'83 nighthawk 650.... Oh my!!!!

[sweet20ts]

This is my first street bike and its been a bit more of a project then bargained for. I got it for a fair price so i cant really complain. My husband has helped me when needed. lol.

We bought new horns for it, i rebuilt the brake master cylinder (unnecessarily, i found out later) Discovered that the brake caliper (right) was seized found a great used one one eBay (life saver) cheaper then it would have been to rebuild it. Found a new (used) disc for it since the last owner warped the last one. Had to find a mainstand spring. Had to fix a blinker (superglue is my friend) the stem broke.

So far the carbs seem to be clearing up with marvel mystery oil. (fingers crossed)

I have taken it out 3 times now and have to say i love this bike, but have discovered new issues. My speedo is 10mph off, and am clueless as how to fix it.

The last trip out my front brakes are very "squishy" and hardly work. I see no leaks and the fluid level is good. Air bubble maybe?

Also does anyone know if there is a way to adjust where the turn signal sits and well as how far out the clutch is, i can barely reach the turn signal and clutch.

This bikes previous owners treated it like crap, you can tell its been dropped and/or wrecked at least twice. The frame is straight and rides nice, but the paint is crap and the tank will eventually need replaced to many dents and scrapes to fix.

All in all this bike rocks, even my husband likes my little purple bike. he has a '08 yamaha fjr 1300. for point of reference.

[hppants]

Welcome to the group Sweet20ts, ride safe.

Where do you call home?

Perhaps it is the camera angle, but it looks like your fork rake is a little too upright?  Like perhaps the neck is bent?

Try bleeding your front brake.  Using a hand held vacuum pump may help to pull the air out.  When you "pump' the front brake, pull slowly and only about 1/2 toward the handlebar, about 3 pumps per bleed.

Is your speedo off by 10 mph at many different speeds?  Or does it get progressively more off as you go faster (i.e. 10 mph off at 40, 20 mph off at 80, etc.)?

You should be able to loosen the clutch handle housing, and the t/s housing and adjust them along your handlbar.  Perhaps "rotating" them slightly might help as well.

I wish I had your hubby's bike.

Take care.

[meatface]

Well, welcome to the forums. You will find alot of help here. You and I have the same bike. Unfortunately right now mine is in pieces. Just getting the parts together to rebuild it.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. There are alot of knowledgeable people in here that will trip over themselves to help you.

Cheers,

Meatface

[sweet20ts]

Im in northern Idaho @hppants

I believe it is just the angle in the photo. Everything seems straight on the bike, no weird things happening when riding.

For the brakes we did use the vaccum pump to bleed the brakes, but we are going to try again before doing anything else.

The speedo: at 10mph seems accurate anything above (though i havent made it to 80 yet, lol) seems to be consistantly off by 10.

As far as the clutch/signal adjusts go does the fluid box need to remain level?

Thank you all for the help anything is greatly appreciated. 

[JB1290]

  to the NHF. Your bike looks great. Ride safe.

[NightHawked]

  to the forum. That's a good lookin

Bike. FWIW alot of believers here in Seafoam

if you want to try something other than the

Mystery oil. Enjoy!

[gammer]

  sweet20ts

Nice looking six-fitty 

I bet your husbands FJR is a fun ride too?

[Xavias]

Nice looking 650!

Between mystery oil and seafoam (ran seafoam for 3 full tanks), my carbs have been clearing up wonderfully.  Not sure what to tell you about the speedo, though.

[ExTex]

The brake reservoir only needs to be level when checking/adding fluid.  
Otherwise, in operation, the fluid entry/return hole in the bottom of the reservoir needs to have fluid covering it at all times.

650's are great bikes.  I hope you get it running happily soon.  This forum will be a lot of help.

Seafoam, Berryman's B12, & Techron are all good & safe-to-use fuel system cleaners.  I rotate thru them on my 650.
Just use the amounts specified on the labels.  And use Sta-Bil in your gas if you are not using SeaFoam.

Brakes usually take several bleeds to get all of the air out.

Lubricate the speedometer cable and maybe that will help. 

Ride Safely,

[sweet20ts]

I havent had the guts to ride my husbands fjr, lol.  He loves it though.

Thanks for the tips on using seafoam, i will give it a try. I was checking the oil the other day and noticed theres some gas in it.... any ideas on that?

The speedo was recently lubed, we had the whole front tire/axle? assembly apart checking bearings and such. lubed everything then put it back together.

bled my brakes (again) and they are working again!! YAY!!!

Thanks again for all the tips guys.

[NightHawked]

I was checking the oil the other day and noticed theres some gas in it.... any ideas on that?

First off that is not good, the gas is thinning your oil.  Maybe the carbs are allowing gas to flow when it shouldn't be or too much. Also could be that a plug is not firing. In both cases the gas is flowing down cylinder wall into the oil.

[ExTex]

Welcome to the Forum.

1st check to see if the petcock is working.
If gas is allowed to flow to the carbs when the bike is just sitting for a long time,
some gas will get past some needle valves and could flow into the engine.

Make sure that the petcock turns off when you are not running the engine.
Then change your oil and filter.

Ride safely,

[ariwhiteboy]

  to the forum! Great looking "purple bike" you have there, as others have said, don't hesitate to ask any questions here. We are always happy to help! Take care and ride safe.