I bought my first bike, a 1985 Honda Nighthawk 700s

[Hendricks808]

Hello my name is Hendricks Hicks, I am 17 years old and I bought my first motorcycle, a 1985 Honda Nighthawk 700s and I'd like to introduce my self to the community. I joined this community because as soon as I gave that man the last of my $525 dollars, I knew this would be an investment of time, money, and a labor of love. I got the bike about 2 weeks ago, so far I have been able to handle most problems on my own but I knew I would need to find some other people who actually own a bike them self and can offer their expertise. So far on my list of things to check off is to...

1) change oil = Castrol QT 10W40 Oil
2) change oil filter = Fram PH6010A Oil Filter Motorcycle
3) new battery = YB14L-A2
4) new spark plugs? (maybe?)
5) new air filter? (maybe?)
6) repaint

As you can see, for numbers 1-3 I have in the bag as far as the little details but the only little problem I have is that my oil base pan plug has started leaking after I removed it and put it back, it's not leaking a lot, but more than I think it should since the engine is almost bone dry since I drained the oil, so I'm hoping it's just that a need a new plug and washer and hope that it's nothing to do with the threading in the pan itself because I can't tighten it all the way, once I reach a certain point it becomes lose again. 3 and 4 are on my "wish list", I know I'll be able to buy new spark plugs, but I'm not familiar on how to replace, gap, or determine whether they need to be replaced or not by visual inspection and as for the air filter since it is a "custom" design for the model I would have to order the part online, but I was also wondering if there is a was where I could "clean" the filter and not have to buy a new one. That's all I have to say, I hope the community will welcome me and offer their advice and support.

Thank You

Hendricks Hicks

[skramer360]

  Hendricks808, I use the ST3593a filter from Walmart. Its cheaper and is reviewed better. It sounds to me like your oil pan hole is stripped, a new plug and washer won't help if it is. You may have to re-tap the hole to a larger size. We like lots of pics around here BTW.

[ariwhiteboy]

  to the forum Hendricks!  That sounds like a good plan for that bike, don't forget to purchase all your necessary safety gear.  The 700s is quite the first bike too, once you get her rolling thake it easy for a while.  Good luck and ride safe!

[Hendricks808]

@ skramer360: yeah I was thinking something like that too, that the oil pan hole is stripped or something along the lines of that, if so how do I go about "re-tap"ing the hole? And as for pics, I'de love to post them as much as anyone but I don't have a USB cable for my camera since it's a weird socket, so I'll try my best to get them up, maybe some laptop web cam photos

@ ariwhiteboy: Actually funny thing about me and safety gear, I bought a helmet before I even bought the bike, my parents thought I was crazy

[hppants]

Aloha Hendricks and 

I believe Ari is talking more than a helmet.  Additionally, consider riding with gloves and an armored jacket, at a minimum.  I can personally attest - the gear works.  Less than a month ago, I laid my bike down and walked away with NOT A SCRATCH.

Regarding your drain plug issue, I have a couple of thoughts.  First, establish that it's stripped.  remove the plug and examine the threads on the drain plug and the oil pan.  If it's stripped, you should see metal shavings, burrs, or similar.  If nothing looks unusual, order a new drain washer, chase your plug threads with a die, and try that first.  Don't over tighten the plug.  Failing that, I've seen repairs ranging from replacing the oil pan, welding the plug shut and pumping the oil out from the fill hole, welding a stand off to the oil pan with a new sized plug, purchasing a self-tapping over sized plug (cheapest try of all of them), etc.

There's a lot of help on this forum.  I hope you enjoy your bike as much as I do mine.  Ride safe, man. 

[Hendricks808]

@ hppants: Well I know I need more than a helmet, I have some Lugz that'll be my main riding boots and I've already got some money stashed for some gloves, jacket, and back pad. I've already looked at some serious crash pictures to give myself a reality check cause after my first ride I knew I didn't wanna do all the crazy stuff I thought I would after seeing that big, belt sander of a road fly by beneath me.

And thank you soo much! That is a genius idea of using a plug, but what comes to mind for me is one of those rubber plugs meant for all around general purposes, something like this ... http://www.componentforce.com/userfiles/image/categories/epdmrubbertaperedplugs_lg.jpg ... what do you think? would that work? And is this the right place to be posting this type of topic since now we're talking about parts? Cause I also want to ask the butt load of other questions but don't wanna get banned or kicked or something like that

[hppants]

I wouldn't try that rubber plug on my bike.  If the vibration, heat, Gods, or anything else force it out, and you are lucky enough not to die from slipping on the oil, about 4 seconds later your motor is going to lock up from no oil pressure.

