Well, I don't know what caused that to happen. I wasn't done and it went.?? I don't want to scare anybody off but quoting a big number to start a project can separate the jokers from the players. As you might have guessed, I'm a huge fan of these old rides and I hate to see one not done right. I've put three 700s in the graveyard from crashes (not mine, customers) and God only knows where the rest of them got to. Countless 550sc, 650sc too. Just riding one is taking a chance since most critical parts are NA. But, they were meant to be ridden and enjoyed. I've got cars for transportation, the bikes are are something else. I'm sure you've run into the scenario of a shop not treating you right because you have some vehicle that is out of the norm. Your '69 is your hobby, to them it's an old car. I have no patience with techs with that attitude. Look elsewhere. It only takes a few minutes to determine if an owner is serious about care and feeding of of an old bike. I make sure they get the care needed. I recently had to stop a restore at 95% because of a part NA. After two years... bummer. We'll never have the support like there is for muscle cars but we make do. The important part is that the only thing cheap about a motorcycle is gas. When somebody tells me that they don't want to spend much on something because they got it cheap, I ask if they would put recaps on a Mercedes that they got cheap ? To me, "good enough" just isn't. No band-aids, no shortcuts.. do it right. Most folks are too impatient and too cheap to ever have the satisfaction of owning a classic anything. Nine years to find the right clip ? That's up there. I remember climbing fences with a flashlight to find parts for my Austin Healy restore. Sometimes it takes extra effort..and some daring.
--- On Mon, 11/10/08, Creative Residential Designs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Creative Residential Designs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my cooling fins....!!?? To: [email protected] Date: Monday, November 10, 2008, 8:47 AM I appreciate your message Dennis. I'm an 'ol girl who started with hot rods so I totally "get it" with old school stuff. Patience, understanding and MONEY. On patience: I just found the front clip for my '69 Chevelle. How lond did it take? 9 years. I had put a lot into the car and someone else wrecked it. New rebuilt 327, tranny, brakes. I just am persistant and I love that car like I love my bike. So I took my sons and spent time Saturday taking parts off of a '69 Chevelle. My boys had more fun than I did. My oldest son just started mechancis classes and he can't wait to tell his teacher today what he did this weekend. It is my hope that my sons will follow this example and be competent in this world. Anyway, I ramble... ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Hammerl To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 6:14 PM Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my cooling fins....!!?? Keep us posted about how this works out (or doesn't.) There is nothing humorous about your situation, I'd just try to escape with no more money or damage. Too often, lessons are expensive. Yeah, I know all about the "age" deal, there's a shop in Miami that won't touch anything older than five years ! SNOBS. Push comes to shove, I'm two hours away and I take charity cases. # Note to HRM: You're one of the few who recognize that owning old stuff requires extra effort to keep up. I respect anyone who accepts this. Because of my history on the local scene I'm often approached to get running some piece that has sat for years and years. After an evaluation, I search the web for parts and advise the customer. If the guy is a total stranger to me, I ask for $500 up front to prove sincerity of purpose. To start a project like that, you have to be crazy, have too much money, or really love the bike. (all of the above helps) Just because a bike looks cool or you got it for cheap (or free) is only the beginning. It takes more than one person to reach the end of a project, you need trusted, skilled people to make it happen. I have my own network of trusted contacts for help. In a place with 11,000,000, Emile is alone. Maybe worse, it sounds like they're out to get him. Whatever happened to the guy who got the '86 700S for free ? I bet he found out how expensive it was going to be. Yes, I work at a dealership (or whatever you want to call us) but I haven't done anything here except give information. I'll share years of my life's work with all, but I can't determine how competent anybody is. --- On Sun, 11/9/08, emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my cooling fins....!!?? To: "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 12:40 PM Yeah $65 an hour is pretty much standard here it seems. The guys I sent it to this time are NOT Honda Dealers. The biggest(best...) shop in the city didn't even want to touch it due to their blatant age-ism. Claimed they couldn't get parts even after I told them most were still pretty easy to find. There are a few other places including an actual Honda Dealer in Queens that I will consider for future emergencies. I went to these chuckleheads because they were the closest shop, and yeah, the repair was relatively straightforward for someone with experience... Ermm, maybe for someone with experience