Commando engine into Dommi ?

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acotrel said:
Chris, the main problem with any race bike is finding a race class which suits it.
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I do wish you’d stop saying that Al, because it’s a nonesense.

Part of racing IS building a competitive machine. No one in their right mind just builds a ‘random’ nice bike and then looks for a race class which might suit it.

You look at the race classes first, decide which one you want to play in, understand the rules, THEN build the bike.
 
ashman said:
I am sure Jim would wear the right gear when out and about, who would get all in there riding gear to take a shot of his bike.

Ashley
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I have no doubt he does wear the right gear. I was just joking about it and am afraid it got lost in the American to Ozzie translation.
 
The way I have built my Featherbed if I need to do any major work on the motor I just undo the engine mount bolts where it bolts to the frame 4 bolts down the bottom and 6 bolts on the head stay, remove the carbies and lift the whole motor, gearbox, primary case and all engine mounts out together can do this in less than a 1/2 hour taking my time, also with putting it back in, the motor and everything else drops right in position for the bolts to go straight in, its well set up for this, its heavy but can do all this by myself and lift on to my work bench.
Its a great bike to work on everything is so simple and easy a Commando is not so simple, I was a young lad when I built this bike with no experience in building bikes with no such thing as the internet to help and when I first rode it I was amazed in how it turned out for a first attemp at building a bike that is still going strong after 38 years its been together in the Featherbed, I got it right the first time, not bad with no experience, but its had a few modern upgardes in the last 8 years and a few improvements in its looks when I had spare cash to spend on it, when I first built it everthing was on a shoe string budget inbetween jobs, took about 2 years to build.
Its starting to show its age in the paint work has scratches, dents and flaking paint on the tank and the frame paint is flaking here there and every where but in my eyes its looks great and it draws a crowd where ever I pull up anywhere, lots of comments about no oil leaks and are surprised when it fires up first kick every time.
I have no plans in repainting it, I like it the way it is, rust colour bolt heads all over it, but its so reliable and has never let me down, except for a broken chain, I was 24 when I built it and now just turned 60, I have been offered a lot of money for it but it will be left to my youngest daughter when my time is up, I have had so much fun on this bike and no amount of money would take that away from me.

Ashley
 
oldbeezer said:
I have no doubt he does wear the right gear. I was just joking about it and am afraid it got lost in the American to Ozzie translation.
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All good with me, not sure about the squid thing and we call flip flops thongs over here not a g string lol, which reminds me I had a blow out with one of my thongs the other day and have to get some new ones, only done a few 1,000 miles on them.

Ashley
 
Fast Eddie said:
I do wish you’d stop saying that Al, because it’s a nonesense.

Part of racing IS building a competitive machine. No one in their right mind just builds a ‘random’ nice bike and then looks for a race class which might suit it.

You look at the race classes first, decide which one you want to play in, understand the rules, THEN build the bike.
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Eddie, when I race a two stroke, I want it to be in a class with other two-strokes. When I race a four cylinder four stroke, I want it to be in a class with other similar bikes. My Seeley Norton is very similar to something which actually existed back in the era. If I race it in Period 4 Historics, it runs alongside bikes the like of which NEVER existed. The argument is they 'COULD have existed'. My bike has a twin cylinder four-stroke air-cooled motor. Sensibly it should be raced against Triumph, Ducati, Guzzi, BMW and Japanese bikes which have twin cylinder four-stroke air-cooled motors. The rest of the rules are simply bullshit. Our guys worry too much.
If you looked at our Australian historic racing rules and decided to build a bike, what you would build would be very strange. It is like trying to design your life by looking at the laws of the land. When I built my bike, I built it to be authentic for the era. And that was not by intent, what it is - is what it had to be to be competitive.
 
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I recently sold a very good Yamaha TZ350G, which I could have run in historic races. If I had done that, it would have been on the grid with four cylinder superbikes. It makes no sense to use a TZ350 in that way. It would have been better to buy an M20 BSA and ride it around a paddock with the kids.
 
Riding around the paddock with the kids is a lot of fun and you can do it any time without huge cost to you or worring about rules and you can do it on any old bike, kids,bikes and a big paddock was how we all learned to ride the same with my youngest daughter.

Ashley
 
Over here we call them wankers, or di.kheads, we also have other names but I be in trouble for sure if I put it on the forum lol.

Ashley
 
Bill Ivy was killed while riding a race bike through the pits at not much more than walking pace, it seized and chucked him. His helmet was not done up and it came off his head.
 
84ok - I used the original engine plates that came with the Domni. You get a little more down carb draft with a vertical motor.
 
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Acotrel

Once again you have written about someones death.
Bill Ivys bike seized at Sachsenring during practise. One report says he was touring back with his helmet on the tank, one says he was fiddling with the strap. Neither is confirmed. When the bike seized Bill suffered severe head injuries but it should be noted that he also suffered life threatening chest injuries.

Very different to "falling off in the paddock"

Chris
 
acotrel said:
Bill Ivy was killed while riding a race bike through the pits at not much more than walking pace, it seized and chucked him. His helmet was not done up and it came off his head.
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I can't work out what this has anything to do about a Commando motor in a Dommie frame ???

Ashley
 
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Here's a very interesting Featherbed. The sign said it won at Daytona many years ago. Apparently when disc brakes were first coming out. You can barely see the dual discs on the front. I saw it at a bike show but can't remember other details.

Commando engine into Dommi ?
 
jseng1 said:
Here's a very interesting Featherbed. The sign said it won at Daytona many years ago. Apparently when disc brakes were first coming out. You can barely see the dual discs on the front. I saw it at a bike show but can't remember other details.

Commando engine into Dommi ?
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I got an adrenalin rush, just by looking at this photo. Unless you have ridden something like this, you cannot imagine what they are like. Good to see that the pipe goes under. I tore my hair out fitting a 2 into 1 onto my Triton. Missing both the front frame tubes and the wheel, is always a problem. This is the first time I have seen it done this way. Most featherbed twins don't have 2 into 1 exhaust systems. I would not like to ride that bike, if it had separate pipes with megaphones.
 
acotrel said:
I got an adrenalin rush, just by looking at this photo. Unless you have ridden something like this, you cannot imagine what they are like. Good to see that the pipe goes under. I tore my hair out fitting a 2 into 1 onto my Triton. Missing both the front frame tubes and the wheel, is always a problem. This is the first time I have seen it done this way. Most featherbed twins don't have 2 into 1 exhaust systems. I would not like to ride that bike, if it had separate pipes with megaphones.
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And why not Al, nothing better than the sound of twin open pipes on a Norton, when I built my Featherbed I got my pipes made up so they are tucked right into the frame and sit as close to the motor, in 38 years I have never scraped them and I do push my Norton hard in the corners, my foot pegs sit high as well for that same reason, my old neighbour cross the road had a 2 in one exhaust on his Norton with a megaphone and it just didn't have that sound a good twin pipes make, it sounded tinny to me and when we rode together I use to blow him off every time.

Ashley
 
Levers are easy broken when racing just ask Al he seems to come off a lot lol, sorry Al can't help myself, anyway who needs brakes, they don't have them on speedway bikes or on the old board track racers, just hold them flat out and go.

Ashley
 
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