Making a 750ss

dennisgb said:

I see a Commando with tangerine tank and black side covers...bigger than the screen shot L.A.B. posted.

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Hmmm, thanks.
With a change of browser so do I.
Maybe this is a Firefox issue ?

Rohan said:

dennisgb said:

I see a Commando with tangerine tank and black side covers...bigger than the screen shot L.A.B. posted.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, thanks.
With a change of browser so do I.
Maybe this is a Firefox issue ?

Click to expand...

Yes you must have a browser problem. I don't use Firefox. Just Explorer.

Hi.
My stock 1971 SS has the 19 front rim, central stand, side stand, black side covers with silver decals, tangerine tank with black decals.
The side covers are fiberglass and look the same of roadster one.
The rear tail light is fiberglass not steel.
Off course the SS has different pipes and heat sinker and brackets, the small Lucas head light, the front fender and stay, the bottom skid play, the handlebar; the lower triple tree is the same but has two holes underside to fit the fender bracket.
Also the seat is the same of roadster one.
I can say that i have seen some of SS have the plastic chain guard extension, mine has, but i dont know if it was stock.
But i can have a question about: was the SS tank steel or fiberglass or both?
May be the SS was steel, mine is, and the High Rider fiberglass?
Ciao
Piero

I understand the SS tank and the steel Hi-rider tank are different. The steel Hi-rider tank is larger by about 1 inch all the way around. The early fiberglass Hi-rider tank might be the same as the SS however.

pierodn said:

Also the seat is the same of roadster one.

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According to the parts book,the SS seat is 062336, the '71 Roadster seat is 061766 so not the same, the SS seat is supposedly more pointed at the front than the Roadster seat.

pierodn said:

I can say that i have seen some of SS have the plastic chain guard extension, mine has, but i dont know if it was stock.

Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, the chain guard extension and the chain guard with the two mounting holes were not available until 1973, as the SS was a 1971 only model, it's unlikely to be an original SS part.

pierodn said:

But i can have a question about: was the SS tank steel or fiberglass or both?

Click to expand...

As far as I know, the only steel fuel tanks available during that period were for the Fastback LR and Interpol.

pierodn said:

May be the SS was steel, mine is, and the High Rider fiberglass?

Click to expand...

According to the '71 parts book, the SS and Hi-Rider used the same tanks, in either "Canary Yellow" or "Tangerine".

According to the '71 parts book, the SS and Hi-Rider used the same tanks, in either "Canary Yellow" or "Tangerine".

Click to expand...

Maybe it is just the viewing angle but the hi-rider looks to have a larger tank, with a more rounded rear.
The SS looks to have a more sloped rear.

But maybe the shape is a difference between early and late hi-riders.

L.A.B. said:

pierodn said:

Also the seat is the same of roadster one.

Click to expand...

According to the parts book,the SS seat is 062336, the '71 Roadster seat is 061766 so not the same, the SS seat is supposedly more pointed at the front than the Roadster seat.

pierodn said:

I can say that i have seen some of SS have the plastic chain guard extension, mine has, but i dont know if it was stock.

Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, the chain guard extension and the chain guard with the two mounting holes were not available until 1973, as the SS was a 1971 only model, it's unlikely to be an original SS part.

pierodn said:

But i can have a question about: was the SS tank steel or fiberglass or both?

Click to expand...

As far as I know, the only steel fuel tanks available during that period were for the Fastback LR and Interpol.

pierodn said:

May be the SS was steel, mine is, and the High Rider fiberglass?

Click to expand...

According to the '71 parts book, the SS and Hi-Rider used the same tanks, in either "Canary Yellow" or "Tangerine".

Click to expand...

Hi Les.
The SS picture you posted has the chain guard extension!
Mine has and i saw others!
I mean it is a 1973 part.
My tank is steel and is very very old, i have this tank from 1984.
Ciao
Piero

elefantrider said:

According to the '71 parts book, the SS and Hi-Rider used the same tanks, in either "Canary Yellow" or "Tangerine".

Click to expand...

Maybe it is just the viewing angle but the hi-rider looks to have a larger tank, with a more rounded rear.
The SS looks to have a more sloped rear.

But maybe the shape is a difference between early and late hi-riders.

Click to expand...

I don't know which images you are comparing, but the nose of the SS seat might tend to make the SS tank look lower at the rear? I can't honestly see them going to the trouble and expense of supplying two very similar tanks especially as the SS and Hi-Rider tanks are listed under the same part number? Maybe there was some minor variation in shape between batches of fibreglass tanks?