who gives a f*(&k and is not trying to put his kids through college messing up my 26 year old bike. I was planning on doing stuff like this myself, but didn't really want my first time to be out on Convent avenue and 149th st in the cold... (man if I had a nickel for every girl who's said that to me over the years) > FYI: there are very few techs working that weren't in diapers when that bike was new. The average career of an MC tech is only three years ! Ha. They had a sign up in the window saying "motorcycle mechanic wanted". So, yeah DIY or die in the future for me. On Nov 8, 8:16 pm, Dennis Hammerl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Good luck escaping this mess. [EMAIL PROTECTED] is not too bad for NYC. IF > you were getting what you paid for. first, the "seal" is the washer. It's an aluminum crush washer or a copper one. I've seen both used over time. The rest of the stuff is VERY suspect. I outlined the fix for that job (I've performed it MANY times) Helicoil the bolt hole and reinstall the headcover. BFD. It tears down in the frame and nothing has to be removed but the headcover. A decent tech should spend no more than 1.5hr to complete. Sounds like no work perfromed at all. Are these people really Honda dealers ? If yes, there is a number for customer service to intervene. If no, why did you go there ? All that aside, it's just another reason I didn't need to avoid the "city." From what you're saying, I wouldn't allow them to do anything, especialy not get anymore money from you. (I'm also from the "speak English or GTFO" school) > Sounds like the horror stories about movers also apply to services. > FYI: there are very few techs working that weren't in diapers when that bike was new. The average career of an MC tech is only three years ! > > --- On Sat, 11/8/08, emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my cooling fins....!!?? > To: "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008, 7:03 PM > > $65 an hour...should have mentioned that I had to have her towed in > too. They charged me $145 to load the bike into a truck and drive it > 20 blocks. Nice work if you can get it. > > Still, the bolt drama continues: When I went to pick up the bike, oil > was POURING out of the bolt...so I sent it back. Now they are telling > me that there was a failed seal on the bolt...but looking at the > diagram in the service manual there does not seem to be any seal at > all for that bolt, just a washer. Whatever. They put some loctite or > some silicone sealer or what have you on there and thought it would be > easier to tell me there was a failed seal. > > But now, all of the sudden, they are saying that cylinder 3 is not > firing, and my carbs, which were rebuilt 3 months ago, are > flooding...it did sound weaker and quieter when I started it up > outside the shop, but this could have also been due to the RAPID loss > of oil pressure. They also said something about the air box not being > connected, which sounds pretty suspect, as it was pretty obviously > connected when I brought it in. They might have been trying to tell me > that the manifold boots are now cracked someplace (Isreali shop where > English is not the first language) and not sealing tightly on the > carbs. I have to go in on Monday and see what's what for myself. > > They want to charge me $275 to replace the gaskets and O rings which > seems fairly reasonable, but I still don't see how this will help the > oil leak on the bolt, which was the main source of the leak. > > Moral of the story for noobs: do it your freaking self or find an > articulate and patient mechanic who understands SOHC4's. (about as > common as the Loch Ness monster in New York City apparently) > > On Nov 7, 1:13 am, Dennis Hammerl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:> What is the labor rate there ? That's really salty for that job. > > > --- On Thu, 11/6/08, emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my cooling fins....!!?? > > To: "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" > > <[email protected]> > > > Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008, 2:10 PM > > > So I finally got around to seeing what's what with this leaky bolt > > yesterday...When I loosened the bolt to see what if the threads were > > stripped, little pieces of threading from the inside came out with it. > > I wasn't really down with urban guerrilla motorcycle repair having > > tearing off the head cover and head on the street so I had to take her > > in to the shop...$240 later I have new threads in the cylinder > > cover...so basically, one bolt is going to cost me $240. If I had a > > garage this would have been a challenge but probably doable...I am > > very jealous of all you suburbanites and country peeps right now. I > > even briefly toyed with the idea of moving to Queens just so I could > > have a garage to work on my bike!! Oh well. the grass is always > > greener I guess. > > > On Oct 29, 9:09 pm, emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:> > > Ok I know what you're talking about now... sadly they are $20 on > > > > bikebandit so I may have to wait a few weeks to do this as I have set > > > up a motorcycle spending freeze for myself...the new mirrors and > > > gloves I am buying tonight don't count! > > > > On Oct 27, 11:56 pm, Dennis