1993 750 cc NightHawk Project

[Floridamtbiker99]

 History of my bike first. I got a 1993 that was setting in the Florida Sun for 5 years.  I barter for it.  Work on a farm for 20 hours and tutored thier Grandson in math (I am a laid off math teacher).  It did not run. But after some time, got it running again.   I got the bike in 2009, Did not get it street legal till January of 2011.

New stuff to my bike:
Had the gas tank reline professionally
Replace front handle bars the are low profile, old handle bars were like bullhorns
Replace chain with Z-chain, problem the master link looks like it is not bending freely
Replace headlight after it burned out with a high temp light, much brighter.
Replace turn signals with LEDs from D2moto with 50w load resistors
Replace the carbs and got them Sync.
Replace the rear shocks with Progressive 412 HD shocks, (actually send them back to get the correct springs for HD)
Replace and rebuilt front forks with Progressive HD springs.
Rebuilt front caliper, twice.
Rebuilt master cyclinder
Replace brakes
Replace tires to the stock 505 Dulaps that did not last.
Replace the back tire with PR3, love it.
Bought Walmart saddle bags and sissybar bag for storage.
Currently use my College Swiss Backpack for storage and transportation of my college books and laptop.

NOw it runs great.  I average about 880 miles per week because of college and work.

Outstanding issues

Corbin seat came with it, needs repaired.
Need handle bars raiser because it makes me sit to far forward.
Stock mirrors, need replaced with longer ones.
What color to paint the engine? Black with silver.  or Black and some yellow?

[Floridamtbiker99]

Current picture.

[Floridamtbiker99]

Picture before I starting working on it.  Notice the bull horn handle bars.
The first picture is the bike at the farm in the Florida summer heat for 5 years.

[Floridamtbiker99]

Front forks before painting them

[Floridamtbiker99]

In the process of painting the front forks.  I used etching primer that is suppose to be great bonding to aluminum.   More pictures to come

[Floridamtbiker99]

Any suggestions or comments are greatly welcomed.

I want to sew my own seat cover.  Onlyh problem is a I can not find material and the colors I am looking for,   Yellow, Black.  Leather is bad in Florida.  I heard the Marine vinyl is good.  Any suggestions on this part?

I am looking at D2MOTO for handlebar raisers.  The  handle bars are perpect width for me, but they hit the tank.

Other issue how to paint the tank with out an air gun and still professional look with graphics and couple clear coats?

Thank you, in advance.

Dan

[creaky]

Great work, always good to see an NH revived. Keep the info and pix coming.

[tbante]

You are putting a lot of miles on that bike! How many total is on it now? Does your tach still work?
You have done a good job on it. Nothing can replace TLC.
What size PR3 do you have on the back? I have PR2's and LOVE them.

[Floridamtbiker99]

I will take more picture especially of the brake bar I bent with my 16 lb sledge hammer.    I have the PR3 150 on the back. I had to bend my brake bar. With the PR3, it is a different bike better handling, better longtivity on wear.     It had 32,something on it when I got it and got it street legal. Now is has 44,000 miles on it.  From it setting in the sun, It looks like the speed o meter is the original because of the black fading, but the the Tach looks new, especially at night with the lights.   Just got done wet sanding the forks after the Daytona yellow (500 degree duplicolor paint) dried.  It took the orange peel off and the shine.  I put a light coat over top of it.   Painted my horn Black and Yellow, Painted my caliper and master cylinder black.  I need to get it assembled and bleed the brakes to make sure they work.

[Floridamtbiker99]

You can see from this picture I rigged my bike to keep the from forks off the ground.  I used wieghts for the counter balance.  It is just plain Physics.   Also you can see the low profile handle bars that I need raiser for.

[Floridamtbiker99]

Ready to assemble it and test the brakes.

[coffee_brake]

I have repaired a Corbin seat. You can go to a good, chain-level sewing shop like JoAnne's Fabrics and find marine grade vinyl, which is better than leather in our warmer climates. Don't know about yellow, but there will be black. I use the grade that is about $14/yard. The cheaper stuff is too thin, the more expensive stuff is too thick.

A Corbin seat cover is riveted on. You will have to drill out the rivets. Then, if the seat is vinyl, the cover will come off. If leather, you will have to help it off because it is glued to the foam. It is a little like skinning a dead animal.
 
I can't tell from the photos if your seat is vinyl or leather.

