Most Cocheyed crooked Commando = Ms Peel

I should of known better than think I was over my "blank staring non- comprehending Brit Iron state's" Last pm, ok am, cleared area and began to assemble to get on two tires. Started with swing arm but didn't get as far as shock mounting before hitting mystery show stopper of cock eyed cradle in frame.
Everything assembled fine, cradle to engine bolts, resisted to just right then slipped home one shot each, mounts slide in frame tabs easy once aligned, both iso bolts also slipped through w/o hang up or slack, sweet as can be. Then went to put on two struts instead of shocks with about exact drilled holes to find one too short and other too long to pass bolts easy w/o skewing loads. Say WHAT???

Stood back to see this, still no concept of what is off kelter. This is same frame and cradle and crank cases as what so flabbergasted me on handling and steady cruise security. Peel had no hard crashes with these components installed. Seriously I need help to figure out what is wrong, if anything and where to start for idea then solutions. How can it assemble so nice but look so skewed.

I observe bottom of cradle veered ~1/8" to RH or top to LH. The swing arm measured, LH arm 1/16" closer to top shock mount than RH. Isollastics are set closed gap for easy fit into frame tabs and resting slack shifts rear of cradle to RH so I can tug swing arm to shift rear of cradle ~1/4" to LH, which seems to bring high LH arm even closer to shock mount by another 1/16" for 1/8" skewed swing arm measured 1" from shock tabs, to bring cradle more visually aligned with frame down tubes. End result if stays this way nipped up, is putting isolastics in tipping bind and leaning top of rear tire to the RH, maybe 1/4" that far away from axle.

Ya can't go by the added cross brace as that is skewed to clear chain run. Must go by the frame side tubes and space between them. Swing arm seems low on DS but measures higher - closer to top mount than opposite side. Top of cradle iso lookd too far to DS, yet only slack moves it closer to DS!! This is even more crazy making as vision conflicts with measures and movement, also worth a flash back to non-comprehending blank staring. state : (

Ignore the oil check valve, skewed on purpose for chain and hose runs.


One of my late Father's WWII GI trench art air craft is shown, that needs TLC to get assembled square again too. He rode a Cushman when I was infant.

hobot said:

Peel had no hard crashes with these components installed.

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Not the "hardness" of the crash but what took the force and where. Or perhaps your definition of "hard crash". :|

Swingarm crooked?

What the heck is that aeroquip fitting doohickey?

I've 3 cycles and one scooter all taking me down one way or another so gets confusing for strangers to keep up with my going down.

By far the hardest crash Peel had and to me on her was day 7 owning her in '99 when rusted mufflers blew off while attending a camp trip at drag strip. I was leaning fast starts on rural hwy. So thought might as well get in line for time trials before real event started, as open headers uncorked some power. On 5th go, next to 1200 drag only Sportster, I knew could out horse power me I tired and did get the jump on him but tire folded up as power band of 2S cam hit ~6800, to jerk vertical then slam down on right. I think that tweaked the cradle and swing arm, but not detectable to normal expected Cdo handling and ease. Six months after that I discovered online lists and the hand holding to renew her but found so much wrong and bargains to upgrade the bad, next time out Peel had alloy race cradle and indexed re-enforced cases and new 850 boxed swing arm and new shocks. Then never crashed but fairly slow in drops on loose stuff under 20 mph. Surely even Peel with tri links could not corner so hard to bend stuff, even if hard to breath d/t the G's no impacts thank you.

Braced 850 s-arm is on Trixie now. Fancy never run RGM Al swing arm is on Peel, maybe set crooked, some how, I can't figure out why or even if really is yet. If its been this way a long time, then just backs up my findings, tires in line, not tilted or skewed, don't make much if any difference to great handling, hands off or wild flings or even with a broken shifted axle and tire rubbing to death on fender and swingarm, totally un=noticed at 90 mph, at least to a full linked Cdo. Weird weird weird, goes against my logic too, but I've experienced in in spades, so nothing for it but change my concepts to fit the facts.

I'm mainly afraid to put isolastics in a bind, as great as I love to brag on Peel's handling, her Uncanny Inertial Smoothness surpasses that delight. I still feel everyone else is missing out on wonders of rear link plus 2 minor helpers. If she buzzes, no matter how little, I don't care how fast she can go, she's a big wasted failure to part out. End of an era and end of me bugging lists. I don't need a manual or any more advice just to keep a factory Combat up to snuff.

