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MKIII Toolkit

Submitted by simon_mckenzie on Mon, 29/01/2018
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Commando

My Mk3 commando is pretty much standard but has always been missing the toolkit which will have been originally supplied with the bike. I would like to put together a tool kit that is as close as possible to the original and that is where I need some help with the details. I do have the details that are in the parts manual but that doesn't tell me the finer details such as the make of the spanners and whether or not they were chrome plated or black? Was the tool bag canvas or PVC? and so on.

If anyone has an original toolkit that was supplied with a Mk3 I would be most grateful for any details that you can pass on, pictures would be great.

Submitted by simon_mckenzie on Mon, 29/01/2018

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Previously robert_wright wrote:

Hi

Andover Norton do one bottom of mk3 page

Hi

Thanks for that. I have actually bought one of these from Andover Norton however they are not as per the original, although some of the tools I think are. The set is larger and I think that the spanners and screwdriver are more modern than the original.

Submitted by richard_payne on Tue, 30/01/2018

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There is a good chance that even the Mk3 kit changed over time. Is yours a 1975 or a 1977 ? Some time back, there was a zero mileage unregistered Mk3 on eBay USA. I saved the low res images.

I had always thought that Commando toolkit spanners were the economy black japanned Williams Superslim open-enders but this Mk3 kit has what look lto me like Italian tools. Perhaps not surprising in the context of where Norton were sourcing in 1974 /75.

The basic spare parts list drawing goes back to 1970 though and there is no guarantee that the same tools were sourced.

Attachments ee18_12-jpg

Submitted by mike_sullivan on Tue, 30/01/2018

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Yes, I have the same plastic tool wallet & about 60% of thetools shown in the illustration, came with my Mk III (built 1975, reg 76) when I bought her 20 years ago.

Submitted by simon_mckenzie on Tue, 30/01/2018

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Previously richard_payne wrote:

There is a good chance that even the Mk3 kit changed over time. Is yours a 1975 or a 1977 ? Some time back, there was a zero mileage unregistered Mk3 on eBay USA. I saved the low res images.

I had always thought that Commando toolkit spanners were the economy black japanned Williams Superslim open-enders but this Mk3 kit has what look lto me like Italian tools. Perhaps not surprising in the context of where Norton were sourcing in 1974 /75.

The basic spare parts list drawing goes back to 1970 though and there is no guarantee that the same tools were sourced.

Thanks Richard.

That's the best I have seen so far. My Mk3 is from 1977. I struggled to read the markings on the spanners in your picture but if I am not mistaken I would say they are German Gedore spanners of that era. I have attached a sample picture of a Gedore as a comparison and you can see its very close.

Attachments Gedore%202.jpg gedore-jpg

Submitted by richard_payne on Fri, 02/02/2018

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Simon, I'm really sorry that it wasn't possible to 'save' a better image. Perhaps I should have asked the US seller, but I'm not really very comfortable time-wasting if I'm not serious about buying and a zero-miles Mk3 (probably with a soft cam !) is not on my wish list.

I'd be surprised if the Norton kit spanners were Gedore. German tools were pretty expensive in the UK in the 1970s (I have a Stahlwille habit so I know about these things :) ) The type that you're looking at are not a standard Gedore product so probably made as toolkit items though. Have you seen them in AF sizes ?

I recall that the tools in the photo look very similar to those supplied with the Benelli that I bought in 1977. Surely though there must be someone in the club who has a toolkit to photograph.

I'm obsessive about the original tools accompanying my 16H but having owned the Commando since it was simply a second-hand bike and having put together something useful to keep under the seat, I've never actually got round to collecting a kit.

If you're just looking for the silhouette and can find AF sizes, the Gedores would certainly be the best way to include some reasonable quality tools, regardless of whether they are 100% correct on the brand name.

Submitted by mike_sullivan on Tue, 06/02/2018

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'...Do you have the open-enders, Mike ? If so, any chance of a decent photo ?...'

Apologies Richard, work has been a little hectic over the past week - unfortunately they have been absorbed into my tool cabinet, I usually string together a kit covering the basics when I tour & as long as they fit properly I don't care about the make! If I get a chance I will take a look through the cabinet to see ifI can jog my memory on the basis of the photo above & will im you.

Mike

 


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