peteinpa

13 minutes ago, howie333 said:

Well, so far so good.  My free sag is less than 10mm, but preload is @30% of shock travel @ approx. 39mm. Works well. Ii strapped bike down to my weight on seat, and set chain to approx. 1" (25mm) slack. loose when on side or center stand, but runs fine. I figure best to set common chain slack for when in riding position, then record chain slack then on center stand and use as reference for general chain maintenance.   

You CAN'T set your slack this way!

It's all great till you hit a bump, the suspension compresses, and the chain gets tighter!

If you want to be anal,   tie down the suspension till pivot, front sprocket, and rear sprocket are perfectly in line. Set about 1/2inch slack at tight spot in chain.

Put bike on centerstand with tiedown removed and measure slack. THIS  your new measurement to aim for.

OR....Just set for 1.5 inch on centerstand.

I'm going to say if your rear suspension is compressing at all under bike weight alone, the shock preload is too loose.

The factory spec. IS wrong.  FACT.

I go for 1.5 inches.

Note the piece of wood going to the header crossover pipe as backup.

14 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

 You do realize that motorcycles only emits about 100th of 1% of total carbon footprint of all motor vehicles

Yeah, pisses me off that new bikes run terrible due to the EPA while I sit at a light choking to death from, trucks, busses, and semi's belching out clouds of smoke.

My FJ09 came with a Firepower AGM battery.  I never heard of that brand till now.  Still works great after 2+ years and 10k miles. In times of non-use put on a battery tender at least once a month.  All the time is best.

I've been useing Scorpion batteries from  Batteries and stuff in my various bikes for 15+ years.

usually get 7 years out of a battery.

When you receive it, put it on the tender first till solid green  before installation.

The warranty is a year.  Any deffect in a battery will show up by then.  The rest is up to you.  Motorcycles aren't cars.  Their system will keep a good battery good. It won't charge a weak battery well.

Yeah it's not a good design at it's best.  Sargents plastic pan is thinner/weaker also, making it worse.

Pretty sure I'm done with Yamaha come spring. 

92 Honda Nighthawk for me.  Long seat so you're not locked in one spot.  Seat supported on the frame rails, no stupid torque values, No valves to adjust ever, it's going on and on.

Shouldn't have left Honda.

Here's my 83 650 Nighthawk while stationed in PR. in 1984.

Update:  Carbs out, found ALL the pilots completely clogged shut. Rest of carbs almost spotless. Amazing it ran and idled with choke off. Should run MUCH  better now.

4 new clone turnsignals on. Much more to do.

The big reveal...The more I think about it I might keep this and sell the FJ09. Winter, too much thinking time.

I love the FJ09 engine, but not much else. Even with a Sargent seat FJ gives me butt burn after short time.  On the NH it's long seat lets you move front to back, very important! 

I LOVE the looks of the NH, only tolerated the looks of the FJ.  Newer versions, even worse.

The simplicity of the NH can't be overlooked. No valve adjustments,  coolant, fuel pump, crazy bodywork, etc.

Back to back rides in the spring will decide it.

I ride like I'm invisible.  

What I see on Youtube all too often is riders forcing their right of way, car is in the wrong, but rider continues into area car will be instead of braking/evasive maneuvers.  You WILL lose.

If you were bleeding engine compression into the coolant there would be air bubbles in the reservoir.

Thermostat is my next thought.  Although there have been zero problems on here with almost anything related to cooling, gaskets, etc.

How about the flip side to this?

With baby boomers aging out, is there a future to motorcyling?

Yunguns don't take to riding like we did. They'd rather sit indoors gaming/on their phones.

Facebook Market/Craigslist is Polluted with used bikes.  They don't move much.

I just turned 58. My riding has changed.  I ride alone almost exclusively, used to do the breakfast rides all the time, big group rides, etc. Dont know how I did it even then. More not riding then riding.

