The '68 Rebuild Begins - Slowly

Gday Maxi, very nice mate, looks beautiful and fresh out of the packet!! That orange seat...... dare I say it ,, got a Suzuki Katana appeal to it!
Foxy

Orange was an original color on the '68. My bike was ordered with the silver tank and orange seat combination.

Looking at your restoration, its very nice. :mrgreen: If you need any reference photos let me know.

Congrats on the sexiest motorbike ever produced , IMO.

Beautifull work Max,
My first Commando was Orange and Silver, although, that's all I remember.
I did seem to remember the tank being two tone, but not sure. It may have been altered before I got it.
1971 is a long time ago.
Have you got a photo of the original colour scheme.
I could live with the Orange seat.
AC.

Stirs the memory , Recal talking to the pilot of the local one as a nipper , sure it had 43.000 on it .A few trips to the
South Island ( N.Z.) , after a few years .
Bit of grime ingrained in the orange seat at one stage. Was around ( 'The Bays ') for about four years.
Created a bit of a sensation with the houswives ( James Bond / The Saint etc Like ) when it first arrived.
They mustve had short attention spans.Can reall being irritaed late when it passed withoout comment .

Like to see a Killer triple disc 920 set up like this , Looks like a quality resto on youres at its best .

Matt .

Great memories Matt. Thanks for the cudo's on the finished bike.

Getting ready to start my '70 'S' soon. Need to do a Francis Barnett Cruiser basket case (one that should have been left for dead and not dragged home) first.

" the Magic Carpet Ride " , a Beardy , Caveman Doulton 's machine .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyM4HibS ... re=related

Lot of the original Commando riders in N.Z. were there own men .

Recall only a few incedants ,' the points need resetting ' and it did
a clucth cable . No Breakdowns in that time . " It'll sit on 70 mph ."
. Wondering if its still under his house ,I think not , unfortunately .

I received several PM's a while back regarding making the tanks badges. As I damaged one I came up with a new process using an idea the someone (I think it was RonL) suggested using acrylic rod. The new process was much faster and produced much better results. If anyone still wants the details let me know.

It looks great.
What are you going to use for a head steady? The original frame had a tab welded on to the bottom of the big tube. With the replacement frame, what did they use?
I have a 68 with the original factory frame, serial number stamped on the left side of the headstock, no plate. I am the 3rd owner, 1 or 2 did a repair on the frame, and it held up. I had a tube welded on so that it looks like a later frame, but it is the factory frame and motor, matching numbers, FWIW.
I am using a Dave Taylor head steady. I have only taken it for one short ride so far, it is basically all original except for the air cleaner and the tach drive.
It will be a rider, not a TQ, ( no offense). 68 Commandos are rare to see at a Norton Rally, never mind on the road.
Ride it hard!
Good luck

MF