The Corbin has many more seams than the stock seat. You have to un-do the stitching, lay out the pieces on the vinyl and cut them out.
You need a sewing machine that can do thick material, and the best leather needles you can buy. Nylon thread, not cotton.

The new cover cannot be stapled back onto the fiberglass pan. Instead, use short screws, the self-drilling sheet metal kind. About $5 for a box of them. Start at the back, just one screw, then line up the sides to the foam contours, just one screw. Then work your way forwards and back. You will have to un-do the first screws once it begins to stretch tighter.

Far from perfect, this is my first Corbin re-cover:

[Floridamtbiker99]

Thank you.  I see you remove the rope seems.  How long did it take you to sew it up?

I hope I can do it in a day.   What do you thing about Duplicolor paint vinyl?

There a person that does Vinyl for boats.  She has arrange of different colors.

Today hopefully, I get my bike back on the road.

I have alot of Bleeding of the break line.  I rebuilt and painted the master cylinder and the caliper.

I do have bleed kit bottle that should help me.

[Floridamtbiker99]

More pictures..Painted front forks.  Still working on bleeding the brake system. Found a problem that I may have cured.  It was missing a compress brake line washer.  I bought 4 new one.  So tomorrow, I will try again.  Wednesdays are the only days that I really need my bike for college because my wife works at the same time.

[Floridamtbiker99]

Another picture anlge.

[Floridamtbiker99]

RESOLVED!!!  My brake bleeding problem  

First I try bleeding the MC.
I bought yellow teflon tape for gas and oil. I did the MC banjo bolt and the bleeder valve so the vaccum bleeder could work.

Today my wife help bleed the brakes,  not paying attention, while bleeding the system we drain the MC dry.

I thought 2 more hours of bleeding again.  So I did it myself for another 45 minutes.  BINGO, FINALLY IT BUILD PRESSURE UP!!!

What Hell, I went through.   I not believe it.  I never had a car or a motorcycle with this much problems bleeding the brakes.

Now I notice a new problem...when deccerating I have a speed wobble.  This is a start of another thread or post my project thread.

Thank you everyone for your encouragement, your suggestions, and you understanding.


One lesson to be learned, Brake fluid eats everything, not just paint, including cell phones, I drop my in a puddle.  The fluid work in self in and the buttons fell off, the screen deformed, etc. 

[Floridamtbiker99]

I have new problem, or a problem that got worst. 

I had a speed wobble on decceration, now with the new rim and tire.

It seem to be worst, or I just notice it more for the bike being down for a week. 

Any suggestions, I think it is the head, stearing bearings?

Another minor project.

[jerjohn]

Is your brake rotor smooth? If its worn out/warped it could be the cause of a wobble during deceleration.

[coffee_brake]

I can about guarantee that it's neck bearings.

Neck bearings are a wear item. Even just sitting parked, a motorcycle's neck bearings will go bad.
You might get a few hundred more miles out of them when you tighten them.

It is not a hard job but you need to securely support the front of the motorcycle off the ground.
There should be some good info if you search here, I found the Nighthawk to be the easiest front end to work on I ever had.

[Floridamtbiker99]

Question for someone,  Where is a good place to buy neck bearings.  and wheel bearings.   I need to replace them.

[hppants]

Wheel bearings - local bearing shop.  Check the micro-fiche from any site and bring the bearing part number (or the old bearing) to the bearing shop.  $5.00 - $6.00 a piece for Timken or similar bearings.

Neck Bearings - All Balls
www.allballsracing.com/

They sell a neck bearing kit for your bike that replaces the stock roller bearings with tapered ones.  Mucho better.

[coffee_brake]

+1, AllBalls also carries both of your wheel bearings and the neck bearings. Lots better than the stock neck bearings, good fit.

[Floridamtbiker99]

Just order Front and rear bearings and seals for my rims from www.allballsracing.com/  Yesterday, I order a PR3 for the front tire.  I check the price for front wheel bearings.  At the dealership, $54 for bearings & $51 for the rear bearings.

[hppants]

I bought wheel bearings for my yellow Nighthawk at my local bearing shop for about $6.00 a piece.

Get the bearing number from the parts fiche and call your local bearing shop.

[lobre87]

just so you know d2moto sucks i ordered risers from them once before and they sent me two different sizes then trying to return was a hassle so i just ate the money and they lost my business from here on out