Hi everyone

Thought id say hi, been reading the website now for a few months and learning alot.

Im brendan im 23 years old, i currently ride a Suzuki SV, tho i have always been interested in classic bikes, esp nortons.

my dad owned a 850 during the 70s. it was a interstate (73 i think), which he modified as you can see in the photo. it was from gus Khun. dad put on the clip ons, rear sets, exhausts, race front mudguard, made the seat and did his own design on the rear box etc, and a few others things with engine i think too. He lived in orpington, kent when he owned it and i think it was sold to cray motorcycles in 77.

id love to get a commando soon(tho not sure when), id like to be able to do my own mods and service work etc, which i wouldnt feel as confident doing with the SV. Id imagine from what my dad has told me and what i have read that the norton would be much more comfy for my girlfriend on the back(as the SV reallydont cut it for long distances-its ok for the rider but the pillion seat isnt great). and more than fast enough, and looks the brill to top it off

anyway this is a great site, with so much info. heres a pic of dads commando just before he sold it. the picture has been cut out ages ago in photoshop, will scan it again with the back ground in sometime.

Brendan,
Welcome to the forum.

And thanks for showing us a photo of your dad's Commando.

Welcome.

Nice to see a classic blast from the past!

Brendan, Welcome to the site and hopefully very soon to Commando ownership. The 'advances' made in sports bike and even general purpose bike design over the years has in many cases been at the expense of pillion comfort. In this regard almost any bike from the 60s and 70s is preferable. Last year I sold a Roadster Commando to a guy who had a sports Ducati. He had test-ridden my bike on two occasions and liked it, but when he took his girlfriend for a ride she insisted he buy it immediately.

Brendan, pretty cool that you have an interest in Commandos's, just like your dad. I am hoping my 19 year old will get off his VFR long enough to notice the one I am working on in the garage! Which, by the way, is the one I owned 25 years ago and just bought back from the guy I sold it to. So just maybe you can find your dad's.... Anyway, the real fun is daydreaming of all the mods you can apply to a good Commando. The list is endless! Have fun hunting one down..

dave M said:

The 'advances' made in sports bike and even general purpose bike design over the years has in many cases been at the expense of pillion comfort.

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exactly, always seems pointless that the pillion is perched up so high. cant be good for center of gravity etc. always better to have both riders as one i would of thought. then again i know many riders my age who dont have pillions and seemed to find the idea odd :roll: i prefer riding with a pillion(if its a good one!)

thanks for the hi everyone

brendanq said:

dave M said:

The 'advances' made in sports bike and even general purpose bike design over the years has in many cases been at the expense of pillion comfort.

Click to expand...

exactly, always seems pointless that the pillion is perched up so high. cant be good for center of gravity etc. always better to have both riders as one i would of thought. then again i know many riders my age who dont have pillions and seemed to find the idea odd :roll: i prefer riding with a pillion(if its a good one!)

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The pillion on most sportbikes seems made for a female companion in the 5'2", 105lb range, or less. I guess companion riding is more the realm of cruisers these days.

yeah, it does seem that way, tho my gf is that height, and very light(actually perfect weight for the handling lol) tho she is a very good pillion from my point of view(she does everything u would want)- after about 60miles she aches cos of the crappy pegs and the can being to high, making the pegs to high. sadly i met her a month after i got the bike a few years ago or i would of kept the GS or got a bonnie or a bandit.

i had a GS before the SV and that was ok, as is my dads Bandit. with a few alterations many modern bikes could be great for pillions but the japanese companies seem to think we want the back of our bikes to look like moto gp bikes- the pillion is an after thought these days, but there is still some of us out there who ride with a pillion more than not.

looks like its time for a norton hehe

Hi Brenden
Thanks for the interesting read ref. your dads Gus Kuhn Commando. Yea go for it, and buy one soon.
Happy & safe riding
pipknight

Welcome Brenden, you've come to the right forum that's for sure. Have fun shopping for your next ride and post some pictures of what you get. Cj

pipknight said:

Hi Brenden
Thanks for the interesting read ref. your dads Gus Kuhn Commando. Yea go for it, and buy one soon.
Happy & safe riding
pipknight

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cjandme said:

Welcome Brenden, you've come to the right forum that's for sure. Have fun shopping for your next ride and post some pictures of what you get. Cj

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This is a thread from 2008.

L.A.B. said:

pipknight said:

Hi Brenden
Thanks for the interesting read ref. your dads Gus Kuhn Commando. Yea go for it, and buy one soon.
Happy & safe riding
pipknight

Click to expand...

cjandme said:

Welcome Brenden, you've come to the right forum that's for sure. Have fun shopping for your next ride and post some pictures of what you get. Cj

Click to expand...

This is a thread from 2008.

Click to expand...

Hilarious!!!

He's probably married with 3 kids by now and has no time to ride anyway. LOL

Welcome Bran & all the best wishes for you in buying a classic soon. I had to laugh thinking of pillion passengers. When I was your age my 72 had rearsets, clippons & the long flat board hard Dunstall seat and it took it's share of girls on dates & then when I finaly thought I should make life more comfy for my then girlfriend I put the Fastback tank & seat back on including the regular handlebars. She was more comfy, I hated it. Any way my advice is ride a bike you like to ride & for dates, buy a car...

The Eronomics of this thing are intresting , Seat hump lets the ' pilot ' get right down flat , and stop is stillkeeping you fwd
of the rear axleline .Tucking the pipes up a bit , and knocking knee grips & rebates for the bars / thumbs in the tank ,
would sort of get a diffinetive S/C Commando ( street / competition ) . 18 in rear rim'd get a bit more rubber on the road .

Thats my theory and Im sticking to it . :wink: :!:

Then theres getting the instruments where you can see them , tacho anyway , and raiseing the headlamp a bit to break the air even if you have to look around it chin on the tank .