Intro - New '75 Owner - Brake Lines?

A

AirheadGARAGE

Joined
Aug 2026
Messages
3
Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself. I just bought/inherited a '75 850 Commando from my brother. It was our father's bike, and I've been it's caretaker for a few years but have neglected it somewhat as it was officially my brother's until this week. Now that I'm the full owner I'm ready to put some money and work into it.

First up is the brake lines. Being a 75 it had the funky 4-part system for the front. And now I'm suspecting the rear rubber brake line will be much the same as the front (clogged).

Before I go too far down just replacing the lines, should I be considering some caliper/rotor upgrades as well?

I'm new to this bike, but not wrenching. I'd certainly like to make this bike more confidently reliable to ride, and brakes ain't a bad place to start (or stop?).

Thanks for any advice and guidance you can offer.
 
AirheadGARAGE said:
Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself. I just bought/inherited a '75 850 Commando from my brother. It was our father's bike, and I've been it's caretaker for a few years but have neglected it somewhat as it was officially my brother's until this week. Now that I'm the full owner I'm ready to put some money and work into it.

First up is the brake lines. Being a 75 it had the funky 4-part system for the front. And now I'm suspecting the rear rubber brake line will be much the same as the front (clogged).

Before I go too far down just replacing the lines, should I be considering some caliper/rotor upgrades as well?

I'm new to this bike, but not wrenching. I'd certainly like to make this bike more confidently reliable to ride, and brakes ain't a bad place to start (or stop?).

Thanks for any advice and guidance you can offer.
Click to expand...
Welcome. 🍻How much money you got?🤣

I run a stock caliper and rotor. Ferodo pads. The master cylinder has been sleeved down to provide a better mechanical advantage. I can lock the front tire.
Others will be along soon to tell you how you shouldn't leave the driveway unless you have a six piston 14 inch rotor Dual disc set up.
 
Yes the rubber lines should certainly need replacing by now (preferably with braided lines in my opinion). Whether you replace the lot or only the rubber sections is up to you. I replaced the rubber sections with braided well I did replace the metal sections with new parts..
 
Apart from the brake pipe replacement mentioned. As per concours post. The most cost effective mod is fitting the sleeve kit to the front M/C. Makes the front brake work like it should, at a fraction of the cost of other improvements.
 
concours said:
Welcome. 🍻How much money you got?🤣

I run a stock caliper and rotor. Ferodo pads. The master cylinder has been sleeved down to provide a better mechanical advantage. I can lock the front tire.
Others will be along soon to tell you how you shouldn't leave the driveway unless you have a six piston 14 inch rotor Dual disc set up.
Click to expand...
Don’t be ridiculous…

13 inch rotors are fine…
 
I run stock Lockheed brakes, sleeved master cylinder and new brake pads from Andover. I also change out the brake fluid every year. A knowlegable mechanic who took my bike for a test ride said the brakes on my bike were some of the best he had ever seen on a Norton.

I would clean up the bike, all new fluids, new battery and see if bike will start. If it does and you don't hear any weird rattles or bangs, take out for a careful test ride at 7 am on a Sunday morning.
 
I have seen first hand a mk3 oil line internally collapsed...making it near impossible to bleed the fluid through. Must also have created almost no braking or even brake lock ups. This was on the rear disk hose. The front had been retrofitted back to mk2 style (right fork mounted caliper), without the goofy looking left side caliper and hose arrangement so the hose was only a decade or two old, not 5.
 
Free Commandos are priced right. I'd take one for free that was all there. I know they are a pit to throw money into regardless of who worked on them previously.

If I got one for nothing, I'd check it over for any obvious problems, then drain the sump, get new Amals (if one can get new Amals) clean them, get the fuel tank as clean as possible, make up new fuel lines with 5/16" ID fuel filters, get a new battery, drain the oil tank going as far as using a hydraulic brake bleeder sucking tool to get everything out of the oil tank, get a new spin on oil filter, fill the oil filter, spin it on, refill the oil tank, remove the plugs and start kicking it over till I saw return oil in the oil tank, check and adjust valve lash, check to make sure the timing was good and had spark, install new plugs, tickle the carburetors and start kicking. Figure it might take more than one kick to get a wet fuel film in the dry intake manifolds and combustion chambers. If it didn't start, some cussing would commence knowing the trouble shooting was just getting started. If it started didn't smoke and idled, I'd do the master cylinder mod mentioned way up above, detail it, and sell it. That's just me though. I don't have the Brit bike fever that bad.