I was comparing later rear-hinged cap Hi-Rider tanks with earlier forward-hinged ones (both models) but I think it depends a lot on the viewing angle.

Any hope of finding a good, original Tangerine tank with a good gel coat or have all been cracked and repainted by now?

Steel and rear flip cap tanks wouldn't look right for an SS, I presume.

elefantrider said:

I was comparing later rear-hinged cap Hi-Rider tanks with earlier forward-hinged ones (both models) but I think it depends a lot on the viewing angle.

Any hope of finding a good, original Tangerine tank with a good gel coat or have all been cracked and repainted by now?

Steel and rear flip cap tanks wouldn't look right for an SS, I presume.

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Probably could find a NOS fiberglass tank. I know Raber's in San Jose have many NOS tanks.

elefantrider,

I think the singularly most difficult parts to find are the down pipes. I'm still waiting on a replacement set for mine (8 month+), from Andover.

You're only bet is to keep an eye on Ebay, etc. They do appear occasionally.

I did consider getting a fiber glass tank, but what with the troubles with using unleaded I bought a good hi-rider tank instead.

The most PITA part for me was the rear fender tail light fairing, as it seems to be slightly twisted from the start. It wouldn't sit straight until I got creative with a de-burring tool and a few washers.

Steve

Andover told me today the exhaust will be coming in soon, January.

Looks like you can use some of the mounting hardware from the Roadster on the SS pipe conversion, to save some coin, although I have not done an inventory of the parts differences.

Where do you find the headlamp lens and reflector as Andover does not have these?
Also need a sump bash-plate.

Pics welcome.

I will be using a low fender from my roadster like this one which I think looks nice:

Looks like you can use some of the mounting hardware from the Roadster on the SS pipe conversion, to save some coin, although I have not done an inventory of the parts differences.

Click to expand...

The diamond shaped mount that bolts to the muffler is the same as the Roadster.

Still need a few quid for an SS transpo , but I would have the high front guard . I'd rather be kitsch than "cool" any day.

J

If you squeeze the brackets shown above in a vise to flatten them somewhat you can bolt them together to form a rigid mount between the top shock bolt and the passenger footpeg--you need to grind the top inside radius a bit to clear the shock spring.

I really like the added rigidity--I've left the brackets in place even after I went back to a low-level exhaust system



Tim Kraakevik
kraakevik@voyager.net

elefantrider said:

Andover told me today the exhaust will be coming in soon, January.

Looks like you can use some of the mounting hardware from the Roadster on the SS pipe conversion, to save some coin, although I have not done an inventory of the parts differences.

Where do you find the headlamp lens and reflector as Andover does not have these?
Also need a sump bash-plate.

Pics welcome.

I will be using a low fender from my roadster like this one which I think looks nice:

Click to expand...

lol, I think the guys are thoroughly fed up with me asking when the pipes are going to arrive :mrgreen:

If they do in fact arrive in January it will still be a blessing! :wink:

As for the headlamp lens, etc...Well here's a story...The bike spent some time at a so called restorer(worst mistake I've ever made!!), they then lost the bulb holder...So I bought one of those sealed beams (Which Andover do), and it's fine now...Other than it's been another unwanted expense.

The sump plate is available off the shelf, you might need to give it a bit of a wiggle to get it to fit properly. I forget how much it was now? I wouldn't want to try the guard out in anger, lol, since it's more a cosmetic thing. But if nothing else it'll keep some of the road crap off the front of the engine.

The roadster fender looks good! I went and bought the original high-rise item. Oh...Should you change your mind...There are two spacers, which support the fender under the bottom yoke. You can't get them currently.

The guys at Andover kindly gave me the dimensions from the original drawings, so made some up in stainless. If you change your mind, let me know :wink:

So...Other than waiting on the pipes...It's got about a days worth of effort to complete it and fire it up.

I'll upload some pics shortly.

S

Some pics;

Sorry...Not the greatest photographer!

Looks great, my kind of bike. Mine will have a low fender and maybe a big headlight, just because i already have them!
Wonder why such a delay on the pipes..... are they coming by boat? Can it be run with open pipes, without securing the rear section of the pipe?

I got to looking at the SS exhaust pipes and it got me wondering if you can even remove the stock air filter without first removing one of the exhaust pipes? If that is true, what a pain that would be!

Hegel said:

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Another SS with extended chain guard holes!!!!!
I know, 1973 onward, but is another one!!!!!
Ciao
Piero