Holy hell, it's been a long time..

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Keep plugging away at it. I have some spares over here in Lawrence, nothing much but small parts that are yours if you need them.
 
I really need to find another slimline frame. I sold the one I had, like an idiot.

We picked up some buuuuutched out Commando chopper right before that monster tornado hit Joplin in 2011. We parted out the majority of that bike but the motor that was in it was actually the 16th to roll off the production line (serial # 126140) It's just sitting in my dad's shop waiting for a worthy build. Someday..
 
cjandme said:
+1 ... Welcome Back. Sorry to hear about your paint job issues. I certainly understand the age old money and time problems you are going thru though since we have 4 girls and 2 boys, ages 5 to 13. Shoot, my bike has been under a cover, right outside our front door for the last 3 years.-----I was in and out of Afghanistan doing contract work for two of those years, and my wife replaced the cover with a new one at least once----I am a lucky man :D---- I just don't get to ride motorcycles much at this point, but I will again. Anyway, when I had the money I didn't have the time, and when I had the time ....well, you get the idea :wink: Hey, they way I look at it ......your Norton will wait for you, they were built to last.
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"oil bag"...... (shiver)

"paint job".... *&^%$# Shoulda gone with Brent Budgor!

Looking good, get 'er done! I like that tank, the seat looks pretty comfy, too. Sidecovers would make it look just fine.

So, @KSUWildcatFan, all told, what does it need to finish? maybe I have some spares I can contribute, I'd like to see it get done...
 
grandpaul said:
"oil bag"...... (shiver)

"paint job".... *&^%$# Shoulda gone with Brent Budgor!

Looking good, get 'er done! I like that tank, the seat looks pretty comfy, too. Sidecovers would make it look just fine.

So, @KSUWildcatFan, all told, what does it need to finish? maybe I have some spares I can contribute, I'd like to see it get done...
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Not trying to dig up old wounds, I gave up on fighting it a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago....but you might be surprised who did the paint... :|

I honestly don't know what it needs. It's been sitting in the same spot for years now. Dad took it down the road once so it's not a complete basketcase or anything. I'm sure it needs a new battery (again) and IIRC those neoprene engine gaskets were.........not great. So those need put back to paper. Then the carbs need tuned and it's probably pretty close to being road-worthy.

My dad (actually my mom? I think? Idk) technically owns it now. :\ All told, I put probably $12,000 into this bike. I didn't shy away from any expense as I went along.

I don't usually think about it terribly often, just when Facebook reminds me of yearly anniversary posts about it. But I saw the MK3 at a garage sale (talk about a random find) and it made me especially sad to have never finished or ridden it. It is what it is.
 
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grandpaul said:
"paint job".... *&^%$# Shoulda gone with Brent Budgor!
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I recall seeing the photos when the issue with the paint job happened, and I believe it was Mr. Budgor that KSUWildcatFan had been working with. KSUWildcatFan, please correct me if I am wrong.




.
 
Robert_Norton said:
I recall seeing the photos when the issue with the paint job happened, and I believe it was Mr. Budgor that KSUWildcatFan had been working with. KSUWildcatFan, please correct me if I am wrong.
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Yep. You're correct. I was told that my cost-consciousness didn't allow him to do all the necessary body work to make it look good. I could see raised areas on the tank, it looked awful in person. The paint itself was gorgeous, but the body work ruined it all. I was never informed that additional body work was necessary and given a chance to pay more. It was just assumed that because I was concerned about going over the agreed upon amount, that I couldn't..I guess..

After I got everything and pointed out the flaws, the parts went back and forth from Kansas and New Hampshire and got beat up some more. Just a complete disaster all around, and some $1300-1400 wasted on what amounted to a complete loss. Wasted his time as well as my own, and a whole hell of a lot of money as well.

I was so pissed off after it arrived back at my house--uninsured!--with a giant dent in the front that I took the tank and paid to have it all acid stripped. I put the black/gold set I had bought previously on eBay back on.
 
I prefer just not bringing it up, tbh. My money is long gone and any attempt to make anything right went out the window years ago. But yeah, it was a pretty damn disappointing deal. Everything looked fantastic.. Until I looked at it closer (we're talking within a few feet, not eyeballs an inch away). When I pointed out the flaws I was told they just needed wetsanded some more (not true at all) and I shipped everything back.

I packed poorly and things got damaged. In his defense he redid a big section that was damaged in transit, then shipped back... but it got damaged again in transit and wasn't insured anyway. At that point I was just completely over it entirely and had the tank stripped. The side covers are still sitting in my dad's shop cabinet.

The whole thing was a roving sh1tshow. In retrospect I'd have been far better off if I had just not shipped anything back. Sure, the paint had noticeable ridges that looked like crap, but from 5-10' it looked great, and it was my purple. Meh.
 
KSUWildcatFan said:
I prefer just not bringing it up, tbh. My money is long gone and any attempt to make anything right went out the window years ago. But yeah, it was a pretty damn disappointing deal. Everything looked fantastic.. Until I looked at it closer (we're talking within a few feet, not eyeballs an inch away). When I pointed out the flaws I was told they just needed wetsanded some more (not true at all) and I shipped everything back.

I packed poorly and things got damaged. In his defense he redid a big section that was damaged in transit, then shipped back... but it got damaged again in transit and wasn't insured anyway. At that point I was just completely over it entirely and had the tank stripped. The side covers are still sitting in my dad's shop cabinet.

The whole thing was a roving sh1tshow. In retrospect I'd have been far better off if I had just not shipped anything back. Sure, the paint had noticeable ridges that looked like crap, but from 5-10' it looked great, and it was my purple. Meh.
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Sorry it all went south on you. If you ever decide to try again, you have the best painter right there in Topeka at TC Concepts. Travis is meticulous and always booked up.
 
cyclegeezer said:
Sorry it all went south on you. If you ever decide to try again, you have the best painter right there in Topeka at TC Concepts. Travis is meticulous and always booked up.
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Probably what I should have done to begin with. If I'm not mistaken, you made that suggestion all the way back in 2010 and I didn't go that route. Shame I didn't. Only money, right?
 
KSUWildcatFan said:
Probably what I should have done to begin with. If I'm not mistaken, you made that suggestion all the way back in 2010 and I didn't go that route. Shame I didn't. Only money, right?
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Very likely, and has it really been that long ago?
 
I know, seems crazy. According to my emails back and forth about the paint work, it was actually 2011. Time flies I guess.
 
Sure sad it didn't work out for you. These British bikes can ..."cause some grief" from time to time; us working on them, someone else worked/painted on them, or something on them just broke. etc, etc, etc. Hope you can some day get back to it, running good and LOOKING good, and enjoy it. Cheers, Pat
 
nortriubuell said:
Sure sad it didn't work out for you. These British bikes can ..."cause some grief" from time to time; us working on them, someone else worked/painted on them, or something on them just broke. etc, etc, etc. Hope you can some day get back to it, running good and LOOKING good, and enjoy it. Cheers, Pat
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I imagine someday that will be the case, for sure. I really don't think it's far from being on the road again, so there's that at least. We mostly rebuilt it together before it fell off the to-do list, it just has a few gremlins (and now some maintenance from sitting) that needs handled. I just need to keep bugging my dad to finish it lol
 
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