Nighthawk Brat Tracker

[bittenbythehawk]

Well not to far along on this build but wanted to throw it out and see if I am headed in the right direction. Going for a "brat" look with a tracker feel. Started with swapping the tank and stripping it down. Found a box of transfer decals from the 50-60s and thought I would put them to use. Chopped the rear off of the 450 bent up some round bar and welded it to the frame. Going to pods need to rejet but quite responsive as is. Mounted an old bates looking headlight. Cut up some huge harley muffs and shortned them to stubbies.  Had a rear fender that I had fab up for another build but thought it would work for this one. Took some flat steel and made a fake oil bag to store the electrics. Going to have to mount the battery under the bike (still yet to do). Made a seat pan slapped some foam on it and had my MOM make this BADASS seat cover. Whats your thoughts.















After looking at the Preview. I am going straight out and clean the garage. WOW

[jerjohn]

Is this the same 450 that you did the army look on? Just wondering cause man, you do some of the best mods on this forum.

[fortyhourdays]

Wow, that looks great.  I really like the retro lettering on the tank.

[Falban]

Yup, love the silver tank with the numbering 

What's an oil bag? 

[ariwhiteboy]

Oh I like that a lot! I'm biased though, having ran with a flat track team in high school. 

It gets my vote for best NH mod. 

[TDC71]

Very, Very Cool. Awesome detail and very high quality work

[Option13]

Wow, this is one of the few times someone customizes a Nighthawk and it doesn't look like crap. Did you get a second 450 or is this a rebirth of your military-style custom?

Frankly, it's looking awesome! It looks like you're putting some excellent craftsmanship into this bike. Can't wait to see this one finished.

[Brittles]

Nice!

What's an oil bag? 

It's another name for an oil tank used on dry sump engines like Harleys and some others.

[drdubb]

I love street trackers. Good job.

[luckylindy]

Cool looking tracker.

[Falban]

Nice!

What's an oil bag? 

It's another name for an oil tank used on dry sump engines like Harleys and some others.

Ah.  Thank you.  Google didn't really help with "oil bag."  I just researched dry/wet sumps, though     

[Rebel13]

I like what you did!

[bittenbythehawk]

Thanks for the feedback, it is the same 450 I was aiming for the tracker feel the first round and did not really hit the mark I started with it turned into something else. I wanted a brat style bike and was shooting for that with a cx500 that I have



but after finishing it I was not happy with it........ wife says this is a common problem of mine. So chopped up the 450 again to see if I can hit my goal. I have a bit more fab to do and then decisions like blinkers, I bought some bar end blinkers that I think will work for the look. Still trying to decide where to put the ignition front or rear. Mount electronics, mount battery. Going to use some bondo on the frame to clean up the rear seat support, pick a black to paint rear fender, paint wheels with appliance paint, speedo position, lots of loose ends to tie up. Cleaning the shop from long summer of abuse looks to be first on the agenda. I am excited about this one so I hope to pick up the pace. I still have the 700s that I have started chopping on and I am sure will upset quite a few. Still dont know if I will go cafe or gorilla on it.



 Looking forward to snapping a few pics with not so much crap around the bike. Lots going on right now but with the sun setting around six now and temp dropping that means more hours in the shop. Will keep you updated with pics and progress.

[bittenbythehawk]

Closed up the rear frame and used a little bondo to clean up the lines. Found a old trailer brake light (GLASS) in the shop and thinking about using it instead of the cheap one I made it with. Thinking the glass one will be a bit more fitting for the look I'm going for.


Cheap plastic one.


Old Glass one.

[ariwhiteboy]

Definitely go for the glass one! 

[hppants]

You do great work - subscribed.   

[JB1290]

Best looking 450....EVER!   

[tomb raider]

To bad about chopping up the Green bike. That was sweet.  Good luck 

[jerjohn]

How are the pods doing on the 450?

[bittenbythehawk]

jerjohn, I have only started the bike in the shop with the pods, seems to have quite a bit more rev, have not pulled plugs to see what is going on and have not got around to trying to figure out the jetting. Will soon as tonight got the ignition mounted under the tank (welded in some washers), wiring tucked into the fake bag in the rear and was able to use the recess under the tank to hide all the wiring that was in the headlight. Painted the headlight bucket tonight so have to wait a few days before mounting that back. I have removed the H-box and have started trying to get the exhaust up the left side of the bike for the tracker look. Coming along and having so much fun, have not taken time to clean up the shop.

[coffee_brake]

It looks really pulled-together. The wheels just POP on that bike, like those a lot!

Where'd you source the headlight on your CX?

[bittenbythehawk]

It looks really pulled-together. The wheels just POP on that bike, like those a lot!

Where'd you source the headlight on your CX?

The headlight was from an old Benelli .

[bittenbythehawk]

Cold out tonight. Well got the headlight back on , speedo mounted and swapped out bars with some chrome, might paint them black.... I think I am going to strip the aluminum paint from the forks. Also lowered the front end about 1 1/4" and it sits nice and low now. Here are a couple pics where you can see the headlight position and if you look under the front of the tank you can see where the ignition was positioned. Now on to the exhaust, I know they should be mounted on the left side for the true tracker but I am leaning towards the right.

[bittenbythehawk]

I have been mulling over the exhaust for the last week, I was wanting to take it high like a scrambler exhaust but trying to bend the pipe filled with sand and acetylene torch could not get it to have a tight enough curve without distorting the pipe. Always nice to have a fresh set of eyes so with the help of a buddy, decided to go with a two into one setup. Using one of the original exhaust pipes along with a pitbike tip it looks rather sharp. I will post up some pics tomorrow if I can finish the tacks. The exhaust is going to be wrapped in black. Also going to repaint the rear fender with the rubber liner paint to flow better with the overall look. Looking forward to finishing this and moving on to the 700s.

[bittenbythehawk]

So tonight I was able to weld the pipes up and will test it before wrapping them. I also might shorten the muffler depending on the sound. Overall real happy with the outcome.





Next up removing the rear fender/electric container and repainting. Then fire her up and see where I have to go from there.