re-torque or suffer oil weeps that later re-torque may not do it.

The forks and front wheel offers a goodmstable platform to start hanging other parts onto. The frame bottom rails, side stand lug and gearbox cradle stick out at uneven awkward angles and don't offer a very stable platform if you use a crate or a stand with a fairly small support area.

You will find it easier to fit the gearbox in the cradle before you put the engine in, there is a clearance issue if you try to fit the G/box afterwards and would have to move the engine forward from the rear mounts on the cradle.

I would not put the suspension components and wheels on first. I started with the bare frame strapped on a bike lift. Installed the rear cradle and yes the horn. Then completed bottom end into the cradle, leave the front iso through bolt and the rear upper motor mount out so the bottom end is tilted forward. I put the pistons with rings in the barrels on the bench and then lower that over the rods and install pins and clips and titen the base nuts. Now shove the pushrods up into the head as far as they will go and wedge in place with some rags. Drop the head on freeing the rags at the same time. By leaving the engine tilted forward the gearbox should slide in with out a problem. Now install the rest of the motor mount bolts and the front iso through bolt and torque everything up. Work the push rods under the rockers. A hook shaped pick is great for this and torque the head down. Sit back and enjoy the fact that a pile of parts now looks like a motorcycle.
Now you can add the suspension bits and wheels.

Thanks all

Based upon the feedback so far I think I'll start with the yokes/forks and then work on the rear end. (Swing-arm, suspension) Attach the wheels and work my way forward.

Pics later this week.

Xmartin,

You wont achieve any stability if you try to put the rear suspension and wheels in place without securing the cradle at the engine mounts. There is a special bracket that you can make or buy to achieve this, but it is just as easy to put the gearbox and bottom end in place to give the same stability.

I put the engine and gearbox/cradle in first. But I have rafters overhead and a sling to lift the bike. This is something to consider. If you do wheels first then you wont have to raise the bike, but then you will have to be able to get the engine to the frame. Think about how you are going to accomplish these tasks. For me it was easier to just set the motor inside the frame, push it around while I got the gearbox and cradle in place and then plan to lift it afterward.

Another task you are going to wish you had given some thought too is checking your rear wheel to see if it is in line with the backbone. (everybody does this right?) If you get the fender on ahead of the rear wheel assembly it will be a lot harder to see this alignment. I wanted to be able to see this and the front wheel, so that was the next in order before I got other stuff in the way.

Russ

Other than the horn, which is a stupid place for a horn, I think any thing goes. Of course you can't put the front wheel on before the forks and the forks before the triple tree. Just common sense./0 m\

I see these bikes as an assembliy of sub-assemblies and regard them this way for maintanence purposes for future.

No matter how you do it, you will most likely do everything 3 times before you're done.

I put the engine in the frame pieces at a time because I didn't want to lift the whole engine in at once. You can actually build the thing on it's side and lift it up later too. Biggest thing like others have said is to get the gearbox in the cradle and then the engine to stabilize the frame, but the cradle can be modified if you like. You can also build a faux engine out of pieces of wood or metal to stabilize things.

Dave
69S