[Munkey]

I wouldn't try that rubber plug on my bike.  If the vibration, heat, Gods, or anything else force it out, and you are lucky enough not to die from slipping on the oil, about 4 seconds later your motor is going to lock up from no oil pressure.

Yeah, there's no way I'd trust that.

[SirSeanSean]

Yeah I wouldn't go for that rubber plug either. I would just find a slightly bigger bolt like "skramer360" said.(At least that's what I'm thinking he said.)

Oh and  to the forums. I just joined them not too long ago. And nice bike to start on. I have an 84 CB650SC. Oh and definitely look into taking a MSF course if you haven't already. They are very much worth it.

[skramer360]

Yea Hendricks808, if you determine it is stripped, I would take the old plug to an auto parts store and tell them you need a bigger diameter one and a tap for it if its not self tapping.

[ariwhiteboy]

+1 on what hppants said about gear.  I did this a few months ago and Walked Away.  The stuff works man...I would be dead or really messed up w/o it.  With it I was back on a bike 3 days later.  I can also promise the second you think it can't happen to you, it will.

[highwayjamin]

   And stay away from the plug,to many things could go wrong with that idea.  It's not that hard to fix a stripped out hole.

[luckylindy]

  I hope you enjoy many years of riding.

[OhCrap]

Great choice for a first bike, this'll be the one you'll never be able to forget. Be easy on throttle until you know what you're doing though, or she'll bite you in the butt.

We do need lots of pics though, cheap cardreader might be an option?

[Tryvelcro]

  to the addiction.

Grats on a great bike - apparently at a good price.

A lot of jackets now have some sort of back protection built in.  If you're tight on cash, take a look around craigslist - you can probably find one for a decent price.  Gloves are a must - you kinda need them, and our first instinct is always to put our hands out to.  Not sure which boots you have, but be sure they cover your ankles.

Have you taken the basic rider course?

There are a bunch of subsections on the forums for various questions, take a look around.

And mad amounts of respect for seeming to have your head on straight and for knowing you don't want to go down the squid road. 

[Hendricks808]

first off thanks for the love from everybody, as for riding skills i know some of you will kring when you read this, so be ready, but i actually rode it for the first time is when i bought it, i had to ride it from Wailua to Kaneohe on the H-3 (1 3/4 hr drive on freeway basically). The only real experience i had was reading and watching videos on how-tos about motorcycle riding, then some stop and go practice with the clutch at a near by parking lot for about 10 mins, besides that the the rest was trial-by-fire, also all i had on me for paperwork was my drivers permit, the expiration and safety check had been expired for about 3 or so years, so i pretty much rode it like i stole it, but the guy sent me the registration and tiles stuff later in the mail, but yeah, looking back on it now, statistically speaking, i should've died, but i do plan to get every thing legitimized before i get it running, and i'll most defiantly take some riding courses because this bike has way more power than i thought, and depending on the courses i take i wouldn't have to take a riding test, making the transition from a permit rider to legitimized rider easier

After the input i'll stay away from the rubber plug idea cause what i was thinking was just buying a high grade silicone or one or something that's a good size bigger than the hole, and then just tap it in with a rubber mallet untill it's flush, but now that i think about it, road conditions are more brutal than I thought

@ skramer360: what do you mean when you say "a tap for it if its not self tapping." please enlighten me

@ Tryvelcro: well basically the boots are just generic versions of timberlands, but after looking around i can see why ankle protection is a good idea, if you or anyone else wants to, i can post the list and links of items of safety gear i'm planning to get

I also have an issue with my front fork, it leaks fluid like a faucet, i propped the bike up on some car jacks so both the wheels are off the ground thinking it would help, but it didn't, the leak is coming out the top so i'm guessing it's the O-rings, but i have no idea how to go about replacing them, can anyone give some insight about that? and after looking at some schematic photos of of front fork i noticed there is a spring in it, so that means the fork would still push back right? so does that mean i can i still ride safely with it? and this leak has been going on for a while so i've started reading articles about front forks and fluids, ect. what do some people suggest as for fork fluid type/brand/model and how to go about replacing it.

[KarlJay]

Welcome aboard!  we have something in common, my 1st bike is a 700s as well!
1st, the oil plug, take out the bold and look at the threads, look for alum scrap in the groves, this will make it worse.  IF it has alum in the threads, clean it out and try again (you don't need a lot of torque on this bolt) But it does sound like it's stripped.  Some bolts are self threading, I think they start out smaller and increase in size and kinda 'cut' threads as they go.  I'd just get a larger tap and make new threads.

