What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

Torontonian said:

Thanks for caring .
I live in an Artscape art studio complex that is LEED Certified , which means no motor vehicles allowed on the property. Heck I even have to hide my solvents and sprays for the Norton in a sealed tub so they don't see them during the annual inspection. They gave one of my neighbours grief for painting in oil paints vs. acrylics , so she moved out . I use acrylics .
Walridge motors here in London , Ont. has just sold me something called " The Bike Bag " to help. It's not a cover but an actual thick big plastic clear bag. I will have to shuffle the bike somehow into it , bungee cord up the opening as per instructions , then fit a final bike cover on top of it . The one I like is XYZCTM , available from Amazon , comes in black top and orange sides. Previously I had used pure black covers and the bike was knocked over twice at night in dark winter because of this. I now use 2 cone bottomed base poles ( filled with cement for stability ) painted day glow fluorescent (acrylic of course ) paint , on each end . The city leaves me alone and no more clowns making 3 point turns have hit it in years now.
That's my strategy for this winter , I'll pull the tank and seat and battery first , likely tomorrow.

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Tornado said:

Makes me glad to have a parking spot in an underground parkade, shared between two bikes and a classic mini.

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Torontonian said:

Thanks for caring .
I live in an Artscape art studio complex that is LEED Certified , which means no motor vehicles allowed on the property. Heck I even have to hide my solvents and sprays for the Norton in a sealed tub so they don't see them during the annual inspection. They gave one of my neighbours grief for painting in oil paints vs. acrylics , so she moved out . I use acrylics .
Walridge motors here in London , Ont. has just sold me something called " The Bike Bag " to help. It's not a cover but an actual thick big plastic clear bag. I will have to shuffle the bike somehow into it , bungee cord up the opening as per instructions , then fit a final bike cover on top of it . The one I like is XYZCTM , available from Amazon , comes in black top and orange sides. Previously I had used pure black covers and the bike was knocked over twice at night in dark winter because of this. I now use 2 cone bottomed base poles ( filled with cement for stability ) painted day glow fluorescent (acrylic of course ) paint , on each end . The city leaves me alone and no more clowns making 3 point turns have hit it in years now.
That's my strategy for this winter , I'll pull the tank and seat and battery first , likely tomorrow.

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Alan L said:

The bike is sufficiently oil tight not to drop oil but it does have a leak around the head gasket (or possibly the head itself ) which leaves an annoying mist over the LH side and primary cover.
Anyway, it was a great couple of days on a great bike.
Alan

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Alan L said:

A great ride.
Hi all, last Tuesday we at last finished shearing. Shearing has been a major problem this year with very wet weather in Eastern Australia combined with a shortage of shed staff.
On Wednesday I jumped on my Commando and rode it across the Snowy Mountains from Delegate to Corryong with a mate where we stayed the night. He was riding a 2014 retro Bonneville. As he rode a little slower than my normal pace I had a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the ride through the beautiful forests of the Alpine Way. It was perfect riding weather.
The only downside was the appalling state of the roads due to the recent torrential rain and getting tangled up with a heap of Lotus Super Seven drivers, some who being pretty silly on the narrow road.
We had a big night at the hotel, with much drinking and bon homie with the friendly locals. As is the case with our advancing age, this led to less than a perfect night‘s sleep and numerous trips to the loo.
Thursday morning, after a hearty breakfast I rode back alone, again a great ride enjoying the bike’s relaxed torquey performance and good handling. As a bonus I was able to do a flying job in Jindabyne, checking a pilot out in an ex-RAF aircraft. In view of the heavy drinking the night before I politely declined the aerobatic sequence, finding slightly more gentle ways to conduct the test😉 Flying over Lake Jindabyne with the mountains as a backdrop was the perfect compliment to the ride. Like our Commandos, the little CT4 could be thrown about with beautiful sharp handling.
All in all the bike went very well but I was a bit surprised by it’s fuel consumption, no better than 45mpg in relatively gentle riding. I think I might try dropping the needles one notch.
Even with a reduced master cylinder I really consider the brakes sub standard, I wonder if I’m losing strength in my wrist and that is exacerbating the problem?
The bike is sufficiently oil tight not to drop oil but it does have a leak around the head gasket (or possibly the head itself ) which leaves an annoying mist over the LH side and primary cover.
Anyway, it was a great couple of days on a great bike.
Alan

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Torontonian said:

Love it.
Fired up the Snorty today as the temps went way up . Only for a few hours , will drive again tomorrow morning , then it crashes into serious winter. + 6 C. and + 9 tomorrow before the big winter crash.
Tickle , ( hold down tickles , no ticklings ) until fuel burps up both sides . Full choke , no throttle. Pull in clutch. Hit magic starter button. Fire up and run , get off the choke immediately. Warm up and ready to rock n' roll . Winter coat and gloves. Enjoy.

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YING said:

I keep going out every day to see what my breaking point is (temperature). I bought a set of 7V heated gloves which help but no comparison to heated grips. I am all set up to use a heated vest or jacket liner but don’t want to do any damage to my charging system.3phase with LI battery and Estart.Have anyone gone this route?As I get older my tolerance for cold gets weaker.
Yesterday was 53 degrees and I enjoyed myself but knew that was about it.
Mike

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Torontonian said:

Yes Mike , I wire up a lead from the battery terminals for my electric vest. It's not polarity conscious so not a concern with the positive ground. What is important is the plug in lead that the vest directly plugs into , it's 2 wires obviously , one shielded and the other open . The plastic shielded will be your hot ( neg. ) and the other exposed metal next to it will be the ground ( Pos. ) .
Love my vest and regret not buying one years ago . Extends the riding season or makes you feel snug as a bug in a rug on the cool days.
New Age Motorcycle Accessories sold me their make and then I bought one for the wife , made by Gears . It's better quality with an inline roller temp adjuster .
I use a 3 phase with Podtronics on the MK 111 .
Don't know what the draw is but you could look it up or ask the salesperson.
In a previous older thread I expressed concern that it was draining my battery but that turned out erroneous as the battery itself was the culprit , a dying internal cel. The new battery handles it fine .
Enjoy.

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YING said:

Thanks for the reply,
I have wired a direct line to the handlebars straight to battery with negative ground so I can use the heat through a Gerbing controller and am going to give it a go today
So should I just check the standing voltage after I get home?It usually reads 14.1-14.3 volts after a ride
Mike
I have the specs.for what the draw is but I would think that they are all at max draw which I don’t use

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Tornado said:

I have been running a Powerlet liner on my MKII with 3 phase Lucas alt., LA battery. Works a treat. Have a SparkBright voltage monitor and although it starts to give discharge level volt warning below 1.5-2k rpm with liner on medium to high heating, I can quickly turn down the heat setting while at those rpm around town etc. At full heat, higher rpm, charge warning goes away.
Don't forget, the more power draw, the less strain on the alt and Reg as there is less need to short excess power to Earth, which heats up these components.

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Torontonian said:

So it looks like the draw for heating might just be a good thing. That and using the inline dial to lower the draw in stop n' go traffic . I'll try to find a small dial type switch to wire into my vest feed , the wife's better made Gears vest came with one .

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gortnipper said:

Met in Drury for a ride out Clevedon way to Kaiaua Pub for lunch with half dozen Norton Owners. A couple hundred k's all up today.

I'm sure shane-o will find something to troll about this to

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