Thinking about buying another Commando!

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mike996

mike996

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I am seriously thinking of buying a 750 Commando to make into a faired cafe racer style bike - like the one SwooshDave or cmessenk has as avatars. I know Dave thinks I'm too old to ride that style but really, I'm not! Anyway, I have started doing some looking and I see a couple of 750s on ebay though not many. I don't want another 850. Is there a better place to search than ebay for such things? I don't really know where else to look. I bought my 850 from a well known vintage britt bike outfit and contrary to how it was represented, it was a total disaster other than nice paint so there's no way I'd repeat that mistake. But if there is something other than ebay for finding a commando, let me know. There's no rush so I guess I can just watch Ebay until something shows up.
 
Try craigs zoom, it picks up craigslists listing right across the country.

Glen
 
No thinking. If you want it and can afford it, buy it. No thinking.

Dave
69S
 
"No thinking. If you want it and can afford it, buy it. No thinking"

OK...but I still have to find one! There was a 73 on Ebay that ended up sold yesterday eve for 3650.00 but again, I don't want another 850. One problem I have is that I won't be in the US until May. So the seller would have to agree to hold it for me for several months after I paid for it. I suppose that some sellers would be OK with that and some wouldn't. Oh, well, as stated, there is no particular rush. Or maybe I'll come to my senses and realize that one Norton is plenty! :)
 
It is always a crap shoot no matter where you buy unless you know the previous owner or history of the bike. Look at the one swoosh turned down for $2200 only to have it turn up on ebay for $6000 a few weeks later. I'd look for an unmolested one rather than some of these collections of parts kludged together being called "rebuilt" or "restored". Go for a Combat!

Russ
 
mike996 said:
Always wanted a Combat, no doubt about that...
Click to expand...
They're not that hard to make. Just get your hands on any 72 or later 750 and go from there. I would think that a 73 with the better sump system would be a great candidate.

Shave the head, hotter cam(many choices), up the carbs and off you go. I wouldn't be so concerned about ever so slightly smaller intake ports, it's the cam and compression that really does the trick. Or see if you can find an RH6 head.
 
I say go for it. The supply of some of the racer parts are slowing down as you old farts aren't buying as much. The special tail light fairing is not available. It won't be long before the rest of them aren't either.

With basket case Commandos now bringing $1500 you need to start looking immediately. Very hard to get deals through ebay, much better to use your contacts.

Why not go for that one that bwolfe is building?
 
"They're not that hard to make. Just get your hands on any 72 or later 750 and go from there. I would think that a 73 with the better sump system would be a great candidate"

Yeah - I guess "making" a combat wouldn't be a big problem - I'm not much of a "gotta have matching numbers" kind of guy anyway. I didn't realize there were '73 750's; I was under the impression that '73 was when they switched to the 850...

Dave, I'm exchanging some PMs re bikes on the forum here - I agree that it would be a better way to go than ebay.

Mostly a logistics/timing issue with me living in Mexico...
 
pvisseriii said:
mike996 said:
Always wanted a Combat, no doubt about that...
Click to expand...
They're not that hard to make. Just get your hands on any 72 or later 750 and go from there. I would think that a 73 with the better sump system would be a great candidate.

Shave the head, hotter cam(many choices), up the carbs and off you go. I wouldn't be so concerned about ever so slightly smaller intake ports, it's the cam and compression that really does the trick. Or see if you can find an RH6 head.
Click to expand...

I know want you meant....'73 850 has a better sump filter. The '73 750 is exactly the same as '72 though.
 
illf8ed said:
[I know want you meant....'73 850 has a better sump filter. The '73 750 is exactly the same as '72 though.
Click to expand...
Darn, your right. Well at any rate they are better than the older 72 cases.
 
Best one I saw was a 73 Hi rider sitting in a field . Went for $ 860 on Ebay .

Had about 5.000 miles on it , motor / box / hubs / forks all looked ok .
Ideal for building a stroppy street / Comp. bike from.

Ya gotta do everything anyway . So start with a Low K derelict . Two otheres went for $1800 though , & I think less preserved .

Long tough row to hoe . But if you enjoy life in the shed , itll give you plenty of things to pass the time . unless youre in a hurry to ride it . :lol: :P
 
I know of a Combat in the Keys a guy is thinking of selling. Mostly original unmolested machine from an estate sale. Guy got it running but isn't really interested in it. PM me if you want his number.

He saw me at the Dania show and was asking all kinds of questions about wet sumping and such. I told him there were no problems if he rode it every couple days. I may go look at it, but its 180 miles south of me.

Thinking about buying another Commando!
 
I live in a remote location. So it isn't easy to travel around and look at lots of bikes. It ends up costing a lot, so when I bought my 750, I figured that I could spend thousands looking for the right bike or take my chances and get to work. It has turned out OK, but the point is that I am just an extreme case of that. You gotta decide if the hunt is as invigorating as the kill before you decide whether to jump on a deal or keep looking. Ultimately you could invest as much money into the hunt as you might into a restoration. Finding a really good deal is mostly a matter of luck. Of course living someplace with roads does tend to make it easier!

Russ
 
I couldn't pick up a bike from anybody (or have it picked up by a shipper) until May because there would be no place to deliver it in the US until then - I'm usually in the US May-Jun and again Sep-Oct. I've got a tentative iron in the fire at the moment re a bike but still have some thinking to do. Frankly, I'm a little torn between buying a fairly rough (though NOT a basket case) bike for not much money - 2500 would do it from what my current research shows or buying one for considerably more in excellent shape. It's easy to say - HEY, 2500 bucks, not bad. But when you start adding up what is needed + what you want, the money/time ends up often being more than the good bike was in the first place. Of course, it's financially less traumatic to toss some money at it a bit at a time rather than pony up all the cash at once. But i'm considering a really nice bike at the moment...

Oh Cr@p, I just realized that regardless of what I do, the "new" Norton may end up costing at least 2250 more than I thought...for another Alton Estart! I don't know if I could go back to actually kickstarting - I haven't had to do that for over a month now! :)
 
mike996 said:
I couldn't pick up a bike from anybody (or have it picked up by a shipper) until May because there would be no place to deliver it in the US until then - I'm usually in the US May-Jun and again Sep-Oct. I've got a tentative iron in the fire at the moment re a bike but still have some thinking to do. Frankly, I'm a little torn between buying a fairly rough (though NOT a basket case) bike for not much money - 2500 would do it from what my current research shows or buying one for considerably more in excellent shape. It's easy to say - HEY, 2500 bucks, not bad. But when you start adding up what is needed + what you want, the money/time ends up often being more than the good bike was in the first place. Of course, it's financially less traumatic to toss some money at it a bit at a time rather than pony up all the cash at once. But i'm considering a really nice bike at the moment...

Oh Cr@p, I just realized that regardless of what I do, the "new" Norton may end up costing at least 2250 more than I thought...for another Alton Estart! I don't know if I could go back to actually kickstarting - I haven't had to do that for over a month now! :)
Click to expand...

Have you priced out the Proddy parts? Don't go into this cheap. Because it won't be.
 
Not seriously - I checked Norvil fairing prices but that's about it so far. Price for the fairing didn't sound all that bad though I thought the shipping to the US was a bit high...then I realized the price was in GBP. So, yeah, I can see that even after a bike is acquired, there's a lot to do/pay to get it to look like I want it.

And yes, I know a cafe still makes no sense for Mexico... ;)
 
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