What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

Rode to Alices Restaurant to meet up with friends and wish each other a HAPPY NEW YEAR. The gang wanted to ride out to the coast, but I was feeling a little iffy from only getting six hours sleep so went home. Problems with getting bike into neutral lessened but still pop up occasionally. Will try tightening the clutch cable a tiny bit and see if that helps. Almost 100 miles round trip

HAPPY NEW YEAR and good riding
 
Café au Lait said:
Happy New Year!

I took the opportunity to have two rides earlier this week to try out (carefully) my new rear tyre and test the rear brake after reinstalling the wheel. It’s like having a new bike. I knew I was in for some better behaviour as my old tyre was very square and almost bald in the centre line which made fast overtakes crossing central lines, um, interesting 🤔

The biggest improvement is of general handling and stability though. I can confidently recommend Battlax BT46 tyres as a good alternative to the Roadriders which I have on the W800. They seem a little firmer but that could be a number of factors but the ride is full of feedback without harshness and very confidence inspiring though naturally I haven’t explored the lean angles just yet.

The brake seems mostly as before but with slightly longer peddle travel, I’ll let it bed in before adjusting further.
Click to expand...
Speaking of tires, this is the kind I have on my commando. What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
What a damn great photo!!
Could you please offer a link or a high rez image? Need to put it in my shop...outstanding image!
 
Last edited:
Bridgestone Battlax rear tyre ordered for the feet forward Commando, and big scooter Bridgestone for the 16 inch front too. The London UK seller says that Roadriders are out of stock, due to French factory not yet supplying them after moulds moved from Uk factory close-down.
 
This is more " What did you do for your Commando today?"
Also for Vincent, Triumph, BSA etc plus outboard motors, chainsaws, lawnmowers, weed eater, gensets and so on.
This is my at home ( fairly) high Octane Ethanol free fueling station. The flo n go tanks each hold 53 litres.
I am weary of using 5 gallon plastic Jerry cans.
With this set up the tanks will stay on the pallet for refilling. The pallet will get raised and lowered by the pallet forks on the tractor. I might add 2 more of these tanks as there is room on the pallet. That would give 212 litres of storage capacity.
The drums on the lower pallet are for summer and winter diesel. Until now I have been using the same type of plastic Jerry can for refueling the tractors and the crawler. It's kind of treacherous as I stand on top the 4' high often slippery front wheel to hold the Jerry can up above the tractors fuel tank. I always spill some and one day I will slip and get banged up.
Now I will just use the electric pump in the appropriate 55 gallon tank instead.

Glen
20250112_121145.jpg
 
Last edited:
worntorn said:
This is more " What did you do for your Commando today?"
Also for Vincent, Triumph, BSA etc plus outboard motors, chainsaws, lawnmowers, weed eater, gensets and so on.
This is my at home ( fairly) high Octane Ethanol free fueling station. The flo n go tanks each hold 53 litres.
I am weary of using 5 gallon plastic Jerry cans.
With this set up the tanks will stay on the pallet for refilling. The pallet will get raised and lowered by the pallet forks on the tractor. I might add 2 more of these tanks as there is room on the pallet. That would give 212 litres of storage capacity.
The drums on the lower pallet are for summer and winter diesel. Until now I have been using the same type of plastic Jerry can for refueling the tractors and the crawler. It's kind of treacherous as I stand on top the 4' high often slippery front wheel to hold the Jerry can up above the tractors fuel tank. I always spill some and one day I will slip and get banged up.
Now I will just use the electric pump in the appropriate 55 gallon tank instead.

Glen
View attachment 118062
Click to expand...
Glen,
That looks like a nice setup.What is on that huge wheel on the left?
Thanks,
Mike
 
YING said:
Glen,
That looks like a nice setup.What is on that huge wheel on the left?
Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...
Hi Mike

That is an automatic irrigation reel that I built about 35 years ago.
It has a traveling gun cart that irrigates about 3 acres in a 12 hour shift. I use the tractor to pull the gun cart out 800' and then the machine slowly winds the cart back in, irrigating a 180' wide strip as it goes. When it's all finished it shuts itself off thru a limit switch. It also shuts off if something goes wrong with the way the pipe is winding in.

