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Hi all. My pops passed away a little over two weeks ago. In his garage he had an '82 Honda Nighthawk 750 which he hadn't ridden since my birth (26 years ago). I fully intend to restore this bike to its full glory, and to ride my dad's bike some day soon. I've wandered over to this part of the forums to ask the pros what kind of work I'm looking at. As I said, the bike was garage kept, so it looks to be in pretty decent shape as far as the metal goes. I wanted to turn it over to see if the engine had seized, but the battery's dead and apparently this model has no kickstarter. I'm assuming that I'll have to clean the fuel and oil lines, replace the piston rings, and perhaps the carb, but I've never worked on a bike before and have no real idea of what the steps I have to take will be. If anyone can help me here, like by briefly telling me what to examine/clean/replace and in what order, I would really appreciate it.
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Jun 8, 2015 22:10
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| # ? May 6, 2024 18:22 |
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Squirt some oil in the bores then see if you can turn it over by hand. It may run but the carbs will undoubtedly be hosed; at the absolute minimum you'll have to take them apart and clean the poo poo out of them. The rings will be fine if the engine isn't seized. Worth cleaning out the tank before attempting starting, too. You'll also need to replace the chain and tyres.
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Jun 8, 2015 23:20
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Sorry to hear about your pops. I'll chime in later with a more detailed post about where you should start.
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Jun 8, 2015 23:38
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Slavvy posted:You'll also need to replace the chain and tyres. And most likely any hoses or rubber bits. Especially brake lines.
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Jun 9, 2015 01:19
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Ok, here's how you want to start. Do you have the keys? Hopefully you do. If you don't, well, that can be fixed too. Do you have a hand impact driver? You're going to need one. Same with a multimeter. Step one is going to be to get a 12v battery, and hook it up to the electronics. You can use a car battery/jumpers attached to your car, but do not start the car. You want to be able to turn the bike on, make sure the electronics are in place, and everything else is ok. If the electronics are ok, the red oil light on the dash should go on, the brake light should go on (and get brighter if you use the front brake/rear brake), and you should be able to use the turn signals. Don't try and start it just yet - normally I wouldn't be this paranoid, but it's your dad's bike, etc. Next phase will be to check the oil. Not sure if that bike has a dipstick or a sight glass, but look around on the engine and see what you can see. I'd pick up some cheap oil and change the filter (OEM filter preferred), and change the oil - just drain out the old and pour in the new. Normally I wouldn't bother with this step, but it's your dad's bike and 30 bucks is cheap insurance against 26 year old oil. I recommend shell rotella, but any oil will work as long as it doesn't have "Energy Conserving" in the API donut on the back. If it does, it's going to probably wreck your clutch and you don't want that. If that all checks out ok, then pull a spark plug wire, get an old spark plug (or buy a new set, you're going to want them anyways), and throw a spark plug in one of the boots, place the plug on the head, and crank it over. You should see a fat blue spark. If you don't, check the kill switch and that the kickstand is up and the bike is in neutral, and try again. If that checks out, you've got spark and electricals should be ok. From there, I'd pull the gas tank off, remove the airbox and carbs, find a replacement set of carb boots (if you can), and pick up a carb rebuild kit - you're going to want float needles, gaskets, and will likely need the diaphragms as well. Do a carb clean (don't separate the carbs from each other if you can avoid it, it's a pain to reassemble and resync). Replace the fuel lines with new ones (you can use generic autobody stuff, it'll be a little thicker. Make sure it doesn't kink on reinstall). Replace the air filter. Once you've gotten the carbs cleaned, replace the spark plugs, and then you can gravity feed the bike from a lawnmower gas tank and it'll probably fire up. At this point, rev the bike up to around 4k or so and check that you're getting 14v charging voltage at the battery. If you are, electrical system is still ok. Drain out any old gas from the gas tank, and put some fresh stuff in. Then shake it around and drain it all and see if you have rust flakes in the drained gas. If you don't, great, inspect the petcock to make sure it works (draws from the higher port when "on", and the lower port when on "reserve", and doesn't flow fuel when off. It might be vacuum operated, in which case it won't flow anything unless you suck on the smaller hose to release the vacuum. If that's all good, tank is fine and good to go. Otherwise, you might need to seal it to get it solid. Check that it doesn't leak off the bike, too. Once that's done, you should lube all the suspension linkages, the headstock, check the forks for rust or corrosion, and replace the tires, brake fluid, brake lines, inspect the master cylinder, inspect the seals on the brake calipers, inspect the rotors, replace the chain, check the wheel bearings (grease if needed), inspect the sprockets, and check torque on axles and pinch bolts. From there, it should be in pretty decent shape. These old bikes are pretty reliable, you probably don't need much more than a carb clean and to address the consumables that have rotted out due to sitting. Expect to have to do fork seals in short order, and to rebuild the rear shock(s) as well. That should get you started. Post pictures and ask questions before you whip out the hammer. Z3n fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Jun 9, 2015 |
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Jun 9, 2015 03:11
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Ditto to everything said so far. I wouldn't even try to run it -- except maybe just spraying some ether in the intake to see if it fires up -- without thoroughly flushing the entire fuel system. I expect that unless it was very conscientiously stored you will have major issues with the fuel system. Probably need to clean it all several times and get incredibly angry at it before anything works right.
