MotoCraz

First Riding Experience of the Year

2009-07-05T21:14:00.002-04:00

After waiting an entire year for the title to my motorcycle to come in and spending over an hour at the DMV (aka hell), I finally got my bike legal and ready to ride. Note that this bike had been sitting since 92 and was not stored properly, but being young and stupid I figured a can's worth of seafoam would fix any issues the carburetors may have had with 16 year old gas sitting in them. The reason I figured the carbs weren't too bad was that the bike would start up right away and idle fine. (I have since learned that carbs have main jets and idle jets) Last year I had added about a gallons worth of fresh gas to the tank, so it had a nice mix of really old crappy gas, some nice year old higher octane gas in it, along with half a can of seafoam. My genius plan was that I was going to ride the bike 30 miles to my parents house and if all went well, from there I planned on riding it the 200 miles back to where I live now. (wishful thinking I know)

So, upon being really excited that I can finally ride my bike, I gear up with my brand new gear I purchased last year and hopped on the bike. The bike started right up and sounded great! I pulled out onto the road and gave the bike some gas....
Now my problems start. Not only does the bike sputter horribly, but it's also really hard to shift from first to second gear. Luckily the gas station is about 4 blocks from where I picked the bike up. Unfortunately when you can only go 20 mph that seems like a much greater distance. Upon arriving at the gas station I filled the remainder of the tank with fresh high octane gas, checked my tire pressure, and hoped the seafoam would clean my carbs as I rode.

Upon taking off from the gas station I quickly realized that this little adventure was not going to work out as I had planned. People do not appreciate other vehicles that don't go over 20 mph. Luckily my fiancé's father owns a workshop less than a mile away from where I was limping along. I made the decision and crawled on the bike to the workshop.

It was pretty obvious to me at this point that the bike was at the very least in need of a serious carb cleaning. After arriving at the shop I got the carberators off (a real pita), and hitched a ride
back to my parents house for a night of inhaling carb cleaner.

From doing a serious amount of research on nighthawk-forums.com, I learned quite a bit about the carberators on my 450 nighthawk. After opening them up and taking a look inside it was obvious this bike sat for 16 years. The float bowls were covered in what can only be
described as rusty gum. After further examination of the main jets, the reason for all the terrible sputtering was that one of the main jets was completly clogged! After cleaning everything out and letting the carbs soak all night, I put it all back together and got a ride back to press my luck.

After putting the carbs back on the bike, it took a few cranks but the bike started back up and sounded good. Now for the test, I got geared back up and hopped back on the old horse. Upon take off the bike felt good and was able to get up to 55 effortlessly. (although shifting from first to second was still a bit rough) Now getting to 55 was no problem, but getting past 55 was tough. The bike was sputtering when attempting to give it gas past 55 mph. Although this was annoying I was able to get the hawk the 30 miles back home without any further surprises.

The ride itself was great, and after riding a ninja for 3 years I have to say I am impressed with how comfortable the nighthawk is to ride and how smooth it feels on the road. I am suspecting that the problem now is either air related or the carberators need to be cleaned more thoroughly and synced. It seemed like it may have been getting better towards the end of my trip. Unfortunately I work 200 miles away from where the bike is and wont be able to investigate until my vacation towards the end of July. I plan on getting it running to the best of my abilities, and giving it a nice new paint job. I'll be posting pictures of my further adventures from now on, I should have taken at least a few but I was in a hurry and pressed for time.

Enjoy being able to ride when you can, and don't take it for granted. (This nice weather is killing me!) Keep it safe out there!

Sent from my iPhone

ALeather.com

2009-06-22T13:23:00.004-04:00

ALeather.com

This is my first website review. I found this website about a year ago while looking for cheap gear that would get the job done and not look ridiculous. The website offers a ton of different gear at incredibly low prices. The quality of the products seem to be fantastic. (I will be reviewing each item I purchased after I use them on the road next week)

-The design of the site is aesthetically pleasing and easy to follow.

-Customer service was great.

-Shipping was fast and Aleather.com offers a great flat rate of $7.95.

-Product prices were fair.

I highly recommend this site for someone on a budget such as myself. I paid around $150 for a helmet, jacket, and gloves shipped to my front door. Check it out, click on the link above!

Product and Website Reviews!

2009-06-05T14:58:00.002-04:00

As I get started with the blog, I plan on starting to review various products for the motorcycle community. First I'm going to start with websites and products that I have already used and tried myself. The products as well as the websites will receive ratings on their performance, shipping time, customer service...so on and so on. I then plan on reviewing products as I use them and updating everyone on my progress with my new (to me) 1985 Honda Nighthawk cb450sc. I will be picking this up sometime next week and it needs plenty of work, so there will be plenty to blog about as I get going. If anyone would like me to review a certain product or website, let me know and I'll get on it.

First Post!

2009-06-03T13:48:00.000-04:00

This is my first post. I would like to set up this blog for motorcyclists who are maybe on a tight budget or just getting into biking and need some advice on finding an older bike and fixing it up without breaking the bank. The internet is an invaluable resource for knowledge of motorcycles and products. I would of been lost without the various forums and advice from others on the mechanics of my motorcycle and how to troubleshoot them. Look for more to come soon from me and feel free to email me any questions you may have and I will attempt to find you an honest answer. Happy riding!

Noah