What is this bracket for??

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olympus

olympus

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Hi all
Striped the bike down to frame today the only problem was extracting the lower engine moulting bolt, due to this bracket being in the way.... nothing is connected to it or rests against it..
It is welded onto the left hand lower frame tube just forward of the cross brace,
What was it originally used for & do I need it... or else my angle grinder is coning out.

Thanks


What is this bracket for??
 
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That's the early Commando side stand bracket as fitted to pre-71 frames which have the cross-brace below the gearbox and with the frame mounted centre stand brackets.
 
OK thanks L.A.B, I intend the purchase from AN the later side stand support bracket & weld on anyway, so ill remove it
Thank you
 
Good point Sir, I'll make sure I get a cross brace to weld in at the sane time.
Then of course the next question is the position where that the cross brace needs to be welded???
Thank you
 
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Hi Olympus
These photos may be of interest to you. Taken during my latest rebuild/upgrade a few years ago. There was a certain amount of guesswork involved in the positioning of my home-made cross brace and the angling of the sidestand bracket, but all worked out well.
 

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Many thanks guys, your input is invaluable..... but I have another question.
The frame that I have like the photos above has on the cross brace lugs which I'm supposing are for mounting the centre stand onto.
But on mine the centre stand is mounted onto the engine/tranny cradle.
I have read that on the earlier the stand was indeed mounted here, so my question.... where should I be mounting it
1. what are the pros & cons to both positions please... indeed can I actually use both without modification?
2. Is one position better than the other, stability, getting it onto the stand etc.
3, This answers another question as to why the stand is "sloppy" and wont lift any wheels off the ground... appreciate there is some wear to the pivots & mating contact surfaces, but I would think without checking that the two stand designs differ in length.
4. If its viewed to not use the frame mounted brackets, cut the cross brace out (as I'll be installing a new brace further forward) adjacent to the newer side stand bracket.

Thank you
 
MFB said:
Hi Olympus
These photos may be of interest to you. Taken during my latest rebuild/upgrade a few years ago. There was a certain amount of guesswork involved in the positioning of my home-made cross brace and the angling of the sidestand bracket, but all worked out well.
Click to expand...
Hi MFB centre to centre of the two braces, what is the measurement please?
 
My bike must have a similar past to yours. Although it had the rearward cross brace, the centre stand was mounted to the cradle. Unlike yours however, it does lift the wheel off the ground nicely, despite having some wear in the bushes. I don't know whether this is a PO mod. or some bikes left the factory this way in the "transition" period - maybe L.A.B. can shed some light.
My intention was to leave the old cross brace in place to let the bike tell its own life story, but when I got it all assembled I found that the old cross brace interfered with the cradle, which it had not done before the rebuild. The addition of the new cross brace could not have caused this.
The only thing I could think of was that my rebuild had included new a iso kit (vernier type) to replace the old ones that were like marshmallows, and that the new rubbers held the engine/cradle differently (better?). I ended up cutting the old cross brace out with the bike fully assembled.
Just as well I had another cross brace!
Oops just noticed we were both typing at the same time.
There are vestiges of the old cross brace still there. Will get back to you shortly.
 
Centre to centre = 200mm

Not mentioned in my original post: Old Britts have a template which you can download and print to help with getting the angle of the sidestand bracket right.
 
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olympus said:
The frame that I have like the photos above has on the cross brace lugs which I'm supposing are for mounting the centre stand onto.
But on mine the centre stand is mounted onto the engine/tranny cradle.
I have read that on the earlier the stand was indeed mounted here, so my question.... where should I be mounting it?
Click to expand...

Is "here" referring to frame or cradle"?

Pre-71 centre stand fits to the frame, '71-on it's the cradle.


olympus said:
1. what are the pros & cons to both positions please... indeed can I actually use both without modification?
2. Is one position better than the other, stability, getting it onto the stand etc.
Click to expand...

The cradle-mounted stand is stronger and later cradle mounted stands were even sturdier. Changes were also made to the later cradle stand pivot bush/spacers.

olympus said:
3, This answers another question as to why the stand is "sloppy" and wont lift any wheels off the ground... appreciate there is some wear to the pivots & mating contact surfaces, but I would think without checking that the two stand designs differ in length.
Click to expand...

Once again it would be useful to know if you actually have all the correct parts.

As you said "the stand is sloppy and won't lift the wheels off the ground" so a rolling chassis then you should be able to answer your question about whether the frame brackets need cutting.
 
Thank L.A.B.
I'm doubtfully now that many of the parts on the frame are correct.... so where do I start & what do I replace with?
order for a 71 & fit the stand to the frame or order for a 72 & fit to cradle?
Like many of the part on the "Heinz" frame, the main stand will have to be replaced so mounting on either is possible
 
olympus said:
I'm doubtfully now that many of the parts on the frame are correct.... so where do I start & what do I replace with?
Click to expand...

It's difficult to say, at least with any degree of accuracy when we don't know exactly which selection of odd year/model parts have been lumped together to make what is supposed to be a 1972 Commando. So far, we know the frame is earlier and it has a wobbly cradle mounted stand but that's about it.

olympus said:
order for a 71 & fit the stand to the frame or order for a 72 & fit to cradle? Like many of the part on the "Heinz" frame, the main stand will have to be replaced so mounting on either is possible
Click to expand...

(Pre-'71)
Up to you, as I said, the cradle centre stands are stronger and would also be correct for '72.
 
Re "Heinz" bike:

Mine is a 1970 roadster with a Fastback tank, numerous home-made parts including the seat, a fuse block from a Suzuki car, modified engine breather which bypasses the oil tank etc etc.
I like to call it a Norton Commando Metisse.
It's French for mongrel but it sounds better.
 
MFB said:
Re "Heinz" bike:

Mine is a 1970 roadster with a Fastback tank, numerous home-made parts including the seat, a fuse block from a Suzuki car, modified engine breather which bypasses the oil tank etc etc.
I like to call it a Norton Commando Metisse.
It's French for mongrel but it sounds better.
Click to expand...
Ha....very good
 
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