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Confidence Building...Making Changes to My Bike


Kruse08

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I am no bike builder nor do I have the proper tools but I have been challenging myself to to build confidence with making changes to the bike.  Since my bike was crashed at some point it has no real value for anyone to buy.  Since I had little to no experience when purchasing my 2nd bike I bought this... Lessoned learned.  I then had some wonderful men help me get it on the road and running safely.  Spring is in the air and I decided to make some changes and ride what I have.  I do not have the money for a better or nicer bike so this is where I am.  A few weeks ago I was able to get the big dent out of the gas tank, not perfect but much better.  I love streetfighter/cafe style bikes so many ideas went swirling in my head.  I know this may not be too many peoples liking and it may get ragged on but that is fine.  I just am proud of the slow start and what I have learned/been taught.  

I found a bike on google that I really like and that was where I started.  I decided to buy a 2nd hand seat of ebay for super cheap.  I did this so if I mess up I can always go back to stock and scrap the entire project.  First thing has been to make the new seat.  Have not finished it yet but I like what I was able to do with a bread knife.

This is the bike I found on google and really like.

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This is the bike before anything started.

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This is the dent in the tank.

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This is after the dent was removed.

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Here are the pictures of the seat progression.

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Edited by Kruse08
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Good start. Some tips: keep the stock air box and if possible, the exhaust. These bikes are notoriously difficult to tune once you change intake and exhaust characteristics. If you want a louder tone, look into defeating some of the baffles in the stock pipes or try and find an aftermarket pipe that breathes the same as stock.

 

Different bars will really change the look. Also mirrors, blinkers etc. As well as chopping the rear fender. 

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Crazy, I am not touching the air box or exhaust.  Brian Whaler did a wonderful job with the carbs and syncing and I have no desire to mess with it since the bike runs great.  Most of everything else you said will happen in time.  I am nervous about doing some of the changes as it is the first time for me doing any of it. 

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Hey man, I am glad to hear you are working on that thing.  Great job getting the dent out!  Tank looks good!  Good idea keeping the stock air box and exhaust.  Let us know if you need help with anything!

Edited by Wolfman1
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I finished the new seat during my days off.  I did not realize how difficult vinyl would be.  I really enjoyed making the seat, frustrating but rewarding.  Kind of want to make another at some point.  But, onto some other projects and if I go through with it all it wont be much longer.

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11 minutes ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

Nice. Not sure if this was mentioned but if you run the cover in the dryer for 15 minutes it softens it up pretty good, makes it easier to work.

^^This^^ 

I used a heat gun on the cover my wife's supermoto seat shave project, but heat helps it become more plyable so the stretch is easier to hold in place while you staple it to the pan, AND it keeps a firmer stretch once it cools.

I'd never shaved a seat before so I made sure to take my time and reapply logic with every cut.  I used a spare hacksaw blade to make the major cuts, then a roundback wood rasp to smooth everything out.  Turned out pretty well, and gave her another 1.5" of drop to plant her feet.

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I laid it in the sun for 30 minutes prior and then moved my portable work bench into the sun and continued to work on there.  It helped quite a bit.  For my first seat I think it turned out well.  There are areas of improvement for sure but I am much happier with that as I can now flat foot the bike at a stop instead of being on my toes.  I also am not being shoved to the gas tank and this also helps keep my legs naturally closer to the tank.  Thanks for the ideas for the next time I try this.

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You did fine for a first dive in.  You can always pluck the cover off and fine tune the foam some more too if you find issues with the feel of it.

Also, kydex panels are fairly cheap and allow you to cut/heat/mold it to cover some of the exposed bits and give it a more customized touch too

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Handlebars are really more up to you and where your hands/reach would feel comfortable.  Check the outside diameter of the stock bars, and make sure the others measure the same or you'll have to change out the clamps.  The easiest way that I know of is to strip the controls off of the stock bars, and swap out for the other bars you plan to use.  Hop on the bike and figure out how far forward/back you want them ( and still allow them to clear the tank at full lock ) then snug them up and remount the controls, and fine tune things from there.  

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The other thing to consider is that you can replace the risers (clamps) for the handle bars and get some that move it...usually up and back.  That may be part of your solution, or all of it. Depends one what you are trying to do.

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2 hours ago, Hellmutt said:

Handlebars are really more up to you and where your hands/reach would feel comfortable.  Check the outside diameter of the stock bars, and make sure the others measure the same or you'll have to change out the clamps.  The easiest way that I know of is to strip the controls off of the stock bars, and swap out for the other bars you plan to use.  Hop on the bike and figure out how far forward/back you want them ( and still allow them to clear the tank at full lock ) then snug them up and remount the controls, and fine tune things from there.  

 

2 hours ago, Tonik said:

The other thing to consider is that you can replace the risers (clamps) for the handle bars and get some that move it...usually up and back.  That may be part of your solution, or all of it. Depends one what you are trying to do.

These two forgot to mention that if you make any significant change in rise or pullback, you'll need to replace your throttle cables, possibly choke cable, clutch cable/hose and front brake lines along with possibly soldering in extensions for the electrical controls....and possibly having to drill the new bars and run your wiring inside them..... Ask me how I know.

Edited by CrazySkullCrusher
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You've got a clean Nighthawk there, don't do anything you'll regret in the future. Believe it or not these will be worth money a few years down the road. If you are going to cut parts up, try to source a part off ebay and do it to that. If you decide 5 years from now to go back to stock, you'll be upset when you see how much the prices for parts will have gone up.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Just now, Kruse08 said:

Thanks Tonik, I was trying to edit them but it timed out on me.

NP, leave out the bbs tags...the <img> crap.  Just hit 'insert other media'  and insert from url and just paste the address with the .jpg on the end, just the part below:

http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy105/bkruse2/IMG_0845.jpg

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