Rickman

Hi

Well I managed to get out for the first race meeting of the season at Pembrey.
I have once again loaned this bike out but the Rootes kindly insisted that I ride the Rickman, as I had nothing left to ride!!!
Thought I would post an image for you all.
Must say I found the handling very good & the original Quaife 4 speed like a knife through butter.
Gearing was 36 72 primary & 19 47 final. It spun the tyre of the line & 2nd was interesting at the hairpin. We changed the gearbox sprocket to a 20 & I found it easier to ride, running it in third through the infield.
Replacing the 2007 rear tyre :shock: helped a lot.
I am looking forward to seeing how the bike goes/develops this season, with a young rider on it. Dan is going to do the occasional race & his father Peter is going to parade it. He did this at Snetterton at the last meeting of last season, 24 years or so since last riding a Commando. Obviously he enjoyed himself as he is now a proud owner of a road going Commando Result.
I have lent it out again & with some sprockets (we only had the 47 rear) I have 17 to 24 gearbox & a bit of sorting of the front master cylinder. It worked really well but you could not feather the brake as the lever has too much movement, I think it could be a good ride.
The new tank that Spike at Ragged Edge Racing made for me will be moved down on the frame tubes once the fairing straps/headsteady brackets are fettled so that they don't rub.
I had a really great weekend, I built this bike 3/4 years ago but had never ridden it. I missed practise did the warm up lap, found it ran well & had a blast in the first race. Just having fun riding a Commando.]
Isnt that what its all about.
Still smiling
Chris

That's a big rear sprocket, perhaps the reason for the wheel spin off the line ? I use two Lockheed calipers with asbestos pads and Suzuki discs up front. I once used a large plated disc with one Lockheed caliper, and it wasn't enough. - Nice bike !

Chris said:

Hi

I am looking forward to seeing how the bike goes/develops this season, with a young rider on it.

........a bit of sorting of the front master cylinder. It worked really well but you could not feather the brake as the lever has too much movement
Chris

Click to expand...

Well the old rider you lent it to did nothing but complain ;-)

Seems the vibes didn't worry you either?

Actually when I used theh bike the master cylinder was typical Lockheed wooden feel, with very little movement, so if it is moving a lot I suspect there is some air in there somewhere.....or you were challenging the pads more than I did, I am typically light on brakes. I put in CP911, I have CP1s for mine which may be better, supposedly they are more consistent, but the newer EBC pads Cormac Conroy raves about would probaby be better still.

What makes this a Rickman, the frame? Stunt riders put on big final sprocket to smoke tire while going slow easier. The hotter the fluid the more any air left must compress before pads and tire grip.

The Chassis .

Something like the begining :


BONZAI :

Ok thanx Matt that's what I thot and also think if it ain't an isolastic then its not really a Commando, which is why actual Commando racers are so rare and my tamed isolastic love reports beyond belief.

Hi Steve

The brake works great for the big pull ups but as you came out of corners & got close to the rider in front you could not feather it because the lever comes back to far so you end up rolling the throttle off & loosing a couple of bike lengths. It did open my eyes to the handling as I was pulling the bike about to go inside or outside & as I said it handled very well. I know I always found the mastercylinders to be good but you do need a later adjustable to get the lever where you want it.
Vibes? what vibes? Lovely roarty ride pulls well f****** my eye sight at standstill but pretty smooth once on the go.
It was nice to have a seat! I usually just have a bit of foam.

Chris

Chris said:

Hi Steve

The brake works great for the big pull ups but as you came out of corners & got close to the rider in front you could not feather it because the lever comes back to far so you end up rolling the throttle off & loosing a couple of bike lengths. It did open my eyes to the handling as I was pulling the bike about to go inside or outside & as I said it handled very well. I know I always found the mastercylinders to be good but you do need a later adjustable to get the lever where you want it.
Vibes? what vibes? Lovely roarty ride pulls well f****** my eye sight at standstill but pretty smooth once on the go.
It was nice to have a seat! I usually just have a bit of foam.

Chris

Click to expand...

Oh yes...that was my seat once

The vibes only bothered me at max revs in top, whatever that might have been! hands went numb and hot in the length of Cadwell Park Straight....

Didn't rev it enough to get wheel spin off the line though.... :shock:

Hobot, to me its a Rickman Commando because the motor is Commando and set at 15 degrees, nd for me, mine is a Rickman Norton because the engine is vertical like an Atlas! Actually the frame was designed for the Atlas and they never changed it.....if Chris is honest, his frame was once a Rickman Triumph!

And my chassis, commissioned from Rickman and built and stamped in October '75 did not include any exhaust pipes!, or as much plumbing!

It is having to start again from the frame only that has taken me so much time! getting there....

