hi, hopefully i'm posting this in the right section. i recently bought a '74 850 commando and stumbled across this forum last week. now that i have the bike in my possession, i figured i would introduce myself. i bought the bike locally and would like to get rid of the yellow paint, and swap out the seat and handle bars. the bike seems to run really good, and starts up easy. the last owner was getting up in age and having a hard time starting the bike, so he swapped out the twin amals for the mikuni which is currently on it. i'd like to get rid of that in time as well so the bike performs as it was meant to from the factory. i'm anxious to do some searching around on here and learn about these bikes.
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Welcome to the forum I'm new also but have read a lot of the posts before I came onto the forum there is some really great info in the posts and some very experienced people that can answer most issues hope you enjoy it like i am bike looks in great shape did the guy you bought it off have it long do you know how many owners it's had
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diy570 said:
Well, I see you wore out your welcome pretty rapidly…
:mrgreen:
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Welcome in diy570,
First things first, you must have a sense of humor and don't use too many big words.
Don't worry about swoosh, as you can see he's not sure yet if he likes Yellow.
You have done well, photos straight up. Looks good.
Go to "Explain your handle" and explain your handle.
Before you remove the Mikuni, read up on Carbies and, on gearing. 850s are a torquey er motor than 750s.
Have fun.
AC.
First things first, you must have a sense of humor and don't use too many big words.
Don't worry about swoosh, as you can see he's not sure yet if he likes Yellow.
You have done well, photos straight up. Looks good.
Go to "Explain your handle" and explain your handle.
Before you remove the Mikuni, read up on Carbies and, on gearing. 850s are a torquey er motor than 750s.
Have fun.
AC.
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Welcome to the group.
Although the bike isn't quite what you're after It certainly has the look of one who's PO did a beautiful themed job with it.
Too bad he didn't go with putting on one of the new starter conversions out there so he could have kept on riding.
It must have hurt to sell.
Bob
Although the bike isn't quite what you're after It certainly has the look of one who's PO did a beautiful themed job with it.
Too bad he didn't go with putting on one of the new starter conversions out there so he could have kept on riding.
It must have hurt to sell.
Bob
swooshdave said:
the bike was originally black and although i can appreciate yellow, its not my style. i think i'm the 3rd owner, the previous owner had the bike since 1988 and had it a couple different color themes over the years.
rx7171 said:
im sure it was a tough sale for him. he had a hard time standing for more than a few, so aside from kicking the bike over, it would have been tough all around. he had a very nice bsa for sale as well. it sold the day after i bought this one.
AussieCombat said:
thanks for all the replies. i will give the mikuni a chance. i'm not new to bikes altogether, but its definitely been a long time since i've been riding.
Welcome to the fold, you'll love this place.
I must say I do not mind the yellow, but the bike doesn't have a rear mudflap, whats that all about ?.
( I am trying to bring back the rear mudflap, most of the numpties on here shun us mudflap equipped Commando owners, so what are you, a pro or anti mudflap guy ?, answer carefully....... ).
Black and Gold really pulls the chicks.
I must say I do not mind the yellow, but the bike doesn't have a rear mudflap, whats that all about ?.
( I am trying to bring back the rear mudflap, most of the numpties on here shun us mudflap equipped Commando owners, so what are you, a pro or anti mudflap guy ?, answer carefully.......
).Black and Gold really pulls the chicks.
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Its a sexy sleek Commando and plenty of us like the Bumble Bee danger color scheme. If you ride in less than perfect weather then you may want the 'un-stylish' 'non-racer' mudflaps - especially the front one but the rear too or get the back side of bike and pilot sprayed over in road grime patina. I think the Corbon's are the sleekest looking but I know they are the worse to actually ride on a ways so I'm glad others will display them w/o mud flaps - just not on my 2 C'do's thank you. Same thing applies to me on the low sexy racer like handle bars, fine for show and short rides but nothing I want for long on my rides. I wore out Ms Peel Combat mud flaps and ain't yet put them on New Orleans raised Trixie Combat so collecting at least 5 more of them. Factory Trixie my fair weather C'do stays stock with normal 2 flaps but Peel my down and dirt deed ride gets a 3rd one in front of the swing arm area.
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850 with a drum brake, interesting.
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C'do's are modular thank goodness and many find the drum more appealing to view and can be made to work sufficiently if you have grip enough to match your groin tension slowing for sharp turns. A spoke with a few at the Empire rally that had switched to a drum front for the summer season and showing up in Norton crowd. Drum or disc you still got to project ahead the effort needed to make it in time.
rvich
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The bike also has the early style chain guard to match the drum brake. You should check your triple trees (yokes) to see if they have "ANG" cast in them. There is a spirited disussion here about that topic:
split-topic-triple-trees-t5729.html?hilit= yokes
It would also be interesting to check your swingarm to see if it has the 850 gussets or the earlier style swingarm.
As for mud flaps, Josh, they belong on the FRONT! Take one ride down my driveway on a damp day and you will agree.
Dave, looks to me like this is an opportunity to buy a flamed yellow Corbin at discount.
Most importantly, there has been a lot of discussion lately about adding starters to these bikes. While it really has nothing to do with this thread, yikes! Don't do it! Put on a few pounds, do some leg exercises or get a knee replacement but don't screw up a traditional British bike!
Welcome to the forum,
We are kind of an opinionated group, but we mostly agree that Commandos are great bikes. Don't we?
Russ
split-topic-triple-trees-t5729.html?hilit= yokes
It would also be interesting to check your swingarm to see if it has the 850 gussets or the earlier style swingarm.
As for mud flaps, Josh, they belong on the FRONT! Take one ride down my driveway on a damp day and you will agree.
Dave, looks to me like this is an opportunity to buy a flamed yellow Corbin at discount.
Most importantly, there has been a lot of discussion lately about adding starters to these bikes. While it really has nothing to do with this thread, yikes! Don't do it! Put on a few pounds, do some leg exercises or get a knee replacement but don't screw up a traditional British bike!
Welcome to the forum,
We are kind of an opinionated group, but we mostly agree that Commandos are great bikes. Don't we?
Russ
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rvich said:
Let's see what you say when you get to the point you can still ride but not kick it over.
rvich said:
i would gladly trade the corbin seat or it will be for sale after i find one that i like better and is also more comfortable. it also came with a windshield that wrapped around the headlight that i'd like to get rid of.
thanks to everyone for the welcome. i'm sure i'll be posting more questions soon as i become more familiar with the bike. i'll check the triple tree and swingarm to see if they are correct. the previous owner told me the original front end was bent and he liked the drum brake set up better due to the resevoir interfering with the bars he had at the time.
i still have to locate a good manual for the bike, any recommendations on the best one to get?
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Welcome DIY570,
The 74's can make a great machine. Drum brake isn't bad if properly tuned.
Not sure about that. Looks more like an aftermarket generic chain guard. The originals had a lot more meat on the sides.
RSR
The 74's can make a great machine. Drum brake isn't bad if properly tuned.
rvich said:
Not sure about that. Looks more like an aftermarket generic chain guard. The originals had a lot more meat on the sides.
RSR
rightshiftrick said:
thanks, i've noticed that the front drum brake is a bit sticky and i plan to take it apart and have a look soon. the bike has been sitting for a couple years.
until i can locate the proper manual, can somebody please tell me what the idle rpm should be? i've got it set at around 1000rpm at the moment, seems low, but its smooth with the mikuni.
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