Another Toy Running By w650 (Read 1,096 times)

[w650]

The week after my wife passed I saw a Honda 250 Nighthawk in Craigslist. "Needs Carb put back on. I'll deliver". This clown comes over with the bike. Pieces are missing, he thinks he's an expert and is a jerk and the exhaust pipes are gutted. I took it anyway but wasn't so sure it would ever run again. Then I hunkered down, started checking things and found out he had monkeyed the carb to death and the starter was blown. $300 later in parts and some swearing this happened.



It still needs rear brakes, the signals don't work and neither does the brake or tail lights. But it runs which is more than i thought would happen two months ago.

[cyborg]

Hey Jim!!! how much was the beast?,,,how many miles?,,,sounds like it runs decently in the video

[cyborg]

I have to say you have to beat a honda to death to break one,,,they sure make a great bike

[w650]

I paid too much but it cost me $500. It's been through the wringer but I'll be darned if it didn't start right up after I installed the new carburetor. It's easy to see though why old Japanese bikes get junked. The carb was $234 but I got the starter off Ebay for $56. It's the Chinese equivalent. A real Honda starter is $348. The rear brakes don't work at all so I bought new shoes for $21, shipped and the signals don't work at all. Worst comes to worst I'll run a hot wire off some live wire, that runs off the key, in the headlight. I took it for a test ride and it picks up strong despite the abuse. Of course the drum front brake stinks and without rear brakes I almost overshot my driveway coming back. I don't know what I'll do with it but there's something very satisfying about getting a bike that's not running to howl to life and even more satisfying when you get to ride it.

It was used by someone, or someones, years ago. It has 15,000 miles on it.

[cyborg]

15 Gs on a honda is nuthin,,,i'd make it the grocery getter,,,,milk crate and all,,,$500 aint bad either Jim,,,,if the tags arent out too far,,,looks like another great score to me

[w650]

You know Pete, When I bring a bike back to life I bond with the thing. Once it's road legal I don't know what I want to do with it. Originally I was going to give it to my stepson but I sold his last bike, a 50cc like my Cub clone because he never used it. He's had a bike license for three years and it's been two years since he last rode anything.

Now I'm partially thinking this might be the Grand Tour machine for next Spring/Summer. A set of soft bags and a Slipstreamer shield and it would be all set. I'm getting a soft spot in my heart for it but I have the big Kawasaki and the 250 CF Moto. So many bikes to choose from.

[cyborg]

You got in so cheap old man I'd be looking at getting a disk brake wheel on eBay or CL ,,altho a disassembly and a good cleanup with new shoes you can make those drums work pretty good

[w650]

It stops pretty good with just the front brake. I'm thinking once I get the rear brake functioning it will stop enough for me. I'm just impressed with how it pulls already. I only took it up to 45 mph just to see if it was steady. For something that hadn't run in years it moved out pretty smartly. Once I get a plate on it I'll move on to bigger numbers.

[cyborg]

My first bike was a honda CB 350 it had a drum front brake,, as long as it was adjusted it stopped dam near a disk,the only problem was after a few (3-4) quick hard stops it started to fade a little,,,,( ah youth,,,totally wasted on the young),,,, gotta love those Hondas ,,,anything from the big 4 really,,,of course it's steady at speed,,,it's a honda,,,probably be good till a little over 100,,,we Americans think anything under a 750 is a moped,,,to the rest of the world especially Asia anything over a 175 is considered a full size bike,,,and that 250 that you have ( and variations) is probably the biggest seller world wide of their full sized motorcycles ,,,,period,,,,the only thing they sold more of is the stepthru cub ,,,,67 million copies worldwide sales as of last month,,, the rebel is an American model the rest of the world got the nighthawks,,,,,,I'd have one of those in a second if I could find one that didn't cost $1500 for a beater,,,they are like gold in ca.

[rks]

w650 said..."I'm getting a soft spot in my heart for it but I have the big Kawasaki and the 250 CF Moto. So many bikes to choose from."

Ya know, you are not the only one who gets into these kind of predicaments.....a lot of us get very quickly attached to things we purchase. That is just how I ended up with 2 bikes that are the same model and color.....bought the 2nd one just for the cast wheels, to replace the flaking chrome, spoke wheels on my first one. Then.....when I got it home, and saw what nice shape the whole bike was in....I could not bring myself to swap wheels and re-sell it. Have since found another set of the same wheels for bike #1......I've become attached to both bikes, and wouldn't think of selling either.

Only problem now is room....with the scoot, 2 cruisers, and the recently purchased sidecar rig.......available floor space in the shop, is getting hard to come by

[cyborg]

problems of abundance Rks!!!!!

[rks]

Thank you cyborg for saying "quit your beachin" in such a kind way.

Want to add that I too had a CB350, it was my 2nd bike, and bought new in 1968. Sweet bike.....Honda knows their onions when it comes to building motorcycles.

[w650]

The tail light on the 250 Nighthawk hasn't worked since I got it. Headlight-yes, horn-yes, directional signals-No. I was getting set to attack it with my multimeter when I had a moment of total clarity. "Maybe it's just the bulb" a little voice said. I had a spare 1157 bulb squirreled away so I pulled the socket out of the tail section and removed the bulb. Sure enough the filament was gone. New bulb in and I have the tail light glowing. I'm going to see if the directionals even have bulbs in the sockets. It's amazing how stupid some former owners can be.

[cyborg]

You have those little voices too huh?,,,, I thought I was only one

[w650]

If it isn't a little voice in my head, it's me talking to myself out loud. Working on these darn things will have you doing that.