Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.

L.A.B. said:
That's the early power socket. The wires should be red and brown/blue.
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The wire is brown/blue up higher, and brown/green down lower where the sun hit it ;).

Hey Baz, no electric shaver can cut through my heavy gauge wire beard, least of all a Brit-bike powered one o_O. I swear, now I know why graybeards are graybeards. Shaving sucks. Seems the whiskers turn quite hard as we age and other things go soft. Ugh.
 
Drat, cylinder barrel was silver for '71. I like the black VHT brake caliper stuff, not sure how their 'cast aluminum' for the barrels looks. Black would contrast nicely. I'll stick to what was stock/original and find what is close.

I took the headlight off to check the wiring, and it is 1971 in there. Every sign says 8K mile bike. Updated with new bodywork and seat, pipes, and electronic ignition (has good spark) but otherwise a time capsule. I am so used to rat's nest wiring all over. Tomorrow I'll give it a good degreasing with my favorite "LA's Awesome' dollar store degreaser, which has never let me down, and a bit of pressure washing carefully applied underneath.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
 
Glad It's coming together for you and thx for posting your progress gpzkat. Looking at the above photo I noticed the bolts holding the headlight shell to the fork "ears", they look just the same on my bike (way overengineered). It's no wonder these bikes weigh as much as they do----the seat pan on my 1975 aftermarket seat, weighs a ton & don't even get me going about the foot pegs. :) Anyway it's nice what you're doin'. Cj
 
cjandme said:
Glad It's coming together for you and thx for posting your progress gpzkat. Looking at the above photo I noticed the bolts holding the headlight shell to the fork "ears", they look just the same on my bike (way overengineered). It's no wonder these bikes weigh as much as they do----the seat pan on my 1975 aftermarket seat, weighs a ton & don't even get me going about the foot pegs. :) Anyway it's nice what you're doin'. Cj
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My GPz's and Katana/GS1000/GS1100E Suzukis all used pretty stout bolts there as well. I also question why. 'gpzkat' alludes to my two '82s that I restored 20 years ago, and still miss (see below). What great bikes. I still have 2 Suzuki GS1100Es.

Oh, and the pegs on my N15CS are amazing heavy contraptions with a cross bar tying them to the other side. Perhaps to add frame strength, but too far forward for standing up on a purported 'desert sled'.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
 
Those are a couple of good-looking rides for sure. The Katana is super collectable over here in Japan nowadays. (well, they both are actually).
 
gpzkat said:
Drat, cylinder barrel was silver for '71. I like the black VHT brake caliper stuff, not sure how their 'cast aluminum' for the barrels looks. Black would contrast nicely. I'll stick to what was stock/original and find what is close.

I took the headlight off to check the wiring, and it is 1971 in there. Every sign says 8K mile bike. Updated with new bodywork and seat, pipes, and electronic ignition (has good spark) but otherwise a time capsule. I am so used to rat's nest wiring all over. Tomorrow I'll give it a good degreasing with my favorite "LA's Awesome' dollar store degreaser, which has never let me down, and a bit of pressure washing carefully applied underneath.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Norton went back and forth with cylinder barrel colors. Silver for my '71 750 and '73 850. When they changed to black in '72 I painted mine black to give mine the Combat look. I liked the contrast anyway. As well as painting the Norton logo on the timing cover black.
You may as well keep it silver, everything else is period correct.
I can't say for certain, but it looks like the gap between the head and cylinder fins looked less than what the head and cylinder fins are. Possible evidence of the head being milled which nets a higher compression like Combats. Also may mean some other head work like valve guide seals that '71 750's needed.
Still, this is a low mileage un molested model, so a good buy for anyone wishing to own a 750 Commando.
 
I degreased and power-washed the bike carefully, then attacked the barrels. I gave it a good wire brushing, then rinsed and applied rust neutralizer (basic phosphorous acid stuff, Klean Strip concrete & metal prep which has served me well in similar situations), then cured it overnight. I followed that with another rinse and wipe in the crevices, etc. I taped off the area including the cylinder barrel base nuts, and hit it with 2 light coats of VHT aluminum silver caliper paint, then one medium coat. In my experience, it will cure from running the engine in incremental steps to the temp range specified - which I monitor with a temp gun - to a very tough and resistant finish, and the sheen will be toned down a bit to 'just right'. My N15CS is looking just the same as after I cured it, which includes an accidental hot soaking of gasoline, holy gawd. Amazing stuff.

The valves check out pretty close, minor adjustments are done. The carbs are cleaned in dip (put in my ultrasonic, whole can) and will be fine. I think they are original and don't seem badly worn. But I'm no expert. I will just see how they go. Nothing so far argues with an 8K original mile bike that hasn't been bodged. None of the outward-facing nut / bold heads seem all that bad. I use a Dremel lightly with a brass bristle brush, then dab them with a corrosion inhibitor spray. Works for me.

I don't like the zip-tied 'truck air line' oil lines to the top end. There's a great shop nearby (Mesa Hose in Costa Mesa CA) that fixed me up with some proper, and hard to find hoses for my N15CS. About $40 and worth it, as they are stout and clamped on nicely at their shop with correct fittings.

