Finally out again

Tire pressures, oil check, clean the idle jets, new plugs and a basic check for loose stuff.
About 5 kicks and it lights off. I forgot how much fun this thing is to ride.
Getting older and eh slightly heavier does anyone feel that the bike is just a little on the small side?
It was a great ride today though. Someone always asks about it.
Getting setup for a nice ride to work tomorrow.
MikeM

I've been riding Nortons since 1971 and I too have noticed how they have shrunk. My wife and I used to go two up on weekend camping trips on our Combat. We used our backpacking gear, tent, sleeping bags, cookware, stove, etc., plus minimal clothing. Now it's a tight fit to just ride two up. I thought only leathers shrunk but I guess motorcycles shrink as they age. Have a great ride.

I never noticed how small my Seeley is, until Ken (Fullauto) commented on it. It is not much bigger than an old Brit 250. He's got a road going Commando.

That's why the Commando is so fast. It's about the size of an 80's 350, it's not a Hog.

Having nearly reached 60 I feel the opposite. I cannot believe how I used to throw the Commando around in the 70's and 80's. It doesn't feel particularly big now but certainly not as nimble. I was younger and stronger I guess!

Well MikeM
I don't know about the bike shrinking but the extra rider ballast definitely helps with the kick-starting :wink:
Andy

I also got out for the first ride yesterday. Had the battery on the tender all last week. Checked the mandatory items and gave it a kick. I'm always amazed when it starts on the second kick after sitting all winter.
Took it for a short blast. Excellence, as usual.
Lots of stuff I would like to do with it this year, as money and time permits.
Ben

I pulled my 73 850 out from underneath the heap of blankets that it has been sleeping under since last September. Dang, what a fine looking motorcycle. Since I had a small window between rain storms and chores I decided to give it a try. Time to go through the first ride of the seasons drill. When I drained the sump I was surprised at how little oil was actually in it. Not near as much sumping as I expected. What the heck. Up on the center stand and time to put the boots to it. Man, was the gearbox oil thick. I was surprised when it fired up on the fifth kick. It settled into a nice even idle almost immediately. While it warmed up I checked and added some air, checked the oil return, made sure that it had gas, and away I went. Just a short ride as we are in the process of packing up for our move from Whidbey Island, Washington to Gold Canyon, AZ. I've ridden in Washington for 47 years and now it's time to give another area a try. This was the Norton's first ride of the year and maybe the last one in Washington. Sure hope that the Norton enjoys the new adventure that is in the future.

peter12 said:

Having nearly reached 60 I feel the opposite. I cannot believe how I used to throw the Commando around in the 70's and 80's. It doesn't feel particularly big now but certainly not as nimble. I was younger and stronger I guess!

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Is that pushing it around in the workshop or on the road, under power?

Whidbey Island, Washington to Gold Canyon, AZ.

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Wow, big change. Culturally they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, not to mention climate and geography.

JimC said:

Whidbey Island, Washington to Gold Canyon, AZ.

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Wow, big change. Culturally they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, not to mention climate and geography.

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That's for sure. I'm 64 years old and would like to give this a try before I can't physically do it. I'd hate to look back and wonder "what if" rather than try it and hate it. I can always scamper back north if the move's a failure. It will be interesting to be able to ride whenever I choose rather than having the weather dictate as it does now. Heck, I might even buy a dirt bike again since there are actually places to ride. Whidbey Island is an awesome place to live. It's incredibly beautiful with great riding roads, but it's still an island. Not many options unless you want to take a $24 ferry ride to Big America or an hour and a half drive over the north end bridge. Warmth year around is an interesting concept. With the extreme heat I think that there's an oil cooler in the Norton's future. We will see.

An inexpensive meat thermometer will provide an answer to the need of a cooler. Remember 200ºF in the tank means way hotter in the head. I had an engineer from Spectro Oils tell me 220ºF in the tank indicated a need for an oil cooler.
Now, you will get testimony that someone one rode their Commando across Death Valley, in July, with no oil cooler and everything was fine. Trouble with that, besides probably not being true, is that you don't know how close to failure things are until they fail.

JimC said:

Whidbey Island, Washington to Gold Canyon, AZ.

Click to expand...

Wow, big change. Culturally they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, not to mention climate and geography.

Click to expand...

That's for sure. I'm 64 years old and would like to give this a try before I can't physically do it. I'd hate to look back and wonder "what if" rather than try it and hate it. I can always scamper back north if the move's a failure. It will be interesting to be able to ride whenever I choose rather than having the weather dictate as it does now. Heck, I might even buy a dirt bike again since there are actually places to ride. Whidbey Island is an awesome place to live. It's incredibly beautiful with great riding roads, but it's still an island. Not many options unless you want to take a $24 ferry ride to Big America or an hour and a half drive over the north end bridge. Warmth year around is an interesting concept. With the extreme heat I think that there's an oil cooler in the Norton's future. We will see.[/quote]