new to group

Hi all,

I have been reading for a bit now, and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Matt, live in New York City area, and have a 1968 20M3 Commando (Fastback), I have owned it for about 17 years now, it is just coming off of it's second rebuild, hope to be done next month. When I originally bought it, it was just a frame and engine cases and a few assorted parts, that's all. It was at a Harley shop near me and they were in the process of modifying the frame to make a chopper out of it, as I was looking at the chopped drawings I noticed a photo of what a 1968 Commando looked like, as soon as I saw the photo, I knew I had to have have it, and rescue it from being turned into a chopper. I was a freshman in college at the time living in the dorms, and hid the parts under my bed, and would fiddle with it at night. Seven hard years later it was a complete, riding bike. The frame had some issues from the chopper work that had already begun, so several years ago I found another frame, and tore it down to replace the frame, I am in the final stages of putting it back together now. I have never had a garage, so all the work over the years has been done in tools sheds, basements, and even my kitchen for a year or so(I was single at the time. It has stock body work and colors, but that is about it. I put on a '74 front end to give me disc brakes, has vernier isolastics, new style cush drive rear wheel, stainless steel spokes, sealed headsteady bearings, powder coated frame, Magura levers and Magura 13mm master cylinder, clubman bars, Clubman Racing rearsets, custom passenger rearset footpegs, has an "S" model headlight ring, battery was eliminated and runs a Lucas K2F magneto where the points housing was, home made wiring harness, running a single Mikuni 34mm carb, and a production racer front fender. To answer some of the age old Norton questions for people such as what oil I use, type of head gasket, etc, here we go: I use a flame ring head gasket with a base gasket, run straight 40wt standard oil, standard 70-90wt in gearbox, run Dunlop TT100 tires with stock size rims, no oil filter, stock 19 tooth sprocket and have an oversized swingarm spindle with the old style "two bolt" method of fixing the swingarm, I use stainless where I can afford it, except for the cylinder head and base bolts. Other than paint, and wheel lacing I have done all work myself, although a lot of things I have to do two or three times to get right -Matt

mattfitz said:

sealed headsteady bearings

Click to expand...

Very nice! But what are these? I think you mean "headstock".

Welcome to the forum.

The Fastback styling never appealed to me years ago, but lo these many years of working with Nortons, it's grown on me. To be sure, it's an acquired taste.

Thanx for rescuing a possible chopper job (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

Great looking bike. Do you run it with the timing cover off? Kidding. Nice to see an old one on the road.

Dave
69S
on the way

The photos brought back memories (not all pleasant!). In the initial prototype tests, we didn't even have the production bodywork. They were naked frames with steel fenders and a horrible fiberglass fuel tank that looked like a camel with a hernia.

After the 1968 show, the test fleet was upgraded to the fast-back bodywork (in metalflake silver) and we even got speedometers with the right gearing! Early on, we were using 1600 revs/mile speedo gearboxes with 1000 mile/rev instruments, so 50 mph road speed read 80 on the speedometer. Needless to say, most of the time the speedo was off-scale!

What a job, eh? Riding Commandos around the UK and getting paid ($3600 a year at the exchange rates in effect then) to do it! Didn't do too well trying to support a wife and two young kids, though, hence leaving to work for Boeing.