My '73 850 rebuild..

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Rohan said:
The pics of the red roadster ( an extremely original looking Mk1 850 by the way, apart from pinstripes and grab rail ) appear to show twin amals with the original air cleaner setup ??

Its rather rare to see the original air cleaner setup still intact.
Bikes without this aren't as fast or torquey ?

And also the basket weave patterned seat, rare as hens teeth...
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The "before" pics I posted were the actual pics the previous owner sent me. When I showed up to pick up the bike, the accordion fork boots were gone (I bought a new pair) and the twin amals and the filter were removed and placed in a box, replaced with a poorly-installed Mikuni.

Want to buy the "rare" seat? Lol..

-jordan
 
I would hope the airbox was included. Get the Amals sleeved and put them back on. Just my opinion.
 
850cmndo said:
I would hope the airbox was included. Get the Amals sleeved and put them back on. Just my opinion.
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I might. More likely, though, I'll get the Mikuni set up correctly and give the amals to my dad.

Btw, I don't know the vin for sure (my bike is at my dad's), but I think it's 305256 or something like that.

-Jordan
 
Just curious how early it was. I hope you bought the long European gators. You'll be happier with them.
 
850cmndo said:
Just curious how early it was. I hope you bought the long European gators. You'll be happier with them.
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I went with the long accordion boots like the ones in the "before" pics. I can't stand the short "American" ones that are on it now. Blah!
 
" because I had been lead to believe that it was in good running condition and was pretty much ready to go."

I had a 73 850 delivered to me by a major name in old Britt bikes. The bike was to be delivered in 'perfect, ready to ride shape." It was a disaster. Took 3 days to get it to start. I won't go into all the major stuff that was defective/broken. SUffice to say that if I had it to do over I would NEVER buy a bike from any of those "brittbike" experts. I'd buy an Ebay bike, knowing that I would totally go through it. In my case I paid 6k for a bike that I STILL ended up replacing/repairing nearly everything on it just to make it safely rideable. Basically, I bought a bke that LOOKED great - new paint on tanks/covers, etc - but that was a mechanical disaster

I won't say who the dealer was but stay away from Iowa...
 
mike996 said:
" because I had been lead to believe that it was in good running condition and was pretty much ready to go."

I had a 73 850 delivered to me by a major name in old Britt bikes. The bike was to be delivered in 'perfect, ready to ride shape." It was a disaster. Took 3 days to get it to start. I won't go into all the major stuff that was defective/broken. SUffice to say that if I had it to do over I would NEVER buy a bike from any of those "brittbike" experts. I'd buy an Ebay bike, knowing that I would totally go through it. In my case I paid 6k for a bike that I STILL ended up replacing/repairing nearly everything on it just to make it safely rideable. Basically, I bought a bke that LOOKED great - new paint on tanks/covers, etc - but that was a mechanical disaster

I won't say who the dealer was but stay away from Iowa...
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Lmao @ stay away from Iowa. That's funny.

Yeah, $6,000 should get you a great bike..

My seller was asking $5,000 and it looked great in pics (I can notice the problems now as I look at those same pictures). I told him I'd give him $4,500 and we agreed. When I got down there and dad checked it out, he said it would take at least an additional $500 to get it to "good, running condition" (turns out he knew what he was talking about), so we told the guy $4,000 or no dice. My dad actually told him it was only "worth" $3,500 as far as he was concerned, lol. The guy mulled it over and finally agreed on $4,000. That trip was a real PITA and it cost us probably $500 just getting there and back. Mehhhhh.
 
Mike, I can only suspect who that party was but would be surprised, I guess, if I were correct. Said party is thought highly of, though I've never done business there, only stopped by. Sold a MKIII to a friend in those parts who later sold it to the suspected dealer. What they were in turn asking was pretty incredible $$ wise, knowing the bike. I too would buy private and not from some "expert". I do my own work and ship out what I'm not equiped to handle. Seems to work for me. Mpls. still has a few good shops that can be trusted.
 
Just ordered another $150 in parts.. :)

-NOS kickstart shaft from England, $73 shipped
-Dzus clip for sidepanel (mine came missing the clip), $1.61
-New inner tubes, $13/ea x2
-Rim lock, $4.65
-Mounting grommets for battery side cover; $3.60
-Kick start shaft o-ring; $1
-Rear hub cush drive buffer set; $10.44
-Gran Turismo 7/8" handlebar grips; $10
-19" rim strap; $2/ea x2

Hopefully this gets me going for a bit.. :D

-Jordan
 
"In for a Penney, In for a Pound" was first said by a Commando owner.

I'm still waiting for Peter Egan to fess up whether his Commando has eaten more than the $1500, said it would take to get it to a good rider. 8)

Scooter
 
Scooter62 said:
"In for a Penney, In for a Pound" was first said by a Commando owner.

I'm still waiting for Peter Egan to fess up whether his Commando has eaten more than the $1500, said it would take to get it to a good rider. 8)

Scooter
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lol.. Oh well. :D
 
I'd like to see Eagan hang on to one for a change instead of whining about electrics, etc. and dumping it for every other bike that strikes his fancy. Can the guy actually work on his own bike? Good writer I guess, but....if I had his money I'd throw mine away.
 
I have nothing useful to post right now but it's driving me nuts that I haven't worked on my bike in several days.

Here's the goofy bike I'm riding now:

My '73 850 rebuild..

My '73 850 rebuild..

My '73 850 rebuild..

My '73 850 rebuild..


Easy to see why I'm so anxious to get the Commando up and running, eh? :)

-Jordan
 
Looking good...nice to see the progress.

I had a very bizarre chance meeting with Egan a few weeks back. He was in my neighborhood with Road and Track shooting photos of a batch of wild Porsche supercars. The oddest thing about it is that I live seriously in the middle of nowhere...NOTHING ever seems to happen out here. The worst part was that I didnt really realize it was him until the end of the conversation...and it was prior to my owning a Commando.... but it was still quite cool. He was fun to talk to...nice guy.
 
My new parts all came today, so I should be able to get the tires mounted back on the wheels tomorrow. Not sure if I'll be able to get the rear rim cleaned up first, though..it needs some serious TLC, with all the built-up grime that's on it! :mrgreen:

-Jordan
 
Simple Green and a good sponge will clean up those rims. Use a Scotch-Brite pad to remove any light corrosion.
 
nomadwarmachine said:
Simple Green and a good sponge will clean up those rims. Use a Scotch-Brite pad to remove any light corrosion.
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Yeah, just some TLC and elbow grease! :)
 
I went to Auto Zone this afternoon and asked if they had any TLC or Elbow Grease...they dont carry either one!!! WTF? :?
 
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