Combat sidecar for $

Cowboy Don said:

Second, and on a more serious note, the owners manual clearly states that the Commando frame is NOT designed to pull a sidecar.

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pecial springs and forks
Commando
http://www.nortonownersclub.org/support ... bed-models
All Commando instruction books, as far as I am aware, stress in early pages that the machine is not suitable for sidecar work. This is partly down to the weak front down tubes which are intended merely as a kind of 'sling' to carry the engine, the main frame strength being embodied in the large diameter top tube. In addition to this, the 'Isolastic mounts' are not designed to accept the very heavy side loads which sidecar work would put on them. In solo form, side loading is relatively light - maybe almost nil - the main load being always perpendicularly in line with the centre of the top tube. When an outfit with a left hand chair turns to the left, a very considerable twisting load is put on the rear fork through the wheel spindle and a near similar opposite load is imposed when it turns to the right. I say 'near similar' because of weight transference on to the sidecar wheel in a right hand turn.

However, I must add that much to our astonishment when we were at Andover, we heard that T.C. Munday's, the sidecar people of South London, had already fitted some 10 to 12 sidecars to these machines, but we never saw one and I have never seen one since. Munday's certainly never consulted the factory or they would have been told quite firmly not to do it.

I would just make a final point - the Commando is strictly in two parts - what may be described as a power wheel which consists of engine, rear engine plates, gearbox and rear fork and wheel as one unit with no rubber interposed between any of these parts which we will call one. Then part two consists of forks, steering head and frame carrying seat, tank and rear guard which are put over the power wheel almost like putting a saddle on a horse!! and fixing the two together with just the two long bolts passing transversely through the front and rear 'Isolastic mounts' which are already on the power wheel. The only other fixing point is the cylinder head steady which in fact ties the top of the engine to the top frame tube to resist any twist between front and rear wheels as already described. In solo form, any such twist must be minimal compared with what it would be with a 'chair'.

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