New Bike, and the Long Ride Home

Well, I bought it! After a long search and thanks to all the help from you guys, I am now the proud owner of a 1974 Commando 850 with only 5,400 original miles. I purchased the bike from a guy in Chicago, some 1,000 miles from my home in Texas.

I decided that my first adventure on the bike would be to ride it home. Having not ridden a motorcycle since I was a kid (and that was a toy Honda 90 Super Sport), I decided the first order of business was to take a motorcycle safety course. After completing the 3-day school, I took the written test at my local DMV and obtained my endorsement. Next was the equipment purchases. Helmet, jacket, gloves, small duffle, bungee net, spare 1 gallon gas can, etc.

Last Friday I jumped on an American Airlines flight to Chicago and retrieved the bike from storage. I spent the rest of that day riding in the local neighborhoods, getting the feel of the machine. The next day I planned a short "shake down cruise" to test the integrity of the bike. The trip took me up to Wisconsin and back and the machine performed flawlessly.

Sunday morning, I hit the road, planning to make Hannibal, Missouri before dark. My best friend on the ride was my Garmin Nuvi. By checking the box "avoid highways", it took me on the most wonderful adventure through the back country of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Day 2 was a similar 300 + mile trip to Springdale Arkansas, and day 3 took me the rest of the way home. I went a little out of my way to tour the area south of Fayetteville Arkansas, as the winding and hilly highway 71 and the Ouachita National Forest south of Fort Smith couldn't be missed.

Overall it was a great trip! I'm so glad I decided not to have the bike shipped home. It performed nearly flawlessly the entire trip, with only a couple of minor annoyances, like when the header pipe nut came unscrewed on day 2 (wish I had had a spanner wrench!). I've got a few questions, like why my gas milage was so crummy (avg. about 39 mpg!), which I'll get to in later posts, but again, thanks to everyone for helping me determine this was the right bike.

Way to go Bonwit, the first of many great rides i hope.

It will do better, You just need to tune it up I think.

Wow, you had a lot of faith in the buyer and that the bike was good enough to ride that far. I guess life isn't an adventure if you don't take chances.

Well Done that man ! You're quite right of course, a Commando doesn't belong in a van or on a trailer.

I reckon you've got a good 'un

I'm not sure if 39 miles per US gallon is so bad but of course the Roadster tank makes it very noticeable. My record stands at seven fill-ups in one day.

swooshdave said:

life isn't an adventure if you don't take chances.

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Took the words out of my mouth!

Big Brass Cojones riding 1000 miles on a 35 year old bike. My hat's off to ya. Though I put 5600 miles on mine the first year I owned it (74) without anything breaking. They were made to be ridden.

Yeah, I carry a big spanner nowadays for those pesky exhaust collars. And typical 850 gas mileage is over 50 mpg, so there's some fettling to do there.

Congrats on your new British mistress.

swooshdave said:

Wow, you had a lot of faith in the buyer and that the bike was good enough to ride that far. I guess life isn't an adventure if you don't take chances.

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maylar said:

Big Brass Cojones riding 1000 miles on a 35 year old bike. My hat's off to ya. Though I put 5600 miles on mine the first year I owned it (74) without anything breaking. They were made to be ridden.

Yeah, I carry a big spanner nowadays for those pesky exhaust collars. And typical 850 gas mileage is over 50 mpg, so there's some fettling to do there.

Congrats on your new British mistress.

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Man, I'm sayin'! If I had done that with the bike I aquired, albeit in "good shape" , it would have been trailered home. The guy you bought it from obviously kept it roadworthy. Good on you! And to make a trip like that with so little time in the seat......big clanking ones you got!

You're my hero. Doing a 1000 mile ride having not been on a bike in many years is pretty damn awesome. Trial by fire at it's finest.

Congratulations. Great ride! More pics please!

79x100 said:

I'm not sure if 39 miles per US gallon is so bad but of course the Roadster tank makes it very noticeable. My record stands at seven fill-ups in one day.

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You know, one thing that occurred to me, and that's that much of our fuel here is about 10% ethanol. In my truck, the difference in milage is noticeable. Still, 39 MPG doesn't sound so good. Was expecting closer to 50. The bike has had the single Mikuni conversion and my assumption is it's too rich. The bike starts easy and ran great, though a little "blubbery" off the idle. Still, would a rich carb make that much difference in milage? What else am I missing, and what screw do I turn to lean it out?

Just curious, what do your plugs look like? Are they all black and cruddy looking, or are they brown, or white, or what? A ride that ought to give you a fair indication of how rich it's running.

I applaud your bravery sir. To buy a bike site unseen and take off on a 1000 mile ride, on a 35 year old brit bike no less. That's ballsy. I don't think I'd do that on my commando and I've renewed it. It to was a low miles original, 4500, but hadn't run in about 20 years.

And BTW, I'd go back to the amals if I were you. My dual amals will return almost 50 mpg, bike starts great and runs great. And there is something very satisfying about tickling the old gal then giving her the boot and she roars to life. It's just such a satisfying ritual to perform (once i've drained the oil from the sump and put it back in the tank of course).

Got to love those brit bikes.

For some wierd reason, 10 of the 12 bikes I ride most of the time, all seem to get 40 MPG. 4-cylinder litre bikes, new Triumph twins & triples, old Bonnies & Commandos, old Honda V-4 Interceptor, ALL of them. Not 35, not 45, just 40 MPG, repeatedly.

Anyway, you'll want to nip up those exhaust nuts while they're hot, then safety wire them or use locktab washers. you DON'T want them running loose or you'll be having to tear the head off and get the threads fixed. There are several alternative fixing methods involving set scres, etc. I like just carrying a little spool of wire in my toolkit; only duct tape is as useful in a good kit.

Woohoo! Now this is a new member I think is gonna get along JUST FINE here!! Good on ya bro.

Get that puppy home then investigate your carbs (and everything else!) systematically. Actually, 39 MPG isn't crazy bad mileage, but yes, you can do better. Valves, carb clean and sync, all fluids (crank, gearbox, primary, forks, grease points - swingarm, etc.), TIMING (esp. if points - more to do there if so, e.g., gap/condensers/dwell), plug wires and plugs, ALL electrical connections, maybe coils?, etc. - there's lots of potential causes and if there's one thing I've learned: It's probably MULTIPLE CAUSES interplaying.

Welcome, and best regards - BrianK

What a cool way to start with a "new" bike. With a bit of TLC, the honeymoon will keep on going for a long time. I have had at least one Norton for the last 40 years and I still enjoy them even if they do require some attention.

Jean

I get 50-55 mpg with a single 36 mm Mikuni and a 22 tooth countersprocket if I take it easy on the throttle. I think I have a 280 main jet in it. Runs pretty well for me. I wonder if your ignition may be a tad retarded. I got 44 mpg earlier this year when I didn't have the timing advanced enough.

My '74 850 with Amals gets 57 mpg at steady 50 mph. My buddy's '72 Combat Interstate gets 47, ten mpg less on the same roads. Both machines show nice tan plugs. I can't explain that.

maylar said:

My '74 850 with Amals gets 57 mpg at steady 50 mph. My buddy's '72 Combat Interstate gets 47, ten mpg less on the same roads. Both machines show nice tan plugs. I can't explain that.

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But what rpm is each bike at?

or what gearing are you both using the 72 combat would have lower gearing than the later 850 from the factory,so would be revving higher at the same road speed