Dual disc brakes on commando

I have found many threads regarding dual disk brakes on commandos and there a many ways to attain this set-up.
One of the things i always wanted to keep stock though was the Lockheed calipers( I like the way they look)...and so far it seemed it was a impossible to run two stock calipers on the commando front. Easy enough to find suitable rotors and adapters for brembo calipers and such...even the Norvil set-up is awsome looking but way outta my price range.
Then today, browsing pictures of Nortons ( as opposed to ...uh, nevermind) I found this lovely Interstate. It has dual disk front end, nice looking rotors....and low and behold TWO stock calipers. Does anybody know the owner of this Norton...or the story of that front end? Even that reduced front fender looks fantastic.

Here is the link, It would let me imbed the pic

http://www.inoanorton.com/Album/list.cg ... 15381.html

Wow! I wonder how he got that mirror image left side caliper???

Probably welded it up. Carefully.

Norvil have them but for front caliper mounting, not as nice.

www.norman white. They have what you need. Cj

cjandme said:

http://www.norman white. They have what you need. Cj

Click to expand...

I don't think that's the stock caliper. But the fork leg might work.



http://www.normanwhite.co.uk/prod01.htm

Wow that is a well done bike. I too like the dual lockeed caliper look and wonder how well it would work given the stock MC is geared for it. Still I think if I was to spring for that kind of a set up I think I would go for the multi pot Brembo's.

I spotted this bike at the Begonia Rally in Belgium last August & spoke to the owner Neil at length about the numerous tasteful modifications he has made.

From memory, he has used two caliper side sliders & a Yamaha hub.

There are lots oif nice details on this bike. The Z plates have been cut & re-welded to re-locate the rear footrests (i think) along with any number of other bits & pieces.

Best of all, he is such a nice laid back, modest guy, having done all the work himself.

He gave me his E mail address, I may still have it somewhere.

Bob.

Bob
Hi Greetings from Sydney Australia.
I used to run a twin disc Yamaha front wheel in Norton forks .
When it was first set up (20 years ago) I used 2 disc side fork legs with one caliper facing fwd and the other facing back.But never liked it much and as dislike the std caliper (makes nice paper weight though) ,plus it did not stop well with the std early Yamaha Stainless discs.In the wet it was almost change the underpants stuff.
Then I made adaptor plates for 08 Brembo calipers and mounted them,that was much better stopping wise but they used to squeal at low speed,that drove me mad.
The next step was having a pair of custom made twin disc cast iron rotors made to suit a another pair Yamaha disc carriers.That was great,no squealing, stopped well,braking problems solved.
But all this time I was trying solve the typical Roadholder damping problems,such as topping out.I tried all sort of cures,including the Covenant kit.But could never fix it.I think it was extra weight of the front wwheel /twin discs did not help things. This was pre internet forums,Landsdowne damper kits etc so there was not much help out there.
It was OK on compession but no good on rebound.But I rode it and knew its set backs.

Then one day I was offered a pair of 38mm Marzocchi Ducati fork legs in poor condition for free on their way to the tip (I kid not),so grabbed them, rebuilt them and slowly found the rest of the parts to fit the front end to the bike,This was also a good idea as it matched the Ducati rear wheel already in it.
Once set up it was a revelation,a nice front end at last,but not perfect ,but I am getting there with few more tweeks to go.

I still have some of the parts left over from the Yamaha twin disc conversion such as the cast iron discs and Brembo adaptor plates and I think the machined Norton axle/spacer, if you are interested going down that path.
Brett

Brett

I, personally, am not in the slightest bit keen on fitting twin discs on my Commando, I am happy with the stock TLS. You know what it does & ride accordingly.

However, I do like to see other peoples modifications if they are done nicely,as on the bike pictured in this thread. There are so many mods that other people do that I class as horible, unnecessary or just nasty (or all three!)

Regards


Bob.

My view. Too heavy, gyro effect, don't bother.

I've had a few bikes with twin front disks.
What is this 'gyro effect' ??

Nortons have one of the slowest steering geometries around, but that is steering head angle related, not how good your brakes are .... ?

Rohan said:

I've had a few bikes with twin front disks.
What is this 'gyro effect' ??

Nortons have one of the slowest steering geometries around, but that is steering head angle related, not how good your brakes are .... ?

Click to expand...

Added weight to the front wheel adds to the gyroscopic effect, although folks may be not be taking into account that twin disk brakes may actually weigh less that the heavy Norton disk.

The gryo effect is the resistance to change lean or angle and not that much with the brake mass added near center of spin, the main dual issue is more spun inertia to slow down wheel before it can the bike on road and more unsprung mass where it matters most in a cycle forks.

Thankyou for the info. I am going to follow up with that individual regarding dual disc with stock calipers. i want it to look like its from the factory.
I thought that wheel looked familiar...he said it was from a Yamaha...specifically a xs650 or xs mdel...Ive had them all.

Anyway, an advantage to dual disc..not so much increased brake power...but constant brake power regarless of loads. another words. here in San fran we have alot of hills and curves. a single disc will work fine...but lets say I put a 250 pound chick on the back (andI have) or lets say I have heavy bags on bike and I do alot of downhill braking or braking on curves. The dual disc set-up allows longer braking power and the same rate as a single........does that make sense? im not sure if I explained that clearly. But with me being 220 pounds and living where I live....all my bikes are dual disc..or I convert them to dual disc...I just finished converting my BMW R75/5 drum to a R75/7 dual front disc...and still managed to keeping it looking vintage.

anyway...I like the look of dual front discs.......or TLS front drum, but those are to expensive for me.

Unless someone has gone to the trouble of casting a mirror-image caliper, you could cut the lugs off the stock item and have them tig-welded to the other side of the piece. Not sure if the stock fork lower would work, but the same thing could be done to that, also.You'd have to go out-of-bounds (non Norton) for a dual disc hub and using thinner, lighter aftermarket rotors would be nearly mandatory to keep the weight under control.

If Alan Milyard can saw crankcases apart and weld them back together to build his V-8s, V-12s and other outlandish creations, a brake caliper and fork leg should be cake.

I would not weld the slider unless you know the post-welding heat treatment needed to bring it back up to strength as well as the correct welding rod to prevent dilution of elements in the weld. If the slider fails when you are braking, you might land on your head. If somebody such as Mick Hemmings or Nourish was prepared to manufacture the left hand slider and calliper, there might be money in it for him.

it would also require a change of hub and brake rotors.

Madass140
Haven't I seen you advertise callipers for dual disc front ends ? I use a Suzuki GS1000 front hub in my Seeley with two hi-speed steel Suzuki discs with two AP Lockheed callipers with asbestos pads. I found that one Lockheed calliper with asbestos pads on a chromium plated disc were not enough brakes for racing. My bike went into the death dive, so I climbed off the side of it. keeping it upright - right to the edge of the bitumen at a fair bit of speed. That's when I converted it to dual disc. It is not so bad on public roads, but even there events can sometimes become extreme. I gave up riding in traffic at age 29 and went racing - MUCH SAFER !

my post
"it would also require a change of hub and brake rotors."
was meant for the other similar thread , asking about using the Norton calipers dual disc style.
Yes Al, I do a twin disc kit but it doesnt use the Norton calipers, , A bit overkill but believe me there is a market there.