Airhead BMWs, if that is what is in your airhead garage, worked great. Much better cruisers than a Norton. Not as nimble though.
 
Really appreciate the welcome everyone!

Hold on now, I didn't get this one for nothing!

My dad passed a few bikes along to us, and I had chosen the 78' BMW R100RS, brother chose the Commando. So I just had to buy it from him.

We settled on a value of 7500, which was a bit high but it's here in California and I was ready to be done arguing with him over our inherited stuff (this was the very last bit of all that). That also included a lot of other stuff (property) so this was the last leg of a long journey and it felt right to buy it.

It was running when he got it! LOL. It's actually been in my garage for the past 9 years or so, and has always ran and kept on a trickle charger. It just recently developed this brake issue as we prepped it for sale. So I don't think there is too much else going on... other than that oil leak...

But really, I'm not intimidated by the projects. I've got a lift and a mountain of tools. I've always been an Airhead BMW guy, hence the screenname. But I figured if my brother wanted to sell it, I could simply buy it and save all the time in helping him get it ready and onto the next owner. He's living out of state and I live in a remote area.

So I really appreciate learning about the sleeved MC. I had just taken the MC apart to rebuild it before the sale. So I'm a bit familiar with how that all goes together.

It's already got a single Mikuni on it and a steel tank. The electrics work for the most part, but I wouldn't be opposed to just redoing all of it with modern stuff if that's advised.

Would love to know the best sources for what's been suggested:

- Master cylinder sleeve
- "spin on" oil filter!? :)
- parts of, or whole new braided brake lines?

I have a number of Airheads and VWs, and a couple other bikes. This will hopefully be the jewel in my collection next to my R100R that I built up. I just always felt a little scared of getting into it since it was my brother's "responsibility" and something "foreign" (read: not German). But now that it's mine I really want to enjoy the hell out of it.

Trust me, I know all about the "Keep it original" crowd's advice, and also know all about the "just have fun modifying it" side too. So this will land somewhere in between with respect.

I just can't wait to have a good, SAFE, ride on it with my girlfriend soonish. But I'm in no hurry.

I really can't see myself selling it at this point, so like my custom BMW this one will continue to live with me for the long run and I don't really care what someone else values it at. Is MINE and my DAD would be proud of my decision here!

Will get some photos loaded up soon of this and my other bikes ;)

Cheers!

- M
 
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@concors Yikes, looks like i can piece together the line bits for around $70 from Baxter. I'd love to upgrade the MC, but $700 is steep. And driving down a mountain for me doesn't save much money. No offence to you, I appreciate the assistance.

But what are the upgrade options?

What forks should I be looking for on the marketplaces? Honda, Yamaha, etc. I understand mixing continents isn't preferred, but I'm willing to look at this like a resto mod. I'm reaching out to you guys to let me know what will fit, or what will fit with less than dramatic modifications.
 
AirheadGARAGE said:
Really appreciate the welcome everyone!

Hold on now, I didn't get this one for nothing!

My dad passed a few bikes along to us, and I had chosen the 78' BMW R100RS, brother chose the Commando. So I just had to buy it from him.

We settled on a value of 7500, which was a bit high but it's here in California and I was ready to be done arguing with him over our inherited stuff (this was the very last bit of all that). That also included a lot of other stuff (property) so this was the last leg of a long journey and it felt right to buy it.

It was running when he got it! LOL. It's actually been in my garage for the past 9 years or so, and has always ran and kept on a trickle charger. It just recently developed this brake issue as we prepped it for sale. So I don't think there is too much else going on... other than that oil leak...

