Hondas....

Crazyjeeper

Crazyjeeper

NickGyver
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,020
Location
Dallas, TX
Car(s)
F150, CJ7, Mustang GT, Tenere, Griso
Now that I'm finally going to be moving on all of my various motorcycle projects, it is time to create a single unified thread for all of the updates.

1993 Honda Nighthawk 750

I picked this up right after my return from the frozen northlands as a project. It showed a mere 1400 original miles, and had been sitting abandoned for 10 years.

Here is the day I bought it.
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Since the plastics are clearly missing and/or trashed I picked up a thrashed 1992 Nighthawk 750 to be a parts donor. It will be donating its carbs, airbox, bodywork, seat, fuel tank and a few other odds and ends to the cause. Shortly after we got the needed parts, it was eaten by a Jaguar, so it is no more.

As it stands now, the engine runs, quite well considering the time it spent dormant.

[video=youtube;gYyobb-AyNc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYyobb-AyNc[/video]

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Next up will be my 1976 Honda GL1000 Goldwing, but I've got to get to class.
 
Not gonna lie, I've been waiting for a PYC thread about these bikes. :thumbsup:
 
The CB750 is the two-wheeled equivalent of the old-school Toyota Pickups...basically indestructable. I look forward to watching its restoration :)
 
Mitlov said:
The CB750 is the two-wheeled equivalent of the old-school Toyota Pickups...basically indestructable. I look forward to watching its restoration :)
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They're not that indestructable. One was caught and eaten by a Jaguar. :D
 
So are you paying Spectre rent? :p
 
Yeah, I'm using him for slaveindentured labor on my other projects. :D

And when dealing with "Sturdify, then add mass" engineering like on the Jags, the extra muscle helps. :D
 
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Yup, got it fully assembled last night or early this morning depending on how you look at it. As it sits now, it still needs the chain, sprockets, and tires to be safe and road legal. Oh, and it really needs some fresh gas. The gas in that tank is at least 6 months old and it was running like it was full of water.

You may have also noticed it is quite ugly. The plan is to take the spare tank, and a second set of bodywork to a local shop and have them paint it all blue. I'm going with the same blue color that is the basecoat of the 1986 700S. Then I'm going to stick some earlier logos on it because I don't like the 90s ones with the scribbled nighthawk text. It should turn out looking pretty good.
 
Crazyjeeper said:
I'm going with the same blue color that is the basecoat of the 1986 700S. Then I'm going to stick some earlier logos on it because I don't like the 90s ones with the scribbled nighthawk text. It should turn out looking pretty good.
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So you're gonna try and be like Spectre's doppleganger? :p
 
RMurray8874 said:
So you're gonna try and be like Spectre's doppleganger? :p
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Nah, If I was, I'd get a real 700s, and the only reason I don't have one was because I couldn't find one cheap.

As for the color, it's just a great color, and critically, the local bodyshop has the codes for it and won't charge me an arm and a leg.
 
Yeah, many of the original 80s Honda motorcycle colors are no longer in mass production or even have formulas in the systems available to paint shops, so they have to be color matched and batches have to be run up. When I was getting my 700 done, we worked up Candy Aleutian Blue just fine, so that color's in the system now. I still need to go through the process of Shasta White, come to think of it. Believe it or not, despite the advent of digital spectrometers, sometimes you still have to eyeball it.

If you want many of the other colors, you're looking at getting the paint from some rather expensive specialty manufacturers and suppliers. Or you can find a highly skilled bodyshop that specializes in high end cars (with correspondingly demanding customers) to work with you on a match, which is what I did.
 
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I've hit a bit of a snag on the 750. Turns out a local shop ordered the wrong chain, and that the forks really are gone and need to be fixed. I should be able to solve these issues fairly quickly though once I get the title sorted. Apparently the local tax office wants the release of lien letter to be from the same bank that issued the lien on the title, which is fine, but that bank no longer exists. :p

I am also planning to get around to writing the goldwing(s) up.
 
avanti said:
Did I just stumble into the "Awesome thread"? :mrgreen:
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Depends on your definition of awesome. You won't find any slammed BMWs in this one though :p

Also, re: exhaust, we think somebody took some baffles out, because it is louder and rougher than it should be.
 
I got the state inspection done. Did you know it is legal in Texas to not have any turn signals? Anyways, it has been brought home from the volcano. All that is left to do is reseal the forks, find better bodywork (a chunk of one of the side covers fell off), and do something about the illegible speedometer.

I also noticed on the ride home, I am now super paranoid and suspicious of everyone on the road. :lol:

Edit: Here it is, not at the volcano.

 
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In the last few weeks I've only put about 90 miles on it but that was all I needed to know that the forks really needed some help. I also found out that the body work has been trying to escape. Spectre and I addressed those issues yesterday.









As you can see water got down into the seals and turned the rubber into a more natural state. It was extremely crumbly and difficult to work with. With liberal application of a chisel (craftsman screwdriver) we did manage to free the seal. However, it took so long that we didn't have time to finish but I don't really care. It will be nice to own a bike with functional front suspension for once. :lol:
 
You forgot to mention that we also had to apply fire to get the remains of the seal out. :D
 
Crazyjeeper said:
I got the state inspection done. Did you know it is legal in Texas to not have any turn signals?
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over here you don't need turn signals either (ever seen a super motard with turn signals?), but then you have to use your arm to inform other motorists

if you do have indicators, and you don't use them, you can get a ticket though...
 
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