Dave Taylor Head Steady Question

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ludwig said:
btw , I 'll take te oportunity to ask a question I asked several times before , but never got an answer :
If you check the wheel line out on a Commando , using a string , ruler , laser pen .. and you find that the wheels are not in line ( not the offset , but pointing in different directions ) ,
What will you do to correct this ?
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Ludwig,
You're such a curmudgeon. But as usual, you're right. The thing is this. My bike's been on a frame table; bare frame, cases, cradle, swingarm, rear wheel without tire. The headstock mounts to a fixture on the table. Everything checked out exactly right. It also has a rodend linkage under the swingarm and a Norvil headseady. It was still squirrely when hardpressed. The problem is in the frame. It aint stiff enough. It's why Heinz hates'em so much, and why he thinks they were a giant step backward from the Featherbed. What people are trying to do with heasteadies and vernier adjustable iso's is to make marginal improvements with things they can do something about. And depending on what they are starting out with, the improvement can be substantial. Commandos can do one thing though that no Featherbed can, and that is take you across the country without beating the living crap out of you. For the Obsessive/Compulsive:
http://www.computrackboston.com/
P.S. I just realized I didn't answer your question. I put Mick Hemmings, (Brian Tyree), adjusters on both sides and with the adjustable rodend and the Norvil Headsteady got it to the right alignment. Then I reinforced the frame after that..
 
To do the job 100% correctly yes the bike should be dissasembled completely and rebuilt with the alignments within 1mm etc etc. However if the bike is in good cosmetic condition then fitting an alternative headsteady (Taylor or Ludwig's or others) is a quick and easy way to improve the bike. If you only have one bike, or have a job with little free time then the quick and dirty way has no crititism from me. I use a fluoresent tube to align my rear wheel to the front, also have fitted seealed bearing plus new tyre and got a hands off straight running 850 MK2a, no need to strip and check anything in my mind. I also have a Combat in bits that someday will be restored, it will get the 100% 1mm treatment, full adjustable ISO's and a variation of the Ludwig headsteady, but the MK2a will stay as it is until the Combat is running on the road and it can be safely retired for its rebuild.

Got to have one running Norton or life is not worth living :D

Which I am sure we can all agree :mrgreen:
 
ludwig said:
I do not like the ones with a clamp around the tube , but the one from Comnoz , using the existing fixing point is exellent .
Click to expand...

I too find the "clamp around the tube" a less-than-ideal solution. Too much of an opportunity to slip and change position. So back before the Euro-bickering :mrgreen: the answer to the original post is that there is a chance the DT headsteady has shifted on the main tube, no?
 
Mine fits tightly but if it is loose there is always the beer can shim approach and it will be fine.
 
I must have one of the thinner Italian frames because I had to use a shim to get the DTHS tight.

I think I answered my own question today.

Bike on side stand, ball joint moves very easily.
Bike straightened up off side stand, ball joint become harder to turn.
Loosened frame clamp and rotated it very slightly so ball joint moves easily when bike upright and loaded,
and stiffens up while unweighted and back on side stand.

Mission accomplished, this time for real!
 
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