Few years ago, with my Commando Rickman, I found it very stiff.........and nine years later , I went for a Seeley , not on the road yet ........soon, I hope! time is passing so quick

Not a Commando, but I had this Rickman Enfield street bike back in the late '70s. I originally bought it planning to put a Commando engine in and convert it to a race bike. I rode it on the street for a while, and then found out that it was a fairly rare model, so I sold it to a collector instead. Seemed a shame to butcher it when there were plenty of frames I could use. Everything about it was great except the gearbox, which was more suited to a tractor than a motorcycle.



Ken

Hi Ken

The Rickman Enfield. Nice engine & as you say very rare. Plenty of other frames out there without breaking a good bike.

My frame was welded by Don in 1966 for a Daytona engine. As brought it had Suzuki forks twin disc from the GT really long forks & a heavy front end. The lower frame tubes had been cut & tube welded in for the bottom engine mount of a BSA A65. The welding was like scrambled egg & had been filled with metal putty , so that you couldn't see through the weld!

A commando engine is the engine of choice

Chris

Ok a Richman or a Seeley Commando does ID the rigid mounted specials and both with happy users. After all the weak points innate with the Commando engine and all the other options to put in above frames, seems to me its mainly the cockey cosmetics that keeps us so interested in pressing luck to get away with. I hear of Dunstall Commandos too that retain the isolastics good or bad.

Chris, did that rear tire have enough air?

Looks like you were having fun.

Gents,

speaking of Rickman frames - is there any kind of rule regarding the rear triangle in terms of why some frames have a kink in the forward pointing tube and some don't?

I was told once that this depends on the year and the early frames feature the straight tubes but my impression is that it depends on the kind of engine. The singles have the straight tube and the twins the kinked one. If it depends on the year when did the design change?



Tim

Hi Paul

I run 30 front 32 rear. I know lots of ridders run much lower pressures but I don't like the feel. It was great to be out there & a real pick me up. Helps focus you a bit. Lots of work to do this season but I hope to be out there.

Tim You are correct, there are lots of little differences. I assumed like most that it was the same frame, with the engine mounts moved about.
Als is an original frame for a Commando & his is kinked on the front down tube by the timing cover. G50 & other single frames don't appear the same. Steve named the man who repaired his frame & worked at Rickman, maybe he can throw some light on the subject. If not I am sure Matt can as he keeps finding those fantastic old photos.

Chris

You guys might enjoy this. It is a replica of the Rickman Triumph that Rod Tingate rode in Victoria in the Early 60s. Rod ended up working for Colin Seeley, and was Kim Newcombe's mechanic in the early 70s when Kim was near the top of the world championship MotoGP with the Konig and was killed :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhV0fzvH8MU

About the Lockheed master cylinder feeling 'wooden'. Mine felt that way when I was using a single disc, with two discs and asbestos pads it is excellent. It is important to get diameters correct, I always like my front brake to be only one finger operation. With disc brakes, that is quite OK. With a drum brake, I still like it that way however it was responsible for most of my get-offs as a kid, and my one serious injury from road racing.
I'm wondering about you running a lower tyre pressure on the front of the Rickman. I am much more likely to run a lower pressure on the rear to get more grip, low pressure on the front can cause sluggish handling. However at 30 lb, it should still be OK.

I must say that I am pretty jealous of what you are doing - I cannot get to that at present. Your posts are very interesting to me. A few years ago I was at a bike wrecker's in Shepparton. He had a new Rickman frame for which he wanted $400. I thought it looked like it was intended for a two stroke, so did not buy it. Surprising how these good things sometimes appear in unexpected places. Amongst our historic racing fraternity, there is on particular guy who makes himself the centre of everything. He hates trick frames - to my mind that is what classic racing has always been about. There are a few guys racing who have the real deal such as the Rickman. One guy has a Moto Martin endurance racer with a 1000cc Z1R Kawasaki motor - I love that bike, it is to die for. There are also a couple of McIntosh framed Suzukis with Katana engines - they are pretty good too, however impossible to find if you really wanted one.

Evening folks,

I'm the young rider that Chris mentioned will be riding the bike at some points this year. Plans for the bike before the next meeting are to bleed the front brake, and give it the once over.

I'm from a 2-stroke background, but have been wanting to ride a proper bike since the day I started. Chris has been unbelievably kind lending us the bike for myself and my Dad to ride. We've worked through a few issues so far and at Pembrey we managed to keep the motor oil tight with no hassle.

I can't wait to hopefully get out on the bike at Lydden Hill alongside my normal ride. It was great to see the grin on Chris' face when he got back in to the paddock all weekend, even in the pouring rain!

Dan

'Make haste slowly', it is not a two stroke.