But really, I'm not intimidated by the projects. I've got a lift and a mountain of tools. I've always been an Airhead BMW guy, hence the screenname. But I figured if my brother wanted to sell it, I could simply buy it and save all the time in helping him get it ready and onto the next owner. He's living out of state and I live in a remote area.

So I really appreciate learning about the sleeved MC. I had just taken the MC apart to rebuild it before the sale. So I'm a bit familiar with how that all goes together.

It's already got a single Mikuni on it and a steel tank. The electrics work for the most part, but I wouldn't be opposed to just redoing all of it with modern stuff if that's advised.

Would love to know the best sources for what's been suggested:

- Master cylinder sleeve
- "spin on" oil filter!? :)
- parts of, or whole new braided brake lines?

I have a number of Airheads and VWs, and a couple other bikes. This will hopefully be the jewel in my collection next to my R100R that I built up. I just always felt a little scared of getting into it since it was my brother's "responsibility" and something "foreign" (read: not German). But now that it's mine I really want to enjoy the hell out of it.

Trust me, I know all about the "Keep it original" crowd's advice, and also know all about the "just have fun modifying it" side too. So this will land somewhere in between with respect.

I just can't wait to have a good, SAFE, ride on it with my girlfriend soonish. But I'm in no hurry.

I really can't see myself selling it at this point, so like my custom BMW this one will continue to live with me for the long run and I don't really care what someone else values it at. Is MINE and my DAD would be proud of my decision here!

Will get some photos loaded up soon of this and my other bikes ;)

Cheers!

- M
Click to expand...
If you are in California, there is the Nor Cal Norton Club https://nortonclub.com/ and the So Cal Norton Club https://socalnorton.com/. If you are Santa Cruz or North, the Nor Cal Club has rides every month and great parties. If you are San Luis Obispo or South, The So Cal Club has lots of rides and events.
 
This site is run by acfellow member... Madass140.....based out of Philippines so shipping can be an issue...but top shelf stuff...

I have his brake sleeve kit on my 850 Command for nearly 10 urs of trouble free use. He also sells a different MC off a modern design bike (HONDA?) that boolts up to the mk2 type commando switch gear...not the mk3.

Do not change the forks, just rebuild if they are leakong or in rough shape. Bushings/seals/boots all available.
I suggest just servicing your exisitng mc and calipers, new seals etc and see how they work...you may find them adequate for your rides.
Before putting significant mileage on the bike, best to tear apart the gearbox to determine if it still has original layshaft besring from Portugal...a known to fail bearing and then proceed with renewing all bearings/bushings, springs etc with the roller layshaft or deep groove phenolic ball bearing unit.
 
Tornado said:
This site is run by acfellow member... Madass140.....based out of Philippines so shipping can be an issue...but top shelf stuff...

I have his brake sleeve kit on my 850 Command for nearly 10 urs of trouble free use. He also sells a different MC off a modern design bike (HONDA?) that boolts up to the mk2 type commando switch gear...not the mk3.

Do not change the forks, just rebuild if they are leakong or in rough shape. Bushings/seals/boots all available.
I suggest just servicing your exisitng mc and calipers, new seals etc and see how they work...you may find them adequate for your rides.
Before putting significant mileage on the bike, best to tear apart the gearbox to determine if it still has original layshaft besring from Portugal...a known to fail bearing and then proceed with renewing all bearings/bushings, springs etc with the roller layshaft or deep groove phenolic ball bearing unit.
Click to expand...
What is the URL for Madass140's site?
 
Only Commando I've owned I paid $750 for. It was a while ago obviously.

I had a dual spark plugged SilverBlue R100 RS with 36mm VM Mikuni carbonators on it. I actually did get it from my brother for free after he passed. That bike was a lot of fun. I misspoke about the Norton being nimbler the an airhead, cuz I forgot I had that R100 RS. I was thinking about the Paris Dakar R100 and R1100GS I had. They were kind of a hand full at times.

Since you paid $7500 for it you might as well keep feeding the Norton money. :)

Posting pics is easy if you have a full member account. Not easy at all if you don't. Use to be, but it's blocked now.
 
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