Burnt out Commando - is it toast?

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GraemeH

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I have been offered a fire-damaged Commando. Will the heat have ruined the frame and steel internals like the crankshaft, gears etc? Obviously alloy parts have melted but just wondering if anything could be salvageable after so much heat.

Thanks for any advice..

Burnt out Commando - is it toast?


Burnt out Commando - is it toast?


Burnt out Commando - is it toast?


Burnt out Commando - is it toast?


Burnt out Commando - is it toast?
 
Wouldn't be able to comment on what is salvageable... but out of curiosity, how much has it been offered to you? for free I hope!
 
The frame is low carbon mild steel with no fancy heat treatment, so as long as its not warped then it will be ok.
 
Well it certainly has fancy heat treatment now. Will have to go and inspect it but it looks too far gone and there are no pictures of the gearbox or wheels etc. I'll check it out next time I'm near to him. He wants €1600. I do want another project for this winter but I know the cost of restoring is huge as I'm only half way through my current project and well over budget. But it's keeping me well entertained and I'm not bored...

Will the heat treatment have made things brittle? That could be an issue I guess.
 
GraemeH said:
Will the heat treatment have made things brittle?
Click to expand...
To heat treat steel it has to be an alloyed version so it will harden. The frame is low carbon mild steel as will all of the brackets etc, there are no alloys to promote hardening and the carbon content is low too which is another hardening agent.

What Happens When Steel is Exposed to Fire? ​

Structural Steel can regain close to 100 percent of its pre‐heated properties if the temperature does not exceed 720°C (1330°F). Structural steel typically consists of hot-rolled, low carbon steel of varying strength.
Click to expand...

Many of the steel engine and gearbox parts will be alloyed and hardened, they will have been annealed by the heat rather than hardened. Annealed will have left them soft and so useless.

Free is about all its worth.
 
Its worth nothing and expecting to make money out of it, come in sucker, not worth much at all just the price for scrap and the unknown what the undamaged bits are like, 1600 no way he needs to count his lost instead of trying to rip someone off.
 
Run don't walk away from this pile. At least 12k to restore it and then the risk of compromised main parts.
 
That's a black hole that will suck your budget dry.
You could buy a solid regular runner for the cost of trying to restore that dumpster fire.
Run.
 
Even in NZ where we pay more for Commandos than most countries that is going to be worth basically nothing. Very careful inspection might identify $100 or $200 worth of parts. Are the wheels any good?
 
Last edited:
There's salvageable parts in it
But as a whole I wouldn't bother
It's not of any historical significance
 
L.A.B. said:
Do they have titles in Austria?
We don't have them in the UK.
Click to expand...
He means ownership title to the bike. Our version is the V5C
about the only thing worth anything on this wreck and that is debatable now in the UK with the DVLA tightening up on bikes built out of spares like this one would have to be.
 

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