Commando in allroad trim

I am getting tired of the ever increasing number of speed bumps here.
And jealous of the beemer GS'es, suzy DL's etc that go over them without the slightest closing of throttle.
Been thinking of swapping suspension on my Mk3 to something with say a modest but real 160 to 180 mm travel at the front.
It's not meant for stony tracks or deserts, so no extreme dirt bike fork travels, but if it can handle dirt and gravel roads 2 up comfortably, that would be an extra benefit.
Been thinking about a fork like in a Suzuki DL650/DL1000 or a Varadero.
Anyone done something like this before?

Ducati have done something like this before.

Saw a doco a while ago that detailed their then new "Multistrada" model.
It has those electrically adjustable ohlins suspension units front and rear, that at the flick of a handlebar switch can be switched between sport, touring, town and offroad mode. It also interects with the engine management system, so the power output and engine response match those settings -you don't want full power and ultra sharp response in off-road mode !

Mr Garners Norton Co were using those same ohlins suspension units on the IoM race bike just recently.
It was suggested as an excuse to get familiar with their operation and setup.
So watch for a 961 with that type suspension 'sometime rooool soon' now... ?
Expensive bits though...

Probably not the answer you wanted.
Teaching an old dog like a Commando some serious new tricks is an exercise in throwing $$$ at it ???

Like you say, don't want to overspend on an old dog (allthough personally I find Ohlins on the 961 an overspend as well, but that is another matter)

So far I consider the front end of a DL1000, the wheel has a 19"rim (albeit not wire spoked, pity), stanchions 43 mm, fork travel 150mm, can be extended to 180mm, 2 brake discs.
The DL has a rake of 26 degrees, and a trail of 109 mm. Yokes seem parallel.
Offset I calculated (scratching one's head with good old trigonometry) to be 44mm with a 19"tyre (650mm), couldn't find a figure for this on the net.

The Norton Mk3 frame has a rake of 28 degrees.
I measured the yokes, offset at the top of the top yoke 73.7 mm, bores for stanchions are at a 1.5 degrees angle to the yoke stem.
Forklength (between top of yoke and wheel center) is 738mm.
With this, I calculated the trail to be 111mm, with a 19" tyre.

The DL forks and yokes fitted in the Norton will increase trail to 123mm. I guess a bit too much.
For 111mm, the offset needs to be 54mm. Would mean special yokes.

Another issue is that the DL stanchions might intervene with the interstate tank, so will have to move the tank further back, and/or limit turning circle.

Trouble is, of all used parts, front ends (obviously) are the hardest to find...

Interested to see what you come up with.

Don't forget that the back has to follow where the front goes !
If the front floats over the bumps, its no good if the back then kicks you skyward.
Someone did mention somewhere that Ohlins twin shocks are available for Commandos ? For $$$...

Perhaps what is REALLY needed here is P11 forks. ?

And maybe with the bike behind it too...

Can you get the 'featherlastic' stuff into a P11 frame ?
Is it needed ??

I may have done something like that. They are KYB's with racetech cartridges. Just the ticket for the the roads nowdays. Jim

What are the shocks on the back to match ?

2-1 pipes, or 2-into-2 ?

The rear shocks are Works Performance 5 way adjustable.

They are way too pricey for a streetbike but they were off being rebuilt when I lost my racebike in my shop fire. So now they are overkill streetbike shocks.

The exhaust is 2-1-2. Built to Blair's formula. Jim

Saw a Commando with a Twin Disc Triumph ( T150 ? ) front end on it years back .
Asked him why . He just stood there with a silly grin on his face .

Half of its the posture , gear & throttle position .

You practise landing of them , then get the rest dialed in .
Seriously , the ' attack aproach is half of it , But single damped ( std . )
rear shocks arnt the best answer as will bottom on sudden bumps under load .

One of these fancey front damper kits should sort out the front end ? ?
The original Gas Girlings were two way damped, stopped the RRs sagging ,
and gave smooth ride on 110 Lb springs .

I like the pipes (and the forks)! Sadly the Mexican speed bumps would destroy the pipes at the first crossing... Didn't realize that roads in the Netherlands have the same "features."

I have posted/asked about this same issue on other threads and it seems to me that the major issue is at the rear and the limited travel. If you install springs with the proper sag/action for your weight, you loose ground clearance and "SCRAPE!" If you have springs that prevent that - they jolt your teeth out on a regular basis. Longer travel all the way around would be the ticket but then the bike would look like a weird combination of old britt-bike and modern dual sport.

Although I'm continuing to look at possibilities, I'm beginning to believe that there isn't much you can do with the Norton's rear to "fix" the problem. It seems to me that you can either set it up for the rear suspension to work "correctly," and ground on the speed bumps or you can have stiff springs that will prevent that but don't allow the suspension to work as it should for normal roads/bumps.

I like the way my modified Peel Combat tackles rough stuff but I stick to pretty decent surfaces on my factory Trixie Combat. Staying on power to lighten front helps cross the speed bump hazards like rocks and roots and ruts and limbs and animals smaller than axle height, like Armadillos. Greg Fault's kit allows 2" more fork travel with easy to replace valve spring spacer you can change to a rate you like plus get full indefinite silent soft complete hydrualic stops/rebound, ahhh.. I'm putting in ~2" longer, 15" eye/eye shocks on rear mainly d/t hi centering hang ups for the really wild runs. You can pretty easy make the fork mods yourself with longer 10mm alloy rod and standard mod to fit the bottom stop then, just drop in spring spacer on factory spring or slice dice factory spring up and put in sections that give the easy compliance for most road texture but stiffens up dramatically on last inch or two. Seriously me and Greg and others fitting it make a hobby of aiming at the biggest bumps for the uncanny ease w/o upset or jarring. May have to replace the damper cap with tighter fit upgrade supplied by a few on this forum so dampening rate is rather higher than factory and then can sand off a bit in the rod sag region to take up the little nuisance road texture.