Nice drouin supercharged rickman commando on faceache

baz

baz

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Looks like he's got a decent injector on there rather than the Lake widowmaker
 

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  • Nice drouin supercharged rickman commando on faceache
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I moved it back again, sorry I don't do Facebook so I thought it was for sale.
 
L.A.B. said:
I moved it back again, sorry I don't do Facebook so I thought it was for sale.
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No worries
I don't blame you for not doing Facebook as it's 90% dross
I got drawn back into it after 10 years of boycotting it because I was sick of seeing photos of people's dinners!!!
But I went back because of the bike stuff on marketplace
 
baz said:
Looks like he's got a decent injector on there rather than the Lake widowmaker
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Some nice work except for that long exhaust tip.

Supercharger on a Norton with a 4LS drum brake. Balls out

Looks like the same CRS Ceriani copy brake I have on my P11 but it is painted black. It's barely enough for a pair of 35mm FCRs. I did not read any accompanying text if another brake was listed somewhere.

I seriously can't imagine a Norton engine would last that long with a supercharger on it if ridden hard. If just trailered to shows and meets it would probably last forever though.
 
I love everything about the bike except the supercharger! It detracts from the simple elegance of the original Norton engine.
 
dave M said:
I love everything about the bike except the supercharger! It detracts from the simple elegance of the original Norton engine.
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With ya on that one .
My pal Barry has one in a purple frame . The Lake effect fuel drips gas all over . Hasn't caught fire ... yet .
 
jimbo said:
brings new meaning to DKISS (Don't Keep It Simple) But it is a nice engineering feat non the less
I like mine better.....
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Those kettle weber bbqs are nice.

So does the Drouin powered 850 drop quick into left handers and a little slower in to right handers.

My '74 Commando always seemed top heavy to me. I don't think the Drouin would have helped other than possibly making the bike faster in straights, which could be fun.
 
Schwany said:
Those kettle weber bbqs are nice.

So does the Drouin powered 850 drop quick into left handers and a little slower in to right handers?

My '74 Commando always seemed top heavy to me. I don't think the Drouin would have helped other than possibly making the bike faster in straights, which could be fun.
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Never ran it hard around the corners, so sorry I can't answer your question. Yep its fun in the straights:D
 
Schwany said:
Those kettle weber bbqs are nice.

So does the Drouin powered 850 drop quick into left handers and a little slower in to right handers.

My '74 Commando always seemed top heavy to me. I don't think the Drouin would have helped other than possibly making the bike faster in straights, which could be fun.
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I'm surprised you thought a commando seemed top heavy
 
jimbo said:
with a full Interstate tank..... kind of
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Yep from empty to full on an interstate is noticeable
I was thinking more of the commando engine leaning forwards lowering the C of G compared to a dominator etc
 
baz said:
I'm surprised you thought a commando seemed top heavy
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I would image everybody on this site feels that surprise in a "That's never happened to me" kind of way. I bought the previously owned '74 Commando Roadster around 1987 for $700 and it seemed sluggish and required more effort to flip back and forth through the turns than I was accustomed to. Plus the disc brake back then might as well have had wood disc pucks trying to slow down the rotor. It was a bad fit for me. I actually liked my P11 more. The P11 was quicker because the '74 Commando had a single Amal on it. The P11 also handled better, because to me it fit me, felt like the center of gravity was lower, and it was lighter. The Commando was a good cruiser, but lacked acceleration, felt heavy steering and was scary trying to stop when chasing Ducati's in the California foothills. I also had a VFR700 at the time. The 74 Norton Commando I bought was a sad slow comparison. That is how it was for me. Others I'm sure were thrilled with Commandos in the 1980's and still are today. Good for them.
 
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Well running with a single Amal carb would make it sluggish, but then running a supercharger be a different story lol.
 
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ashman said:
Well running with a single Amal carb would make it sluggish, but then running a supercharger be a different story lol.
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Correct... That was my point when I mentioned the single carburetor. A pair of Amal carburetors on a Norton engine are also a performance limitation in my experience with owning and experimenting with tuning a Norton 750 since 1972.

I know all the "I switched back to Amal carburetion" stories, so you don't need to repeat yours. I would never put Amal carburetion on my 750 engine again based on somebody else's experience or advice. I wouldn't put a supercharger on my Norton engine either unless I was building it for show.

Jimbo's bike is a nice example for sure.
 
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