commando forks on a ranger

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mjneer

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Feb 5, 2021
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i have a 69 ranger frame and swing arm how much work is it to use a 72 commando fork and wheels on this frame
 
Steering head bearings might require some creative thinking if the fork stanchion tube diameters are different and you have to use the Commando yokes. If the fork stanchion tube diameters are the same, you might be able use the P11 yokes. You can also get aftermarket yokes for whatever diameter stanchion tubes you have. It is also possible that you could make a long bushing that would let you use the P11 ball bearing setup. The P11 has ball bearings and races in the steering head. Dinosaur scrambler and old bicycle technology. Commando has sealed steering head bearings. I don't know if sealed bearing setups are now available for the Matchless frame used on the P11. Races would have to be removed, and I don't know what else. The rear axle diameter and length differs I believe, and may require some attention to get the sprockets and chain to line up on the final drive. That said, I've never tried what you are thinking of doing, but I know it is not impossible.

Maybe you'll eventually get a useful reply from somebody that raced a P11 frame, and used Commando forks and wheels.
 
The Commando forks tubes have a tapered top while the Matchless does not, so it seem you would need to use Norton yokes. The N15 used Norton yokes on a Matchless frame with loose ball bearings, so perhaps the Norton yokes could be easily adapted.

Jerry Kaplan probably could shed some light on this as Mike Patrick's P11 used Norton forks..
 
Schwany said:
Steering head bearings might require some creative thinking if the fork stanchion tube diameters are different and you have to use the Commando yokes. If the fork stanchion tube diameters are the same, you might be able use the P11 yokes. You can also get aftermarket yokes for whatever diameter stanchion tubes you have. It is also possible that you could make a long bushing that would let you use the P11 ball bearing setup. The P11 has ball bearings and races in the steering head. Dinosaur scrambler and old bicycle technology. Commando has sealed steering head bearings. I don't know if sealed bearing setups are now available for the Matchless frame used on the P11. Races would have to be removed, and I don't know what else. The rear axle diameter and length differs I believe, and may require some attention to get the sprockets and chain to line up on the final drive. That said, I've never tried what you are thinking of doing, but I know it is not impossible.

Maybe you'll eventually get a useful reply from somebody that raced a P11 frame, and used Commando forks and wheels.
Click to expand...
i think your stuck with the ball bearings in the steering head i have aftermarket alloy yokes with a smaller stem
 
How much are you willing to spend? A machine shop could almost certainly make you a custom stem that would adapt a set of Commando yokes/triples to the P11 frame and bearings--I'm going to have to have one made up for my Ceriani yokes/triple clamps as they came without a stem. Thankfully, I have several good friends who are good machinists, which is partly why I bought a set of Ceriani yokes that were missing the stem...
 
There looks to be a 1967 N15CS Norton hybrid with Commando (?) forks on UK eBay
(I realise an N15 is not a P11 and has a totally different frame)
Is there a reason Matchless forks are not liked and need to be changed?
 
In my case my P11 was missing its Matchless front end and getting another one was proving to be difficult and/or expensive. So I went with something else. I'm not going to reveal here what I went with--not yet--wait until it is all put together in about a year-and-a-half or so. The great freedom of starting with nothing but a frame and a crankcase is that your options are pretty much wide open.
 
Staytite said:
There looks to be a 1967 N15CS Norton hybrid with Commando (?) forks on UK eBay
(I realise an N15 is not a P11 and has a totally different frame)
Is there a reason Matchless forks are not liked and need to be changed?
Click to expand...

Probably nothing wrong with the original Teledraulic forks for anyone riding a P11 on the street today. OEM is the right choice for a restoration resale project as well.

My P11 was a basket case with no suspension. When I got the P11, the aftermarket readily available bolt-on choices near me in the USA for forks with yokes and the correct stem were Ceriani and Betor. I went with Betor, because they were cheaper, and so was I.
 
Ron L said:
The Commando forks tubes have a tapered top while the Matchless does not, so it seem you would need to use Norton yokes. The N15 used Norton yokes on a Matchless frame with loose ball bearings, so perhaps the Norton yokes could be easily adapted.

Jerry Kaplan probably could shed some light on this as Mike Patrick's P11 used Norton forks..
Click to expand...
It's been quite awhile since I did this job on the Patrick racer but as I recall all that was needed was new ball bearings and a good adjustment. The Patrick racer front forks was entirely Atlas scrambler (long roadholders) front end. Matchless teledraulics use the smaller ball bearings. Also many a P11 front end was converted to Ceriani or Betor front forks.
 
jerrykap said:
It's been quite awhile since I did this job on the Patrick racer but as I recall all that was needed was new ball bearings and a good adjustment. The Patrick racer front forks was entirely Atlas scrambler (long roadholders) front end. Matchless teledraulics use the smaller ball bearings. Also many a P11 front end was converted to Ceriani or Betor front forks.
Click to expand...
did you use the atlas cups and bearings the bearings are not the same size
 

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