I had a similar problem years ago and I found that the chain was coated with some type of "grease" no doubt to prevent corrosion during storage. A good wash in petrol or thinners was the fix. Don't forget once fitted to lube the chain with engine oil. I believe Renold cam chain now uses split rollers obviously to cut costs. I would recommend one of the better chains supplied by "The Chain Man" I believe the son of Andy Chain.

Had similar issue. You will even get tension changes when changing direction of rotation. Also will change when head is installed. Decided just to set at tdc and not overthink.

Hi Chris it’s good to see you again! Happy New Year. All I can say about your problem with the chain tension is that I feel your pain. I was wondering if the bushes were worn giving rise to the issue but that would appear not to be the case. Best wishes

Worked it out myself ! I made the mistake of pulling the white plastic and spring out without looking how it was placed it flew out ! Now fixed. Thanks

Hi Chris - I hope you had a good break over Christmas and are in good health. Is the rebuild on-going and videos being made? I hope so as I am following along with my project 71 Commando. Cheers

I am working on the kill switch on my ml3, were does the small metal fixture on the end of the spring go ?

What you are trying to remember is Ineffective crank angle.

Christmas please tell me about your T160 breather modifications

I have gearbox assembled as end of this video but the two top gears don’t align at exactly the same height. The gear on layshaft is 94000 th higher than the main shaft gear. Should this be a concern and what could be the problem if the gears lower in the case that are opposing are aligned?

Thanks as for the info and insight. My 160 has some strange inconsistencies and issues, I might start with the carbs.

Hey Chris, did it work well without the two springs? I installed my clutch operating mechanism yesterday and came here to check for your advise on how to set it. One of my springs has a crack ... Now after listening to you and checking the price /~,£10) I am thinking of leaving them out? What are your experiences? Cheers from Germany!

Hi Chris , I dont imagine you have time to read and reply to all the comments on the many vids you've done and i wouldn't expect it but in the off chance you see this id appreciate your thoughts...So ive fitted brand new Amal Premier carbs on my T150v and i can't tune out a flat spot/bogging When you're pulling away, right where you dont want it!! 😮 i fit a 40 year old original set of carbs and it runs absolutely beautifully, both carbs have exactly the same jets,needles,mains,needle jets, slides etc its about drove me insane...ive re taped out the pilot screw threads..and pilot jet threads , drilled out the blanking plugs and quadruple cleaned out the galleries everywhere and the problem persists, experimented with different slides, needle jets, pilot jets, needle hights all to no avail ! No then..if you close the air slides down 3/4 it runs great no flats or bogging so its obviously weak at the transition stage because on idle and starting its fine . The only difference in these new premier carbs and the old ones is the spray tubes are different in profile..the original are straight top hat section and the premiers have a curved scollop facing towards the engine... am i answering my own question here Chris or is this the cause of my growing insanity trying to cure this sodding flat spot? Your help or advice would be greatly appreciated before i go mad 😂😂😂 Kind regards Damian.

Originally the Norvil commando was Norton’s Production racer otherwise known as the “yellow peril” Norvil was the designation for the Norton Race shop (really just short version of Norton Villiers) which developed all the race bikes including the JPN bikes. Engineers included Peter Williams and Norman White amongst others. These modern Norvil bike are the creation of the company that purchased the Norvil brand. A clear distinction should be made by Norton enthusiasts !

Hi Chris, I need to take my gearbox sprocket off as well. Could you confirm the size of box spanner I will need? Did you say 1-1/2 AF?

How did you get the gears and shafts all so clean and sparkling?

Superb :-)

and what about crank balancing can you touch on that

what about the crank case vent timed disc. can you go over vent mods like reed valves.

very helpful

Hi Chris. To my knowledge, the squirt holes in the conrods were introduced with the early Commandos to squirt oil on the bottom of the pistons to cool them.

Nice job with getting the case halves together. Looked to go really nicely with no drama & the crankshaft moves smoothly.