I just did my forks this last winter, not hard.  Search around for "fork seal replacement" and you should find a post.  I used Dextron/Mercon III Tranny fluid in mine.  The seals or 'wipers'  won't leak at the top of the forks, they are the visable ones where to two parts meet.  I don't think there is a seal at the top, the fluid shouldn't be that high up.

While the forks are still on the bike, release the air pressure at the very top of the forks, remove the fork tube caps (they are under spring pressure, use caution).  Remove the forks, dump the oil and let it drain completely.  Keep track of the spacers there is a left and right, keep them seperate.  Measure the springs 428mm / 16.9in.  Refill with ATF (tranny fluid) or something close to 5wt oil.  Left 429cc right: 423cc or R 5.63in / L 5.55in from the top edge

Note: springs are directional (compressed towards the top) they only go in one way.

I don't know how you could be leaking from the very top, someone might have overfilled the tubes.

spark plugs are easy to clean and replace, check for color, lt brn/tan is a good color, black/oil is bad.  Wire brush and re-gap to 31~35

take you time on the re-tapping alum is easy to cross-thread.
Let us know how things are going.

[detdrbuzzard]

hello and welcome to NHF hindricks808

[Hendricks808]

@ KarlJay: ok ok i get what they mean by a "self tapping" bolt, i guess i'll be on the look out for that. and as for the front fork i think that'll be last on my list, sounds a bit meticulous. and how do you remove the spark plug? it's just in such a weird position i can't get any tools near it to unscrew it, or maybe i don't have the right tools

[hppants]

Very few spark plug wrenches will remove the plugs.  Did you bike come with the tool kit?  Remove the seat and the left side plastic panel.  Look for a black plastic cover with a slotted screw head fastener on it.  turn the fastener 1/4 turn counterclockwise and the plastic cover will remove.  Inside this compartment, hopefully you will find the tool kit, which hopefully will contain the specialized spark plug wrench that works perfectly.  Oh and BTW, it will be much easier for you to change the 2 inner spark plugs if you remove the fuel tank.

Don't forget if you use the self tapping drain plug - once you get the thing to grab - remove it and be sure to vacuum and/or flush all of the shavings out.  Even a very small piece of metal running around inside the motor will not be a good thing.

I was 17 years old once, back when God was a Corporal.  You seem to have a good head on your shoulders.  We all hope that your head stays there... literally.  Ride safe, man.

Can you show us a few pics of your bike in scenic Hawaii?  I'm jealous of your riding opportunities.

[LOKi]

I'm jealous of your riding opportunities.

I wouldn't be too jealous. He does live on an island and that in itself limits opportunities. While the scenery is spectacular the riding itself is limited (in distance not quality). A loop around his island is only 126miles.

Hendricks, I was looking at your island on google maps. That Kolekole Rd. looks to be about as twisty as it gets. You will need to rig up some kind of video so you can take us for a ride on that one. How difficult is it to get the bike to the other islands? Maui (I think that's the name of the island) looks like it has some of the sweetest motorcycle roads I have seen. Kahekilli just looks too fun.

  to the forum

[hppants]

Never thought of it that way Loki - we would have made 2 laps on Saturday.     Nice looking laps though.

[Hendricks808]

@ hppants: ok thanks for the tip, i'll defiantly give that a try because i just looked at the plug whole and it's as smooth as a baby's bottom, i'll try the self tapping bolt before i weld it shut as a last resort. also the bike came with a "tool kit" it was just a screw drivers, an adjustable wrench, broken tire pressure gauge, 2 alen wrenches, a swiss army knife and some plugs or something, they look like replacement parts so i think i'll have to take the bike in to change the spark plugs

@ LOKi: haha it's so nice you don't even know, try look at some street view photos from the H-3 looking over Kanehohe, I thought i was gonna cry when i experienced it on my bike, no joke. and once i get my stuff together i can try and slap together some ride vids

and besides dismantling my whole front fork, is there any other simpler method of tightening the o-ring seals on my front fork

[NiteRyder]

Very few spark plug wrenches will remove the plugs.  Did you bike come with the tool kit?  Remove the seat and the left side plastic panel.  Look for a black plastic cover with a slotted screw head fastener on it.  turn the fastener 1/4 turn counterclockwise and the plastic cover will remove.  Inside this compartment, hopefully you will find the tool kit, which hopefully will contain the specialized spark plug wrench that works perfectly.

Great info, I just checked and found my toolkit in the proper place in pristine condition. I learn something new here each time I visit. Now if I can just find the owners manual.

[Brittles]

i think i'll have to take the bike in to change the spark plugs

The spark plug tool is available from Honda.

Now if I can just find the owners manual.

Did you check in the document box, under the rear cowl?