Now my rides are shorter, 4 or 5 hour afternoon rides are it. I'm fine and happy with that.

As an update to this post, I got a 92 750 Nighthawk!!🙂👍

I'll add that I went to a manual tensioner proactively after hearing all the problems and revisions.

Installed it, adjusted it, and have never thought about it since.

You can also reinstall the front axle then rest it on a jackstand. Solid.

I'm coming to the party late, (as usual) but I like it.

It's simple, solid, does what it needs to do, looks great, and you gotta love no valve adjustments ever.

I found its limit though. North of 100 mph it starts to run out of breath.  Do I need to go over 100? No. It gets to 100 pretty fast.

As far as cornering I just had to get used to it, does fine.  Rear tire is almost gone so might be a problem.

We keep having these awesome nice days, I'm riding!

Missed the peak colors.

So after a long ride today my opinion has changed...I like it!

I got the centerstand mounted, more carb. cleaner and E0 gas in tank. Keeps running better and better the more I ride it. 

It really has more than enough power for anything you need to do with it.  Runs great all the way to rev. limiter.

I'm also one that hasn't/won't add any protection.

If I'm on gravel I go slowly.  If you go 50 mph, that is enough velocity for larger rocks to do damage.

In the MFG's quest for lightness, (demanded by us)  aluminum castings have gotten thinner.

From my dirt biking experience I know how the front tire can kick up a rock the size of a tennis ball and send it into the engine.  I had skid plates on my dirt bikes.

Since this IS NOT in any shape or form a dirt bike I don't treat it as such.

Is the bottom engine castings any more fragile/vulnerable than any other bike? I don't think so.

I've done the oil drain mod.  That's it.

I haven't checked yet but my newly aquired 750 Nighthawk feels to me like it's reading higher then "normal". 

I didn't want holes in my basement floor so mine is mounted to 3/4 in. plywood.  A big enough piece that I stand on it. 

When done, I unbolt it and stand the plywood on end in the corner for storage.

Cool,  good there are still options.

4 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Maybe APE makes one for it

 Mechanical not automatic set and forget

I don't think so.  This chain runs in the middle of the engine, between #2 and #3.  The CCT is inside, accessed under the valve cover.

3 hours ago, knyte said:

Very cool.  I still have my first street bike which came from a family member.  An '83 Nighthawk 550C.  I love EVERYthing about it except the ergonomics.  It has torque for days in any gear, winds out FAST, looks fantastic, and handles reasonably well (not great, but well enough) - it just doesn't fit my frame.

It needs a bit of an overhaul (I suspect the cam chain tensioner), then it goes to my g/f.

Don't want to be the bearer of bad news but the CCT isn't available anymore. One of the reasons I don't have an 83-85 650 here. Very limited parts availability.

You "might" be able to reset it and quiet it down. Push the adjustment tighter, the spring is too weak to do it.

Yeah, they're incandescent, total OEM clones.

Thanks for reminding me of that spring trick.

As of today, you can still get a center stand for these.  $145 free delivery from Ron Ayers.  Mine's en-route.  This is mandatory for me, ALL maint. is SO much easier with one.

Even with carb. cleaner in the tank it still is VERY COLD BLOODED.  It will idle with the choke off but takes forever!   Not that I'm not pulling the carbs, I am, just thought I could improve it till I do. Going to wait till the snow flies, one of the reasons I got it.

I'm changing to Maxima 15 fork oil along with a length of PVC in each fork.  See how that does.

It has a hands off decell. wobble that starts at 55 mph and goes all the way down to 15 mph.  Never had one go that low.  I'll be checking the head bearings.

While it's apart I'll get compression numbers.

I don't think I can stand to leave all the turn signals wrapped in tape.  Another $100 for Bikemaster OEM reproduction ones. New ones should go another 30 years, right?

Bleed the front brake, and any other things I find may keep me busy till Feb.....Maybe.  Then...The Shining.