Commando motor in solid frame

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Danno said:
That looks quite stout. Do you have the entire kit and what would it need to make a complete machine?
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I have the complete chassis kit, including frame and swing arm, mounting plates, foot controls, rear caliper bracket, oil and gas tank, seat, North style fabricated fork yokes, and JPN style fairing. When I bought it, I also bought the twin Norvil disk setup, and a set of Konis to fit. I used the Norvil front bits on other bikes, and had the Konis on another bike for a while, but took them off and kept them when I sold it.

Ken
 
ashman said:
where ever I pull up on it I always get someone checking it out and asking question, or the old ex bike rider saying things like I use to own a old Dommie, or they hang around to watch me start it and because its loud I always give them a bit of a show while I take off, its such a great bike to ride and to the Norton owners who have never experanced in riding a hot Commando/Featherbed combo and you get the chance to ride or even build one then I say go for it it be one of the best things you will ever do with a motorcycle.

Ashley
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Last time I got ready to head back home there were a couple guys waiting at my bike to ask me what the hell it is. It happens so often that I scribbled the words "Norton 750 Atlas" on the tank (see photo)
Commando motor in solid frame


Yeah – this is what I’m talking about (Jagbruno's ride below):
Commando motor in solid frame
 
In my humble opinion, the featherbed commando is what the production commando should have been and probably would have been, but for the CB750 Honda. The problem was that a smooth multi cylinder bike which did not rattle or drop oil was a very attractive option for commuting to work and touring. Not many people wanted bikes that gave them the adrenalin rush. My Seeley is very smooth over 4000 RPM. I wish I'd built a featherbed commando when I had money - those two in the photos really do it for me.
 
someone said:
Citation and basis for numbers?

As I quoted much much earlier, the WW2 issue sidevalve BSA M20 and the Norton 16H, AS SUPPLIED FOR MILITARY USE, had 'about' 10hp, AND WERE QUOTED IN THE MILITARY SPECS as each good for just over 60 mph.
62 mph is the official number for the BSA, and 64 mph for the 16H.

FOR A MILITARY CONTRACT, THESE NUMBERS HAD TO BE CARVED IN STONE.
It might be long enough ago that it doesn't appear on the interweb however.
I have never seen published dyno charts for them either.
(somewhere the 16H became 12hp though, not entirely sure when)

They have long been quoted as the yardstick for 10-ish hp and 60 mph.
Plenty of other tiddlers fit into this pattern, when you pull up the specs for them.
As I said, I have a baby Villiers with 3hp, good for 45 mph. (it is small and lightweight).
All the 1940s and 1950s bigger sv and ohv singles had anywhere between 10 hp and 25 hp (unless they were a sports model), and the speeds filled the gap between 60 mph and 80 to 90 mph.

I used to have a big chart of these things, where I'd noted all the known specs of these bikes, but a few hard drive crashes has made them not so readily accessible (have them on diskette, somewhere).

If anyone can find an actual dyno chart for either the 16H or M20 then I'd be interested to see.
Both BSA and Nortons owned a dyno ( both Heenan & Froudes I believe) so would have been documented to the military. Be somewhere in the mountain of docs from WW2.
About 100,000 of each of these bikes were made, and sold off after for civvy use.
Plenty of confirmations of that ~60 mph top speed (the sidevalve owners lament !).
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What is the top speed of an Aermacchi 250cc single on the IOM ? - Where do we find the speed trap figures ?
 
Jagbruno said:
ashman said:
jseng1 said:
This is my personal favorite style of Norton. A super efficient Commando motor with the vibration reduced by 1/3, mounted in a solid frame and set up cafe style.

Commando motor in solid frame
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And this is what it is all about and how it changed so quickly.

Ashly
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I guess Jim Schmidt, Ashley and myself must have similar taste...this is my bike without fairing:

Commando motor in solid frame

Only a hand full of poeple have built up Commando/Featherbed combos and the ones that have done it only know how well they are, a lot of folks here have said how bad they would shake and vibrate that you won't be able to ride it, but doing a few things stops all that, with mine was as simple as getting the crank balanced, others have gone with Jim's inturnals, which I would love to put inside of my motor but it all cost money, so only the poeple who have built up this set up really knows how nice they are to rideand how much weight has been saved when converting, with a hot motor they are very powerfull to the weight, they handle extremely well and if set up right will do a lot of miles very comfortable, I have done a few 1k mile runs over the 35 years since building it, I run a innerstate seat on the Wideline and its so comfortable no problems riding all day.

Most poeple build up Tritons with Featherbed frames, don't know why, whenq I decided to convert my Commando to a Featherbed I decided to keep most of it Norton, but there are so many experts out there who have never built one, but of course they know all about how badly they vibrate, things fall off them, very uncomfortable for the rider to stay on because of the vibrations, well I can say in 35 years I have only lost one muffler mount bolt and a top gearbox nut (but that one was because I forgot to tighten it up) so for a bike that surpose to be so bad for vibrations thats a pretty good record, so only the poeple that have built one really understand how good they are and because they are a shorter bike and a lot lighter they pull such a good wheel stand, in my younger days and being such a well balanced bike doing wheel stands it use to stand straight up but would never go over the point of no return and with the quick shift gear change could keep the front wheel off the ground while changing up gear, such a fun bike to ride.

