early Commando transmission

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
15
I bought the first Commando I ever saw new. I think 68 remember I traded a MK4 BSA in on it. The thing I am remembering is I shelled the teeth off the transmission 4 that is FOUR times while the bike was in warrenty finally as the mech at the dealer and I were getting ready to require a new transmission or a zipper for the one in the bike the factory sent new shafts for everthing in the transmission the explanation was that faulty material hardness in the shafts was letting the gears bend out of full engagement which took off the teeth all I know is one time my hand slipped off the clutch with the engine idling and it broke the case that time. I am not sure that the problem was fixed as that was the time the 750 Honda came out and I traded again. Anybody else hear of this "problem"?
 
stang484 said:
I bought the first Commando I ever saw new. I think 68 remember I traded a MK4 BSA in on it. The thing I am remembering is I shelled the teeth off the transmission 4 that is FOUR times while the bike was in warrenty finally as the mech at the dealer and I were getting ready to require a new transmission or a zipper for the one in the bike the factory sent new shafts for everthing in the transmission the explanation was that faulty material hardness in the shafts was letting the gears bend out of full engagement which took off the teeth all I know is one time my hand slipped off the clutch with the engine idling and it broke the case that time. I am not sure that the problem was fixed as that was the time the 750 Honda came out and I traded again. Anybody else hear of this "problem"?

Nope. Let me guess, you were about 18 and thought wheelies were cool? :wink:
 
Ignore swooh's attitude, good guy with Norton in his soul now but his own antics on video and traffic nullify his poking at anyone else to take to serious.

Me now was a stupid teen that learned to dump clutch and run through gears and not go nowhere outside the smoke cloud. Its on my permanent grin record til I'm gone.

I'd suspect bent soft shafts from an over tightened primary chain event that cracked shell so fatigue cracks caught ya out on clutch slip. Yours is first report I've heard of w/o a race or drag event involved. Cdo AMC shells are getting rare and in $500 zone, Atlas ones essentially identical plentiful and half as much.
 
hobot said:
Ignore swooh's attitude, good guy with Norton in his soul now but his own antics on video and traffic nullify his poking at anyone else to take to serious.

A ringing endorsement coming from you, Steve. :mrgreen:
 
I went through 7 Gearbox rebuilds in 9 years (1973 850) and yes I was 18 when I bought it and fond of "riding it like I stole it" (my best trick was when the I twisted the Mainshaft in half, I still have the 2 pieces somewhere). It was YEARS before I determined that I had "Pulled the box out of square" and putting fresh internals in a bad box was like "Pissing in the wind".

And yes, the "Mainshaft Episode" did involve the front wheel being off the ground!

Vince
 
When I was 18 it was 1961 and I did not know anyone who could afford a new 750 bike I will admit that I thought I could ride the Commando like I had been riding my BSA and really only bought it because it was faster than a Sportster.
 
AMC boxes had the tooth form thickened up at some point - was that for the Commando or earlier. ?

850 boxes had some less than straight mainshafts at some point, early ones, bulletin described how to identify them ?

The trouble with not making everything yourself, and outsourcing and contracting everything out is that some tiny or minor or unknown differences can make a big difference later on ??
 
The pre-'71 models had no cush drive mechanism, so any shock was delivered directly through the driveline. This could contribute to more frequent failure than in later models.
 
I never had any problem with my non-cush drive, but then, I've always been a pretty conservative driver. Not to thrash it. I never did like tearing up equipment, I couldn't afford it.

Dave
69S
 
stang484 said:
I..... I am not sure that the problem was fixed as that was the time the 750 Honda came out and I traded again. Anybody else hear of this "problem"?

yes but most of those ended up getting rid of the honda and getting a commando again ! :mrgreen:
 
Yeah, I had a CB450 for a short while between the BSA and the Norton. I couldn't stand the top heaviness of it, much less the shifter was on the wrong side.

Dave
69S
 
That idea about the cush drive makes sense as Norton sent a letter to my dealer telling owners to be sure to load the drive train before a hard start, not said but seaming to imply drag race starts.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top