Side Stand and Center Stand

Torontonian
Similar memories of my high comp Atlas in the seventies, but no near fatal injuries like yours.
Made me determined to use the much derided Mk3 as a basis for any future Commando project on the grounds that everything can be made to work properly, well sort of.... (plus the rear disc brake was a good feature)
Taken a while but did it in the end and never had a kick start bike since.

Actually, the reason for most of the wear in the pivots is piss poor design in the first place. Both my bikes centre stands rattled around like a bag of ball bearings before I GOT STUCK IN AND FIXED THEM. [ and yes, before I rebuilt both engines, the stands were well lubricated. oh and that reminds me, the only automatic oiler on the bikes now are the chains, so I had best spray the rhs pivot points now ]
Yes the wear point is narrow, but relying on the tight fit of an easy push fit bolt to hold everything true is my idea of a total balls up. Same with the swing arm spindle, in the book it said an easy push fit . Ya gatta be bloody joking.
Dereck

N0rt0nelectr@ said:

Or, you could be like me and have knee issues where starting without it being on the center stand isn't going to happen. Getting a knee replacement sometime next year.
John in Texas

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Best thing I ever did....wish I had done it five years earlier.....good luck with yours...

N0rt0nelectr@ said:

Or, you could be like me and have knee issues where starting without it being on the center stand isn't going to happen. Getting a knee replacement sometime next year.
John in Texas

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Both my knees were giving me problems - had the right one replaced first for kick starting, the left one saw what happened to the right one and has been fine since.
The surgery went great - new knee is the most reliable body part I have today!

Personally, I consider the Commando center stand to be poorly designed. The spring for decades was too weak, allowing it to slam up and down off the pavement quickly wearing oblong the mounting holes. I removed my center stand many years ago,
and purchased a Pit Bull rear stand to life the back end for chain lubes and tire changes, etc.

Got an e-mail today that the new side stand and center stand from AN would be delivered Monday. Yay. Then I can evaluate what to do next.

NASAman
I don,t think you,ll regret it once the oval holes are back to spec, a fully restored, functioning pair of pristine stands gives an oddly satisfying afterglow...
I flat filed the new side stand bush until there was minimal play at the end of the stand with the pivot bolt fully tightened, but with a smooth swivel action. It now sits with the rubber bump stop neatly on the frame.
I only use the side stand occasionally so tie wrap it to the frame to keep it tucked right up, thin tie wrap so just a light kick down to break if needed.
The sidestand is useful to regularly lube the centre stand pivots or when draining the primary case oil, changed the same time as engine oil and filter.

An ideal grease to use is EP2 Lithium such as this Valvoline:
Valvoline Lithium No.2 EP Grease is a universal Extreme Pressure Lithium Grease, developed for lubrication of automotive and industrial equipment.
It can be applied over a wide temperature range, has a good water resistance and protects against rust and corrosion.
Mechanically very stable and easily pumpable due to its smooth structure.
Cheap too, 400g /14oz around £4.00 in the UK.

There is no specific advice to regularly lube the stand pivots in the Mk3 maintenance schedule, which may explain why we forget to do it and they get into such a bad state.

There is no specific advice to regularly lube the stand pivots in the Mk3 maintenance schedule, which may explain why we forget to do it and they get into such a bad state.[/QUOTE]

My understanding is the original design was that everything under the engine got its lubrication from the engine itself. Now with better gaskets, gasket sealers and a desire to have a leak proof engine we altered the scheme. The by product is more “required” maintenance..

Sorry couldn’t help myself.

BTW Kiwi that a beautiful bike.

Pete

I put a later (mk3?) centerstand on my '72 using the stepped bushings that Norton supplies for this upgrade. No drilling required. See old threads on this. It is much better mainly because of the way the spring attaches. It does not bounce up and down anymore and also misses the muffler. If you ever go on a Norton group ride it is funny watching all the centerstands bob up and down in unison. The original '72 stand broke the center bar between the two legs and I had it welded and reinforced, but eventually the mounting holes got too wallowed out.
Russ

Deets55
you,re not wrong there, Steve Wilson wrote in his excellent Norton Motor Cycles book,
" a new lip seal was also put behind the clutch on the gearbox mainshaft to stop oil leaks, one tester remarked that for the first time, they had a problem with nuts on the prop stand going rusty because there was no oil leak"