smccrory

I've a 29" inseam. On the stock seat, with underarmor, jeans, ballistic overpants and soled boots, I'm on my toes at a stop, which works but leaves me little margin for balance error. With just jeans in the summer, I can get the balls of my feet down and that's good enough, but it'll be a while before it ain't freezy. I did get a set of lowering links I might try out for giggles first.

Envious. Wish I had the inseam for it.

Sorry Tonik! I'm lucky to still have room for the blower and the bikes.

That's sort of personal :-) but it's good - certainly not loose. I probably just need to get used to it - I see that a lot of folks talk about the Strom's strong throttle response. My V-Star 1100 was heavy, dampening launch acceleration. My CB700SC's I4 has more HP up high but less torque below, and neither have the Strom's fuel injection. I added foam grip slip-ons which help but it's still more "affirmative" than I'm used to. More practice would be appreciated...

Went for a nice 30 mile ride this afternoon in insulated gear, northeast of Columbus. Temps were a respectable 40-45F and while I was cool, I could have ridden indefinitely. Took my new V-Strom 650 and enjoyed it properly, though I'm still getting used to its touchy throttle response. How the hell does a 650 have so relatively damned much torque and drive lash under 4k rpm, while maintaining 48 mpg?? I'm kind of hoping it softens in...

Outstanding, great find Casper!

Who gives a rats ass if you do anyway dude. Enjoy everything about it. My daughter is with her BF's family today, learning how to make pies with his grandma and eating with his extended family. I was invited but opted to eat with my GF's family. Nice day, and even though my daughter and I are doing separate things, we talked a bunch this morning and looking forward to an extended weekend together. It's a good day.

Yea, I'm curious as to how the talks are going! Btw are either the Bandit 1200 or ex-500 carbs constant velocity? I'm not trying to be a dick, but just trying to save a bunch of grief. Drilling holes in an airbox disturbs velocity equalization, which is a key airbox property in cv carb circuits. Don't take my word for it - Google yourself sick if that's what it takes.

Anyone you do corporate or personal business with (or through) using GMail or Hotmail (free or paid) provides Google and Microsoft the opportunity to correlate behavior. This is also true of Amazon, eBay and Paypal. So while you're right that you can opt out of corporate spying, it's impractical for most people.

We can certainly agree there. And it's just as intense on the commercial side - Google especially. I think most people are just hoping that their abuse of that power is limited, at least to "other people".

Oh my Gf would LOVE that... NOT! :-D

Better hope the NSA never looks at the public assistance records of the GOP faithful.

Good, you'll need them riding in this freezy stuff! ;-P

You're the exception. The Nighthawk forum is littered with abandoned pod jobs.

I predict you won't need to replace the carb boots unless you detect leaks - they're thick and unusually strong (I still have the originals on my '85). While looking at the bike pre-buy, make sure she turns over, ideally with a battery and the starter, or use the crankshaft if necessary. A seized engine would kill the deal for me. If you can crank the engine and have a compression tester handy, ask the seller if you can take 15 minutes to test each cylinder and make sure their values are all in the same range. Look for engine gasket leaks, heinously stripped hardware and anything else bubba-ized. I'd propose your number 1 priority if you land the bike, would be to get the engine running. Replace the battery, check/change the oil and filter, add clean gas with seafoam, replace the plugs, test the starter and spark and see if you can get some puffs, then go for broke and start her up. It's cold and she'll need a lot of cranking, but puffs will tell you the carbs aren't far off, though it's very typical to have to pull them and do a pine-sol soak. Let me know if you get to that point - I know those carbs well.

Engine, muffler components, carbs, etc. look great from the outside - this bike has been well stored Nobody sawed off the tail off, replaced the mufflers or removed the airbox - that's excellent. The WORST thing you can do to a Nighthawk (or any CV carb'd bike) is to remove the airbox, open up the mufflers or put pods on it, without spending another few hundred on a stage 3 kit and lots of time fiddling with jet sizes What I see of the plastics, I really like. Note that old SIDE plastics and TANKS are expensive for this bike - make sure they're in decent condition. You can seal rust leaks and fiberglass cracking panels, but replacing them outright would be a several hundred dollar affair I believe this series of years had hydraulic lifters like my CB700S. You'll be disappointed if you love tearing apart top-ends to do periodic tappet adjustments - this bike won't need it. Ever. Conversely, you can completely top-end this engine while it's in the frame with relative ease - I know from experience. The carbs are a pain in the ass to remove and return though - the first time you do it, you'll remember colorful language you forgot you knew. After a half-dozen times, you'll have the process down pat. Ask me if you want pointers. On many Nighthawk models the 2nd-gear shift fork was weak. If a rider short-shifted a lot, it would mash the fork into the gearing, wearing down the fork enough to cause false 2nds or even the inability to shift into 2nd. This is really hard to test on a non-running bike, so you'll probably just have to ask the seller a couple times in a couple ways. If you do run into the issue, you'll have to crack the case and replace the fork, which is easily a 40+ hour job unless you're experienced. This is a Honda. And a Nighthawk. And they made tons of them. Look at eBay if you want proof of new-old-stock and aftermarket parts availability If you lived closer, I'd lend you my compression tool or even offer to go along. I love these bikes and hope it's what it appears to be! If you do buy it, I'll be glad to lend advice and connect in person sometime. Also, http://nighthawk-forums.com is your friend.Scott

I put Pirelli Sport Demons on my '85 and really dig them, but their sporty look maybe matches the '700 better than the 750.

By the way, assume you'll need new tires, fluids and battery, which will cost you about $300-400 plus the other items he mentions, and budget for a few surprises. It's a decent price, but I'd recommend buying it for the project as much as the bike. If you're not in for the project, spend $1200-1500 for an operational, fully restored specimen.

Totally worth considering. I think the nighthawks have timeless UJM style and historical significance to boot. I restored an 85 CB700SC last winter and find it lacking in no category meaningful to me.

That's very cool. I've been meaning to stop on my way through but am usually in a hurry.

But PA does not, so mind if you travel to WV by 70 to 79, you'll need to change up by the borders.

If I were to close a power sports business, it would be at the end of a season, to avoid carrying 4 months of low-sales salaries, inventory, insurance, overhead, etc. Really hope they stay open though - choice is good.

Yea that is a pretty salient point.

Oh now THAT would be fun! Someone buy me a grom.

It's probably ok without it for a few weeks but I'd still get one to keep the charge topped off over the winter. A tender is NOT just a heater, it maintains electrochemical potential across the plates.