I installed a 4" high pressure water supply line system with 5 risers in the fields. Before that we had an irrigation well drilled and I installed a high pressure pump in that. The 5 hp well pump has 22 stages. It operates at 125 psi & 60 gallons per minute.

Here's the machine in operation. There is a chain driven reversing fairlead system that lays the pipe on the drum just like some saltwater fishing reels do.
It was a fun project to build 35 years ago, but I'm not sure I would want to tackle something like that now!

Screenshot_20250113_045903_Photos.jpg
What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
worntorn said:
This is more " What did you do for your Commando today?"
Also for Vincent, Triumph, BSA etc plus outboard motors, chainsaws, lawnmowers, weed eater, gensets and so on.
This is my at home ( fairly) high Octane Ethanol free fueling station. The flo n go tanks each hold 53 litres.
I am weary of using 5 gallon plastic Jerry cans.
With this set up the tanks will stay on the pallet for refilling. The pallet will get raised and lowered by the pallet forks on the tractor. I might add 2 more of these tanks as there is room on the pallet. That would give 212 litres of storage capacity.
The drums on the lower pallet are for summer and winter diesel. Until now I have been using the same type of plastic Jerry can for refueling the tractors and the crawler. It's kind of treacherous as I stand on top the 4' high often slippery front wheel to hold the Jerry can up above the tractors fuel tank. I always spill some and one day I will slip and get banged up.
Now I will just use the electric pump in the appropriate 55 gallon tank instead.

Glen
View attachment 118062
Click to expand...
I like to see farm equipment under a roof, out of the weather
 
worntorn said:
Hi Mike

That is an automatic irrigation reel that I built about 35 years ago.
It has a traveling gun cart that irrigates about 3 acres in a 12 hour shift. I use the tractor to pull the gun cart out 800' and then the machine slowly winds the cart back in, irrigating a 180' wide strip as it goes. When it's all finished it shuts itself off thru a limit switch. It also shuts off if something goes wrong with the way the pipe is winding in.

I installed a 4" high pressure water supply line system with 5 risers in the fields. Before that we had an irrigation well drilled and I installed a high pressure pump in that. The 5 hp well pump has 22 stages. It operates at 125 psi & 60 gallons per minute.

Here's the machine in operation. There is a chain driven reversing fairlead system that lays the pipe on the drum just like some saltwater fishing reels do.
It was a fun project to build 35 years ago, but I'm not sure I would want to tackle something like that now!

View attachment 118079View attachment 118081
Click to expand...
BERT said:
I like to see farm equipment under a roof, out of the weather
Click to expand...
Did I hear Saltwater fishing reel's . ? I'm off to Mexico and have a big freshwater one . It goes into a big bucket of fresh after each outing . As taught to me by poorer locals . They can't afford salt reels , like Penn .
 
worntorn said:
Hi Mike

That is an automatic irrigation reel that I built about 35 years ago.
It has a traveling gun cart that irrigates about 3 acres in a 12 hour shift. I use the tractor to pull the gun cart out 800' and then the machine slowly winds the cart back in, irrigating a 180' wide strip as it goes. When it's all finished it shuts itself off thru a limit switch. It also shuts off if something goes wrong with the way the pipe is winding in.

I installed a 4" high pressure water supply line system with 5 risers in the fields. Before that we had an irrigation well drilled and I installed a high pressure pump in that. The 5 hp well pump has 22 stages. It operates at 125 psi & 60 gallons per minute.

Here's the machine in operation. There is a chain driven reversing fairlead system that lays the pipe on the drum just like some saltwater fishing reels do.
It was a fun project to build 35 years ago, but I'm not sure I would want to tackle something like that now!

View attachment 118079View attachment 118081
Click to expand...
My hats off to your ability to construct such an apparatus!
Mike
 
All be it a bit chilly today the roads were bone dry and the salt they laid down flung to the kerbsides I decided to take Arnie for a 25 mile run to keep him fit and able rather than mothball him.

Oil level was down to halfway on the dipstick and keen to see if any more crunchies we present after my failed tappet adjuster episode I drained the sump and checked both sump plug magnets. Hoorah nothing but oil and a tiny bit of sludge so hopefully I’ve seen the back of that issue and the engine hasn’t any nasty surprises for me down the road.

Went as good as ever and came back spotless, mission accomplished 👍
 

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