What the heck is that aeroquip fitting doohickey?

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Musta posted this while I was composing last post. Peel has lost ~6 lb d/t OIF but extra long travel 15" shocks let swing arm hit factory position oil filter, that cleared fine on 13" shocks, so had to come up with another filter and location and a way to get oil back into frame. Its a one way check valve with a few PSI pass threshold to prevent wet sump from back flow. Out flow to pump has taboo manual valve, but can't put foot on peg or use kicker until handle turned open out the way, fail safe. Its cold welded by JBWeld. Still not sure how to mount the cylinder filter under the yellow squid hunting submarine air station.


Yes the green hatch flips open to see the extra pilot.

Maybe with all that cutting and welding the frames just distorted. Remember, they were built in jigs. Wwhen you cut and torch tube structures, tensions alter and I reckon the whole plot is now going back to nature.

Mick

Take a look without the cradle in place, put pins in the front and the back to make sure they are on the same plane. Do the same with the cradle and swing arm, then you will see which is not correct. The other possibility is that your camera is drunk :wink:

Jean

Cutting and welding frame, I stand falsely accused, that stuff is for real mechanics. Naw I only drilled a few holes and then Only where covered by existing gussets and then only silver soldered or JBWelled, as in case of the check valve.
Still can't ignore your suggestion, but still leaves what to do if anything.

Hmm, just remembered, I found little breasts on pre-Ms Peel, swollen area on each down tube, apparently from prior owner repair of crash bar damage. If that tweaked frame then its been that way before me and not noticed because Peel assembled w/o the brutal struggle deer struck Trixie put me though and solved this time around by sledge hammer and fine accurate machinist steps to iso mount.

I'd never noticed the skewed cradle before but didn't look until all nipped up and links adjusted to most slack. Here's similar view of same frame-cradle but standard oil filter. Looks square to me. I can mostly pull cradle to align now but can feel the iso rubber compress from the effort. Some have suggested to use rod links to pull cradle in alignment but not me, as when I tightened up links or let them vibrate to tension on their own, I got the buzz symdrome.
To me if motorcycle vibrates its not a Commando, regardless of the logo.
Point being Peel rods did not change stock alignment just retained it under load.

I'll try to get her on two tires tonight to see what rear and front tires indicate.
If eye balling off, then strings and rulers and angle finders, for guidance of big hammers, presses, pullers and long levers. If eye ball square then good enough for me and Peel.

Well I only got 1/3 the way to get Peel on two tires last night, but had my mood greatly elevated to find two things to accord for blank staring state, with a spike downward in the bad mood first of course.

Got tire on to see it offcentered ~1/4" to the RH, huh, when laced up it was centered? Then realized I had a pad added to the big plug the axle passes through on the DS, because the weld bead around the big hole in swing arm held off square seating with axle nipped up. I marked the excess to trim off which will take out 1/8" off set.

Then pulled the easy slack out of the cradle/iso rubbers for another 1/8"+ to center the tire as inteneded.

Then realized if it was this basically square easy fitting, something must be wrong with the holes I put in struts for shock length. Sure enough I'd goofed using a center punch to mark second strut hole by 1/6" that accounted for the mis fit I found first time around. So made new holes and the strut bolts slipped through no problemo, YEA!

New Shocks will set me back ~$1200, the last and biggest final expense to get Peel going. Also spent ~$1500 to recover Trixie over last year and ~$4000 before that on Trixie d/t stuff not my fault but mine to cover anyway.
My bargain running well Trixie at $3500 plus trip to retrieve will total ~$10,000,
just to get ordinary plain Jane Combat not worth a second look in a crowd : (
I keep invoices but gave up adding them up as in the end what does it matter.

One of my late Father's WWII GI trench art air craft is shown, that needs TLC to get assembled square again too. He rode a Cushman when I was infant.

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That's really cool!

Thanks, I'm trying to conceive a way to put on Peel. There's another one all brass based on 50 cal as the fuselage. I had the axle holder trimmed down so to in minutes will shut down 'puter and see what fouls me up next, but expect the cradle and tire end up eye ball perfect.