I recently went on a quest for new grips. Not just because the stockers are hard, but because mine were dry rotted and falling to pieces. The problem is the grips on my 650 were longer than the standard grips on most store shelves. I'd assume the 450s are similar, but I'd measure them first. I kinda liked the foam grip idea, but didn't want the chrome ends that most of those come with. In the end I went with "Comfort Road" grips by Grab-On. 5" by 7/8" for my 650. I've got a picture on my site at http://munz.kicks-ass.net/nighthawk/?p=225 They're pretty comfortable, now I just need some stickier gloves. Either my right hand is getting stronger, or these are getting more comfortable as I don't feel the discomfort I used to. When I first installed them I guess I used too much hairspray (after giving up on the fancy grip glue) and the throttle would stick just a little. At first I thought "hey! Cheap throttle lock!" but when going down the road there's enough vibration that it doesn't hold. Oh well, I guess that's safer in the long run.
Btw, what year is your vespa? My grandfather has a P200E he bought new back in 1977. It's got a full fairing, windshield, and a sidecar! Scary to ride though with those tiny tires. -Kyle On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 2:21 PM, Susan Sande <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi all,I've had my 450 now for 16 days and have only put a couple of > hundred miles on her. (It would be more but I had to drive my truck to work > for a week instead of 2 wheel commuting that I do 9 months out of the year > around here (SE WA State) plus a couple weeks of 12 hour work days). Today > was the first day I've had the 450 out on the hiway for anything more than a > mile or so and my first time in OD. Purrs right along with lots of giddy up > left past the posted 60/speed-o 65 mph that I cruised at. Was able to spider > net my reusable grocery bag to the passenger seat for my weekly trip to the > farmers market 18 miles away. Couldn't load up the way I do with my Vespa > though! > > My muscles are slowly getting used to a lot of things. The fact that it > weighs an additional 60-70 pounds more than my other bike for one. Elbows > are a little sore I think from the stiff clutch and front brake, plus the > 450 has the absolute hardest rubber on the handlebar grips don't you think? > I think marble grips would be softer to grip. Anyone replaced them with > something nice and cush? I already use River Road gel gloves for my summer > gloves but need more to protect my hands from vibration. On the short term I > will pick up another Throttle Rocker. Turn signal actuator slide button is > real stiff. Can I do anything to make it slide easier without gumming up > the works? I may look for a fly screen or short wind screen. Though I like > the look of the Nighthawk naked, I got pretty buffered about this morning on > the freeway (just used to riding with a shorty screen). > > Concerns? Hard start up on even warm mornings. The choke is my friend. > Seems to take a bit for the fuel to finally ignite from the spark. Like > 10-15 tries of the starter. By #8 I get a quick catch, by 10-11 I get it to > start but even giving gas it doesn't stay running. By #14-15 it will > continue running if I play with the throttle a bit. Any suggestions? Is > this a carb issue, starter issue, crummy spark issue? Once it's warmed up I > have no problem. Seems to mis-fire a little (missing firings) Again is this > a spark plug issue? Maybe I should quit asking and just go out and take a > look!! Hey where's the cup holder? > > What I love? The suspension, though a bit stiff, in combination with the > newly rebuilt seat over an OEM pan seat and the big ol' tires provides a > very nice ride. I think I could go for a lot of miles in one sitting very > comfortably. (my hands would give out way before my hind end). I love the > color. Mine is the 1985 Candy Empire Blue riding in a sea of black, silver, > red and bright blue modern metric bikes around here. When I returned to the > bike from the farmers market a couple was standing by it and the husband was > pointing out things on it to the wife. Hopefully good things!! And I got a > big grin this morning that not only do I have more "street cred" riding a > motorcycle rather than my Vespa GT200L but now I even have "hiway cred"! > Four lanes over going the other way and I was getting the hi sign flashed my > way. > > Time to find a tiny space for the little on board clock I am adding to the > dash (gotta know if I am late for work you know). > > Ride safe! > Susan > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