Hammerl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > > NO, the whole perimeter of the head cover has one LONG O-ring. > The > > > sealing washer is just because it's at a point of HIGH oil pressure. > (cam > > bushing) Examine the parts breakdown to see what I'm describing. > > > > > --- On Mon, 10/27/08, emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > wrote: > > > > From: emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my cooling > > fins....!!?? > > > > To: "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" > > > <[email protected]>> > Date: Monday, October > 27, 2008, 11:39 PM > > > > > Thanks. She does clean up nice. ; ) So there's supposed to > be an > > O > > > > Ring under the bolt? Pretty sure there is just a regular ol' > > washer on > > > > there now... Will have to check when she gets back from the tire > > shop. > > > > I think I'm going to add some loctite onto the bolt as well > just > > for > > > > good luck. > > > > > On Oct 27, 1:32 am, Dennis Hammerl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > wrote:> If that's your ride, it's very pretty. Great condition. > The > > bolt > > > > > is holding down the head cover. Not a difficult repair. Is it > > stripped ? If it > > > > is, get it helicoiled. The seal is a formed O-ring and might > even be > > reused with > > > > a thin coat of Hylomar. The location of the bolt is a point of > high > > oil pressure > > > > and should not be dismissed. If the bolt hole is stripped, > I'd > > remove the > > > > head cover and helicoil the hole and reseal the head cover. The > cam > > followers > > > > are in the head cover and this job (R&R) is somewhat > delicate to > > perform. > > > > The tach drive is a potential problem area as well. Done > carefully, > > it should > > > > take about two hours for a novice to do. I suggest a good read > of the > > service > > > > manual for it. (no Clymer, please)> As the cam followers and > > > shafts are in the head cover, I have a > > > > > modification that makes the engine quieter and extends service > life. > > Details of > > > > that if you want. The OEM service manual is available in .PDF > on-line > > for free. > > > > I'll look for the URL.> I can supply complete R&R > > > instructions if you need them. I've done > > > > > maybe 20~30 of them.> That was the last (and best) of the > single > > > cam 650's. The problems > > > > > with throttle reponse had been solved with CV carbs and they are > very > > pleasent > > > > and smooth but nowhere near the performance of the next > generation > > fours. I > > > > liked mine, rode it for two years. > > > > > > --- On Sun, 10/26/08, emile > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > wrote: > > > > > From: emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Oil oozing out on my > cooling > > fins....!!?? > > > > > To: "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" > > > > > <[email protected]>> Date: Sunday, > October > > 26, 2008, 2:58 AM > > > > > > It only has a little over 8k miles...here's the > > "bolt" I was > > > > > talking > > > > > about: > > > > > > <img > > src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm118/egl204/leak.jpg";> > > > > > > As far as the severity of the leak goes, I would say maybe > about > > half > > > > > a teaspoon a day. > > > > > > On Oct 26, 12:41 am, Dennis Hammerl > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > wrote:> > > > > > Take a picture of this "bolt' or indicate the part > number on > > a > > > > > > diagram (include URL) The '82 650 is an interesting > bike, I > > had one > > > > and have > > > > > many fixes for them. Serious oil leaks DO require extensive > > work. Any leak > > > > at > > > > > the head gasket, replace. One nice thing, it tears down in > the > > frame > > > > without > > > > > removing it. How many miles ? > > > > > > > --- On Sat, 10/25/08, emile > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > wrote: > > > > > > From: emile <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Oil oozing out on my > cooling > > fins....!!?? > > > > > > To: "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" > > > > > > <[email protected]> > > > > > > > Date: Saturday, October 25, 2008, 8:15 PM > > > > > > > Hey all, > > > > > > > So I do realize that my question will read to some > like > > "how do > > > > I > > > > > > speak Latin?" but the oil leak on my 82 650 has > > seemingly gotten > > > > > > worse, and there seems to be smoke rising up in front > of my > > headlight > > > > > > every once in a while now, so I figured I would give > it a > > shot and > > > > > > hopefully save myself some painful/complicated repairs > down > > the road. > > > > > > > So, that being said, here goes: my bike is leaking > oil > > from the > > > > > > exposed nut on the top right side of my engine. > I've > > also noticed > > > > oil > > > > > > in between the cooling fins on both sides of the > engine. > > Does anyone > > > > > > know how I can theoretically diagnose and perhaps even > fix > > this leak? > > > > > > I tried tightening the bolt, as it was a bit loose, > but > > this has not > > > > > > seemed to help, and the leak persists. Any ideas? > Where do > > I start? > > > > > > Clymer seems to be silent on this... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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