Before I begin, I wanted to say thank you to Volker, Folsom and others who have posted info without which I don't know if I would have got my Nighthawk running.
I bought my Nighthawk in December for $600.00 with a title. It was non-running in a barn and looked ok. I probably shouldn't have bought the bike as it was more than I should have taken on. Ignorance is bliss!!
The rectifier was bad, master cylinder was seized, calipers were seized, chain was rusted, carbs needed rebuilding, tank was rusted, side panels were cracked (I forgot them there) and the list goes on and on.
This is what the bike looked like after I had cleaned it up somewhat...
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... fbc0f8.jpg
I first took the carbs off and cleaned them. They were gunked up solid. I replaced the jets, needles and gaskets. I also fashioned the exhaust tube out of a brass fitting... Note the backwards caps!!!
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... a15923.jpg
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... f2bfe7.jpg
I replaced the coils (they were almost out of spec) the plug wires (fried) and CDI's (I don't know why I replaced them). I finally got the bike started, but it ran so crappy that I ended up taking the carbs off and giving them the pine sol treatment.
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 31e158.jpg
I completely rebuilt the front brakes with new seals, stainless steel lines, banjo bolts and washers. Re-used the rotors and pads and rebuilt the master cylinder. I had to drill the old parts out as they were seized in the bore. It took me several hours and also a long time to figure out where the tiny hole was in the master cylinder......I finally poked it through and was able to bleed the brakes.
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 71a1ee.jpg
I rebuilt the odometer and speedometer as they were both faded and the case was cracked from a previous wreck.... I obtained a second set of gauges and cut them open with a dremel, colored them in with a Sharpie and re-sealed them.... Not perfect, but passable (from a distance)
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... c89ea7.jpg
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... ce4115.jpg
I got the bike running a little better and was finally able to somewhat set the idle and synch the carbs. During my first neighborhood spin the bike really hung up at 5000 rpms. I finally figured out that the #4 carb cap was warped and the piston was sticking. I was able to find a replacement cap on E-Bay.
At this point, the starter appeared to be failing, but after some testing I figured out it was the starter clutch. I followed the post and first I had to fabricate that "special" Honda tool from a 24mm socket.
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 156c6e.jpg
I then pulled the starter clutch out and this is what the caps and springs looked like....
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 386da4.jpg
Two of the caps were fried and the springs were pushing against the pins. The one good spring and cap would catch the gear every now and then. I think the pins and springs had been replaced before as the bolts were Phillips instead of Torx. Since Honda no longer makes them, I replaced them with allen head bolts and a little Loctite. I tried to replace the castellated nut with a normal one, but was unable to find one.
There was some crap in the bottom of the oil pan, but nothing really bad...... I had to clean out the tank which I did. You can see my post "YAY for Metal Rescue!".
After all this I thought I was doing good. I had replaced the head cover gasket and thought this would solve my oil leaks. I then went riding into town and when I parked the bike I had oil dripping onto the ground from the bad seal in the head on the #1 cylinder side.
I bought a complete gasket set from cruzinimage (in Japan) off of E-Bay and originally was going to replace the head gasket. When I took the head off the cylinders came out too. So I took everything out.....
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 518bc1.jpg
I honed the cylinders.....You can see in the number three there is a slight groove I couldn't hone out....
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... e3babc.jpg
I disassembled the heads, cleaned the valves, seats and combustion chambers......replaced valve seals and lapped the valves......
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 34c0de.jpg
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 877f64.jpg
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... fdfe48.jpg
And then put it back together. Thanks Volker!
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 01f63c.jpg
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 06da15.jpg
The bike now looks like this:
http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r70 ... 016d3b.jpg
I plan to paint it stock in the fall. It still needs some odds and ends, but it is basically all there. I drove it to work and back (20 miles each way). I had a little stutter at 5500 rpm in the morning, but I re-set my choke cable and the ride home was perfect. I even got compliments on the road!!!
P.S. There were some times when I thought I would not be able to resolve certain issues. The best advice on this board has been to walk away and come back fresh tomorrow.
Rob