Do you have the crankshaft crack tested before regrinding the big ends? Our experience in NZ is that many maybe 50 % of Comando cranks are cracked at the drive side section change to the crank lobe. The crank is very badly machined from new with no radius. My 74 Mk2 850 crank was cracked and I know of many others. I obtained a second hand replacement and had an undercut radius machine into the crank. This kind of problem occurred with early BSA cranks and it was cured by rolling in a radius. Also a good idea to check the drillings for the oilfeed below the drive side big end are not slightly offset creating a stress raiser. Also of course the engineering shop must machine in the proper radius when regrinding the big ends. Dynamic balancing can also be a good idea. Often the cranks are out of balance left to right.

Chris I was told six weeks and when I rang after six weeks I was basically verbally abused for the cheek and wasting his time, told me it would another six weeks. Rang after another six weeks and was little less nasty but basically the same message. He then rang me a number of weeks later and told me he had started to do the work, but his quote was way out I needed agreement for another few hundred pounds as more work was needed than he thought. I agreed without argument and when the parts arrived the work was first class. However, he then had the cheek to post photos of the job on his Facebook page stating his original quote was based in photos hence the price it need to nearly double when he saw the work. This was not true I only asked for price after he had received and inspected.

What's the advantage of silicon grease over normal grease or oil?

Is that with the stock exhaust?? It sounds amazing, I can't wait to get mine running.

The Commando's have a sweet spot in motorcycle history. The headers can come loose, clutch can slip, gauges and side panels would fall off at times yet most owners who have had one love them to this day.

what brand of main bearings did you install? trying to ID the type and understand the difference in the part numbers.......thanks

Good to see the end float is within tolerance. A big relief.

very interesting videos, so much information. thanks

very interesting videos, i have a triton with a t150 so really enjoyed watching the videos, thanks.

Thats what the Poms built in those days. A lot of shaking going on.

Re: 57-5200 LP Williams sell them, I purchased one recently while fitting new neutral switch to my T160. It was about £3 if I remember correctly

Not the same company that knackered your T160 head up I hope !

Very nice finish on your machined parts, they look brand new,who does your machining for you.

the refurbished parts look good but 10 months? with no communication from them after they committed to 3 months? hopefully theres alternate businesses for future rebuilds

Sounds wonderful!!

just bought one fantastic video 👍

Very nice machine Sir, and a good summary of the cub rally (I usually see that through the lens of Big Pezza's channel). Kind regards.

Very helpful videos! I am following along while rebuilding my uncles 850 MK2. He bought the bike new and it has been in my dad's garage for 40 years with only 8500 miles on it. I can confirm that the gearbox had never been opened before and it also has the 3 bushes in the high gear. It is still seated correctly and has not moved like yours did.

Hi chris , buy some possum/ merino under garments they are very warm. Cheers

Hi mate, when you fitted the layshaft roller bearing, did the outer race end up sitting flush with the casing?

G'day sir, what a great olde machine & what a place to ride. Who cares about a year here a month there the thing is that you have the privilege to own a realy nice piece of olde machinery & it's still rambling down the roads gracefully in its' olde age. Nice video, beautiful bike, thanks, ric ontario canada, to ride out is freedom at its' very best.

Kudos for endurance ( the mental sort)👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻

I use new BTH electronic magnetos on my old bikes. Sure, they are expensive but they have been totally reliable and stress free

A great ride around some lovely scenery. Haven’t been to Monyash at all this year. The bike sounded really good on the outward journey. Positives, the weather was good, you got a breakfast & managed to get home ok, plus the bike looks stunning , whether running or not. I agree that the carb flooding is a separate issue to the misfire etc. Possibly filling up disturbed some crap in the bottom of the tank? Never had to deal with a magneto, thankfully, don’t know anything about them. I also watch Paul Henshaw’s vids. He’s like a terrier when he encounters an issue! lol.

Is the mag' auto advance/retard or on a lever, i'd check fust to see if the timing has slipped. My experience with mag's is they have a weak spark or the condenser just fails when it is hot. Timing would be my first go to. With the remote float chamber the float has stuck when too far off off 'upright', but i don't think that is possible on the Matchy set up. Then the other issue with stuck float nrrdle is upon stripping there is only what can be described as black snot gumming things up, thanks again to Mr Ethynol.

One of the best engines .The Mighty Matchless .sounding good. a great bike the model x enjoy

What a FABULOUS bike, Chris! Thanks!

She's leaking petrol because you've embarrassed her by drinking coffee instead of tea!

Very informative video, thank you.