New Member, 1982 Nighthawk 650

[Moustache]

Greetings,   

I jus bought myself an '82 650 at a reasonable price for a first bike.  I'll post some pics soon as can get it home from Oshawa.
Looking forward to the new season and to being a part of this forum.

[luckylindy]

 

[drdubb]

Welcome aboard!! 

[ak85lp]

Welcome aboard Moustache, I live near Carelton Place so at least you are in Ontario. Have the same year bike, ours is Candy Flair blue.

[Moustache]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Reupholstered the seat today.  Looks a lot better than it did, and has two extra inches of memory foam.
I think If I ever have to do it again, I may order a seat cover, or have some one else do it.  
My fingers are full of pin holes, I'm sick of looking at the sewing machine
and there is thread and scraps everywhere.

At least I have a water proof, un split and padded saddle.
 

[highwayjamin]

   Cant wait to see the 

[fortyhourdays]

 

[Moustache]

I finally got the bike home, and certified
I now have a trailer hitch  and wiring harness on my cage
New Rear tire on the bike
Put acid in the new battery about 1/2 hour ago, put on charger before bed.
Oil and filter change in the next couple of days, perhaps the weekend,
Plates and insurance this week as well,
Thinking about putting new plugs in but have yet to pull the PO's and check them
Going to go at it with a nylon brush too pretty it up some.   
I'll try and get some of the rust off too
considering removing the windshield.

Pics to be posted soon

So much to be done before I can actually ride it.
Every day bring me and my bike closer together though.

[ak85lp]

Is it the blue colour or black one?

[Moustache]

It's black, no decals, a couple of small cracks in the side panels and missing one post.

[Moustache]

Got it started today in Minus 5 degree weather,  so stoked,
It was a little slow to start though?
What's the best way to start a bike?

Do you need to roll the throttle a little, or just push in the clutch and start button?
I went though the gears, and checked the friction area of the clutch,  I got it back into neutral but the light wouldn't stay on, any advice?
Should I be worried about a deteriorating dust cover on the forks?

Thanks

[Soupskin]

Got it started today in Minus 5 degree weather,  so stoked,
It was a little slow to start though?
What's the best way to start a bike?

Do you need to roll the throttle a little, or just push in the clutch and start button?
I went though the gears, and checked the friction area of the clutch,  I got it back into neutral but the light wouldn't stay on, any advice?
Should I be worried about a deteriorating dust cover on the forks?

Thanks

A little throttle on (VERY) cold days is normal for carbureted bikes.

Congrats!

[Bumblebee]

-5F or -5C?

I don't even bother at -5F, matter of fact, it's secured for at least short term cold weather outdoor storage at that point.
-5C is fairly easy if you prime it though if it's cold soaked it'll be more stubborn, startable however stubborn.
Being up on the centerstand actually helps during cold soaked starts.

Should I be worried about a deteriorating dust cover on the forks?

As long as it's not letting dirt or water into the area below the cover and the forks are not leaking fluid, just keep an eye on it. You have to pull the forks off to change the covers. Changing them is not a big deal and quite easy however it's a low priority item as long as they still seal properly.

[Moustache]

-5F or -5C?

-5c

-5C is fairly easy if you prime it

How does one prime?

Being up on the centerstand actually helps during cold soaked starts.

Thanks? soaked=primed?

Should I be worried about a deteriorating dust cover on the forks?

Changing them is not a big deal and quite easy however it's a low priority item as long as they still seal properly.

One of the dust covers does not seal.

 

[Bumblebee]

-5c

That's practically summer.

How does one prime?

To do something you first have to understand why you're doing it.
Warm fuel atomizes easily. Cold fuel doesn't. It's similar to why wet foot prints on pavement evaporate on a hot sunny summer day faster than they do at 40F under cloud cover.
Cold air, fuel and engine parts keep the fuel from atomizing properly. Improperly atomized fuel at the normal supply ratio means the mixture going to the engine is extremely lean thus the no start condition. The solution is to increase the fuel supply adequately to bring the mixture going to the engine up to a combustible state. Normally that is done with just the choke.
If it's too cold, choke alone won't bring the delivered fuel quantity up to a combustible mixture so something else has to be done - priming.
Priming is brute force dumping extra fuel into the carburetor so it'll go rich enough for a start when it's cold. Only prime when necessary, not for the fun of it. You can actually end up with a carburetor fire in the event of a backfire so it's not something to be done for the fun of it.

To prime all you have to do is twist the throttle with the engine off. The extra fuel is being supplied by the accelerator pump into all 4 carburetor intakes.

Cold start priming sequence: Choke full on. Twist the throttle 2-3 times. Throttle slightly open. Push the start button.
In the event of a carburetor fire, DO NOT let go of the starter button. Continue cranking the engine and if possible bump the engine stop switch to off. The reason to continue cranking is to pull the fire and unburned fuel into the combustion chamber where it can be handled properly.

Thanks? soaked=primed?

No. Cold soaked is not fuel. It is where the engine metal is cold. Cold metal such as the venturi, intake manifold, valves and cylinder. Cold fuel doesn't help much either. When things are cold, fuel does not atomize and will drop out of suspension fairly easily to a non-combustible state.

When on the side stand, fuel will slowly drain from the high carburetors into the lower ones. That causes deporting of the fuel in the high carburetor main jets. That's often why after it sits for days the lower cylinders will start firing first then the upper cylinders will start. On the centerstand, all the float bowls end up full after the first start attempt.

[Moustache]

Pics are in


https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=305045&id=558993215&l=aa3623d4f2

I haven't had a chance to clean it yet, it's been too cold,
It will get nicer though.
You can see tell that I made the seat cover myself, but it was a fun project.

[michaeld1]

Nice job on the seat