With a Commando engine, we are working with torque - not top end power. Longer rods give less torque, however to discover how much torque you have, you must raise the overall gearing. Close ratios with high overall gearing work best when you have a lot of torque. Jim Scmidt's long rods and light pistons are a good idea for a road race bike. Light pistons improve the balance factor and help the motor to spin up faster. Longer rods work better at higher revs. My motor operates between 5,500 RPM and 7300 RPM. The standard rods are excellent. If you lower the gearing with a Commando motor, the motorcycle will not accelerate faster - it is counter-intuitive. With the heavy crank, it is possible for the rider to use too much throttle, when using quick taper needles in the carburetors. Intuition tells us that whacking the throttle open feeds more mixture, but more mixture does not mean faster, if the mixture is too rich. I use slow taper Mikuni needles in my Mk2 Amal carburetors. I ride the bike as though it is a two-stroke, except for the handling. You cannot accelerate very hard in the middle of corners with most two-strokes, because of their power-band. Most two-strokes adopt a lot of lean in corners -the older ones handle better when they have more travel in the rear suspension, and reed valves. If I race, I take notice of what is on the start line around me. Big four cylinder bikes often end-up struggling in corners, and are usually out wide at max lean in corners. Being passed near the end of a straight is not the end of the world.