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Jun 9, 2015 03:13
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As the good Rev points out - nothing but fresh fuel through fresh lines if you want to avoid immense frustration with the bike. Pull and clean/replace everything that fuel touches - Tank, lines, carbs, carb boots.
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Jun 9, 2015 03:18
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Then replace the bike with a better bike that isn't 33 years old.
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Jun 9, 2015 15:18
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Z3n posted:Ok, here's how you want to start. Sweet, looks like I have a project ahead of me. Thanks so much for all of that information, Z3n. As you can imagine, I have about a thousand other things to do in the coming months, but once everything settles down I'll get cracking on the bike and will keep this thread updated. Pics for sure.
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Jun 9, 2015 16:26
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Digital_Jesus posted:Then replace the bike with a better bike that isn't 33 years old. I'm going to try to keep this the one thread I'm in where people don't argue about poo poo, so I'll give you a pass.
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Jun 9, 2015 16:29
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Digital_Jesus posted:Then replace the bike with a better bike that isn't 33 years old. Prick.
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Jun 9, 2015 19:02
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Buy a good running example of this bike. Take all of the cosmetic parts - chrome/tank/etc and swap it over. You end up with 'his' bike but you don't have to go through a huge hassle of trying to get a bike that has been sitting for 26 years.
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Jun 9, 2015 22:43
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No way - there's more to it than just getting some old bike running so you can ride it. I wish you luck, man! It's going to be amazing when you get it fired up for the first time.
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Jun 10, 2015 01:19
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Some slight nitpicks about z3n's advice, from my experience with the Honda DOHC 4's. His advice will absolutely get you running, just some more specific stuff I've run into:Z3n posted:Find a replacement set of carb boots (if you can),  Getting new ones is actually really important tho. If they're not pliable, bendable rubber, you'll *never* get the bike running correctly.Z3n posted:and pick up a carb rebuild kit - you're going to want float needles, gaskets, and will likely need the diaphragms as well. Z3n posted:If you are, electrical system is still ok. Z3n posted:That should get you started. Post pictures and ask questions before you whip out the hammer. And don't listen to anyone about just buying a running bike. These projects usually aren't as cheap as you'd expect, but they're usually pretty fun to do.
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Jun 10, 2015 01:25
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Hey, I didn't say don't fix it up for funsies, I'm just saying don't expect it to be a wonderbike or anything. It's gonna be costly and a royal pain in the rear end and if you actually want a bike to ride this one ain't it for quite a while.hermand posted:Prick. Back at you.
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Jun 10, 2015 01:41
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Digital_Jesus posted:Hey, I didn't say don't fix it up for funsies, I'm just saying don't expect it to be a wonderbike or anything. It's gonna be costly and a royal pain in the rear end and if you actually want a bike to ride this one ain't it for quite a while. Considering his dad just passed away and it was his bike, it's probably worth the effort to fix it.
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Jun 10, 2015 02:42
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It's me, I'm the prick. Sorry for your loss, OP. Good luck with the project.
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Jun 10, 2015 04:17
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| # ? May 6, 2024 18:22 |
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Thanks for the help, Mr. P. I need all the advice I can get. Like I said it'll be a bit of time before I start, but when I do I'm documenting the poo poo out of this.
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Jun 11, 2015 01:40
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