The tank, side covers, and seat could not be better. They are as perfect as I've ever seen. That's why I am being meticulous. Someone is going to get a nice bike. I wish I could keep it. I'm just paying it forward.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


My N15 barrels with black VHT Brake & Caliper paint before curing.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
 
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gpzkat said:
I degreased and power-washed the bike carefully, then attacked the barrels. I gave it a good wire brushing, then rinsed and applied rust neutralizer (basic phosphorous acid stuff, Klean Strip concrete & metal prep which has served me well in similar situations), then cured it overnight. I followed that with another rinse and wipe in the crevices, etc. I taped off the area including the cylinder barrel base nuts, and hit it with 2 light coats of VHT aluminum silver caliper paint, then one medium coat. In my experience, it will cure from running the engine in incremental steps to the temp range specified - which I monitor with a temp gun - to a very tough and resistant finish, and the sheen will be toned down a bit to 'just right'. My N15CS is looking just the same as after I cured it, which includes an accidental hot soaking of gasoline, holy gawd. Amazing stuff.

The valves check out pretty close, minor adjustments are done. The carbs are cleaned in dip (put in my ultrasonic, whole can) and will be fine. I think they are original and don't seem badly worn. But I'm no expert. I will just see how they go. Nothing so far argues with an 8K original mile bike that hasn't been bodged. None of the outward-facing nut / bold heads seem all that bad. I use a Dremel lightly with a brass bristle brush, then dab them with a corrosion inhibitor spray. Works for me.

I don't like the zip-tied 'truck air line' oil lines to the top end. There's a great shop nearby (Mesa Hose in Costa Mesa CA) that fixed me up with some proper, and hard to find hoses for my N15CS. About $40 and worth it, as they are stout and clamped on nicely at their shop with correct fittings.

The tank, side covers, and seat could not be better. They are as perfect as I've ever seen. That's why I am being meticulous. Someone is going to get a nice bike. I wish I could keep it. I'm just paying it forward.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


My N15 barrels with black VHT Brake & Caliper paint before curing.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
Click to expand...
good idea to use silver foil as masking!
 
I remember at Hansen Dam the owner telling me he had charging issues and needed help. It had all the original parts, capacitor/zener/rectifier and one stator wire was unplugged, maybe a hint of some troubleshooting. A while back I bought a single-phase Podtronics for my N15, and after an unforeseen delay, I got around to the electrics and went for a 3-phase. I got a package deal with a higher spec unit, so the 200W single-phase sat in the parts pile.... till now. I had some scrap alumni(i)um so I made a bracket that uses existing holes and is solid and out of the way.

I removed the oil tank to get access to things and clean it. Oh boy, sludge city. But no cracks or issues otherwise. I will put in some padding at the bottom, I have good dense foam for that. I yanked the chain oiler and sealed the tank's outlet by crimping/folding over and re-crimping in my vise. Solid. The hoses are original and I felt bad removing the one crimp on the return feed, but what can you do. They are still supple and fine.

There are no shops that will clean things anymore where I live. I remember going to radiator shops and they'd 'boil' a tank to perfection. So, plan B. I have a very large ultrasonic and am using gasoline. It's doing fine but one more round with the water heated up to about 70 C is needed for the last little patch of sludge. I may have to get a coat hanger in there and agitate it. I can see in there with a new borescope that hooks up to my phone. Pretty cool gadget for $25.

Once this is done and mounted, I need some parts I've ordered to arrive (Andover and eBay) to finish. Only about $150 total, not bad to address all issues.

When I tore down my N15 there was hardly any sludge in the crank trap. It had 10K miles on the clock, but had thrown a rod. Jeez. Related? Hmm, scratches chin. I should mount a filter.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
 
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The chaincase's chain inspection cap was on there tight. Usually, I use the side of a wrench. No such luck. Another way is a thick washer, so I tried that with an adjustable wrench, err, spanner. Nope. So, out came the heat gun and spray penetrant. I heated around the cap, but my IR temp gauge showed that the cap was 2x hotter, not good. It wasn't budging. I pulled a fat ice cube from my drink :rolleyes: and melted about half of it on the cap. It nearly fell out. Satisfaction!

To quote George Costanza - Shrinkage!

The Andover package arrived today, so I should have it finished in a few days. It's gonna look fantastic.
 
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gpzkat said:
The chaincase's chain inspection cap was on there tight. Usually, I use the side of a wrench. No such luck. Another way is a thick washer, so I tried that with an adjustable wrench, err, spanner. Nope. So, out came the heat gun and spray penetrant. I heated around the cap, but my IR temp gauge showed that the cap was 2x hotter, not good. It wasn't budging. I pulled a fat ice cube from my drink :rolleyes: and melted about half of it on the cap. It nearly fell out. Satisfaction!

To quote George Costanza - Shrinkage!

The Andover package arrived today, so I should have it finished in a few days. It's gonna look fantastic.
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good progress!
The backs of some C spanners are a vg fit for the bigger caps.
 
I'm close to done. Brake shoes were really bad so I ordered Ferodos. I have had good luck with their organic pads.. Did some detailing on the frame. Painted the yokes with same caliper paint and baked it. I have a much better MB41 front rim but it's gonna be too much I think. The bike is in sight of 'awesome' but it's a slippery slope, cost vs ROI.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.



Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
 
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gpzkat said:
I'm close to done. Brake shoes were really bad so I ordered Ferodos. I have had good luck with their organic pads.. Did some detailing on the frame. Painted the yokes with same caliper paint and baked it. I have a much better MB41 front rim but it's gonna be too much I think. The bike is in sight of 'awesome' but it's a slippery slope, cost vs ROI.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.



Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
Click to expand...
A real labour of love well done. If I believed in such things I would say that the previous owner 😉.
 
Got the yokes and instrument housings cleaned up. I have the steering lock but no key, so it's best to order one not push the old one back in.

Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.


Trying to help a recent widow sell her husband's '71 Commando.
 


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