Ashley
 
Balancing the crank is the easy bit. All you have to do is tap a thread into the hole on the counterweight part of the flywheel and fill it with a steel plug.
 
ashman said:
Only a hand full of poeple have built up Commando/Featherbed combos
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Possibly more than you might think.

I was in the UK a good while back, and went to pick up an alloy tank for something.
Their workshop off to the side had a whole row of Commando-in-featherbeds in process, apparently they did them to order. They had the makings of at least a dozen the day I was there. I'd never heard their shops name, little more than a private cottage industry, didn't even have a name on the door.
 
jseng1 said:
ashman said:
where ever I pull up on it I always get someone checking it out and asking question, or the old ex bike rider saying things like I use to own a old Dommie, or they hang around to watch me start it and because its loud I always give them a bit of a show while I take off, its such a great bike to ride and to the Norton owners who have never experanced in riding a hot Commando/Featherbed combo and you get the chance to ride or even build one then I say go for it it be one of the best things you will ever do with a motorcycle.

Ashley
Click to expand...

Last time I got ready to head back home there were a couple guys waiting at my bike to ask me what the hell it is. It happens so often that I scribbled the words "Norton 750 Atlas" on the tank (see photo)
Commando motor in solid frame


Yeah – this is what I’m talking about (Jagbruno's ride below):
Commando motor in solid frame
Click to expand...

Well dear Jim,

The only thing that could really improve my ride at this stage would be your light pistons, longer conrods and lighter distribution, feel free to sponsor me!

8) :mrgreen:

Actually, one of the only Nortons I know which is stronger than mine on the road (I am not talking about full race bikes) is my friend Yves' Seeley with all your goodies inside and fed by a pair of FCR 35's...
 
Rohan, sorry to be blunt, but could you please possibly stop polluting these two threads with your endless repetitive armchair arguments?
Frankly at this stage we don't give a F***k anymore if you are right or wrong, we just want to exchange views on Commando engines in solid frames without having to navigate through pages of your boring prose.

On behalf of the vast majority from the Access Norton community, thank you in advance.
 
Please aim this also at all the other multiple cross posters...

And as mentioned earlier, Jim started this with a provocative title and post, so what did he expect ?
A technically challenged audience ?

P.S.
I notice the post I replied to has disappeared !
 
Feel free to delete my above irrelevant posts.

How is it that the post I replied to has gone ??
I don't seem to have that option.
 
looks to me that unless you step back, or take a break, you will be done.

you are plainly justifying, countering and arguing against anything that is coming your way & there is plenty, regardless of reasons

it is abundantly clear that there is a sharp focus on you right now & your continued responses will likely seal the deal

argue anything you like but best to keep that separate from threads that others start, as suggested many times already, there is nothing stopping you from starting your own threads

just a friendly suggestion & my fwiw observations

Rohan said:
Please aim this also at all the other multiple cross posters...

And as mentioned earlier, Jim started this with a provocative title and post, so what did he expect ?
A technically challenged audience ?

P.S.
I notice the post I replied to has disappeared !
Click to expand...
 
84ok said:
looks to me that unless you step back, or take a break, you will be done.

you are plainly justifying, countering and arguing against anything that is coming your way & there is plenty, regardless of reasons

it is abundantly clear that there is a sharp focus on you right now & your continued responses will likely seal the deal

argue anything you like but best to keep that separate from threads that others start, as suggested many times already, there is nothing stopping you from starting your own threads

just a friendly suggestion & my fwiw observations

Rohan said:
Please aim this also at all the other multiple cross posters...

And as mentioned earlier, Jim started this with a provocative title and post, so what did he expect ?
A technically challenged audience ?

P.S.
I notice the post I replied to has disappeared !
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I'd appreciate more of Rohans posts and less of your meddling. I would have erased my accidental post prior to this one but evidently that feature has went away?!
 
The link below shows probably one of the most successful 750 Commando/Featherbed/Rider combinations in the States (red frame with BRG tank color & dual disk). I could not find an easy way to post the photos direct.

The owner/rider is Bob Goodpaster of Hobart, Indiana. He's a second or third generation steelworker who now owns and operates Expert Motorcycle Works in Hobart, Indiana. He purchased the shop from his father who had started it sometime back in the 1950's. Pictures progress from sometime in the mid 80's through to recently where his son Wes now campaigns the bike. There is also a 650 Norton Feathered (silver tank) which has campaigned in the Classic 60's - 650 class

http://expertmotorcycleworks.com/team-expert/

What's notable about the successful bike is really nothing other than a McIntosh frame! It's a clean reliable build with a state of tune probably somewhere around a Combat. Commando cases, cast iron barrels, stock gearbox (although he upgraded to a Nourish shell and shaft five-speed about 10 years ago) and most of its life was with a stock crank; if I recall correctly Bob upgraded the crank to a Steve Maney several years back. The rear wheel is a QC spool hub and the front is a Triumph dual disk. Bob just rode the wheels off of that bike! Now his son Wes periodically campaigns it in Vintage Racing here in the states. I had the benefit and privilege of being part of "Team Expert" when I started road racing. Learned a lot then and continue to learn. As long as I can recall, Bob (and Wes) used AVON Super Venoms.
 
Snorton74 said:
I would have erased my accidental post prior to this one but evidently that feature has went away?!
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I've deleted it (but you could have edited it instead of posting a second time).
Other non-VIP members have deleted posts quite recently, so the option should still be there? :?
 
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