Jobs that are a proper faff (PITA) on your Commando?

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Bonzo

Bonzo

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Do-able jobs that just seem to take ages.

I think the inner carb-manifold Allen screws would be top of most peoples list?

Today, tightening the mk3 head steady spring tensioning bolt was a long slog with minimal turn in restricted access. Maybe I just need a better spanner.

What things do you not look forward to doing on your Commando?
 
Bonzo said:
Do-able jobs that just seem to take ages.

I think the inner carb-manifold Allen screws would be top of most peoples list?

Today, tightening the mk3 head steady spring tensioning bolt was a long slog with minimal turn in restricted access. Maybe I just need a better spanner.

What things do you not look forward to doing on your Commando?
Click to expand...
I bodged a bicycle spanner for that job. Still a long haul. mind........

 
Rebuild / bleed disc breaks. Simple job! Just unlucky at this job, blead them from top, from bottom, seems they need ridden before all the air moves out!
 
I don't know why folks have so much troubles undoing the manifold bolts, I have the original cut down Allen key that came with my Norton tool bag and have no troubles at all removing the manifolds.
The job I hate the most is reinstalling the barrels over the pistons and rings but having 2 pair of hands make it easy, other than that having the right tools/spanners for every nuts and bolts on my Norton makes life easy, having the right pullers etc. infact I enjoy doing maintenance and any other things on my Norton and having the right tools help.
If I have a task whether minor or major I just get into it and do it, the way I built my Commando/Featherbed I can remove bolts and carbs and have my motor/GB, primary and engine mounts all out together and up on the bench in less than 30 minutes.
So no task no problems for me at all I just enjoy my time with my bikes no matter what is needed to be done.
 
I hate removing and replacing the head to fix stripped studs or a head gasket leak with the engine in the bike.
It took three tries to get a seal, two with copper and finally 1 succesful go with a composite gasket.
Between the thread repair and the leaking headgaskets I think the head was off/on 4 times in 3 months.
It didn't seem to be getting any easier.
Thankfully it has held up OK since 2005, about 27,000 miles or so.
That's the only semi- major problem I've had with the bike. It wasn't at all costly, just time consuming.

Glen
 
Regarding removal of center manifold bolts ........

It is a piece of cake with the tool I made. See Post #16 ...

www.accessnorton.com

Tools You Have Made to Maintain your Norton

In another thread Rob (robs ss) gave us a new tool ..... Show us what special tools you have made. Show me yours, and I'll show you mine. Slick
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com

Slick
 
Hi all,
It’s interesting that many of the really frustrating and difficult jobs are often quite minor in nature and really should not need to be so tricky. A bit more thought in design would have solved the problem.
I guess the most obvious example for me is the air filter on my Mk2. In real terms it just doesn’t really fit, certainly not enough clearance to make it easy to deal with. If it was 10mm shorter it would be easy. While on the topic of air filters, designing an air filter that can be soaked by excessive hosing when washing the bike doesn’t seem a great idea to me.
Anything to do with carbs seems to be far more difficult than you would initially expect when you consider there are only two of them and on first inspection they look to be fairly easily accessible. I could have my triple’s carburettors on the bench by the time I got the tank off my Commando.
In my 25 years of ownership I haven’t had cause to remove the head from my Commando but after watching videos etc I’m not looking forward to the job if it does have to be removed. Again, being a pushrod twin one would expect it to be very straight forward.
All in all though, in comparison to anything vaguely modern our bikes are easy to work on and the good news for me is my particular bike has been extremely reliable. The only major problem that occurred not long after purchase was a broken tooth on third gear which was a piece of piss to replace in comparison to bikes with an integral gearbox.
just some thoughts
Alan
 
Ludwig I run a auto camshaft chain adjuster on my Norton so no need for me to go into my timing cover every 10k miles it's been in there for a very long time, forget when I brought it back in the 90s maybe, it pushes down on the chain and works very well.
 
The proper tools at the right location changes a PITA job to a no brainer.
But...changing the filter in a ham can housing is always a challenge.☠️LOL
 
ludwig said:
The most frustrating routine maintenance job (pre MK3) must be :
"check and adjust camshaft chain every 5000 miles"
I doubt many stick to this.
( ashman ?..)
Click to expand...
I used the Comnoz chain adjuster and a Andy chain timing chain. Never looked at it for 50000 miles until now when I started my second rebuild. Chain was perfect by the way. I would buy the rubber 06.4647 cam chain tensioner for the commando or the 06.7574 for the Atlas / P11 as a good improvement at minimum.
Andy Chains are the best.
 
bluto said:
Changing the air filter is a royal PITA.
Click to expand...
It was my #1 until I found a better way. Today, I've unbolted the carbs (manifolds) from the head enough that that is no longer on my list as particularly hard.

Undo the carbs and slide them out of the carb connector hoses. Now the air cleaner is easy.

I no longer use the cut-off Allen wrenches. I have two sets of ball-end Allen wrenches. One has a stubby short side and the other has a stubby long side. Between them it only takes seconds to get one of the inner screws out and from there the rest is simple.

Of course, this is all easier with the tank off, but it usually is at maintenance times so the valves can be easily adjusted.
 
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