I have pictures from when I took mine apart on my 650. There should be some similarities with your 550 if they're not the same part. Also, once you have the petcock off there should be a plastic screen inside the tank that the reserve "straw" sticks up into, make sure that doesn't have any rips or tears while you're in there. http://munz.kicks-ass.net/nighthawk/?p=151
-Kyle -Sent from Houston, TX, United States On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 11:29 AM, Zaxeiler <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't think it's a hole... However, I did realize it when I had it > running while sitting recently. It is dripping at a steady pace from > the bottom of the petcock. The main fuel line that runs from the > petcock to between the carbs (2 & 3) is also noticeably wet with fuel. > > My clymer manual isn't here yet. Any suggestions as far as where to > start to stop the leak? > > Your comments are most appreciated, > Zac > > On Jan 14, 12:47 pm, Kim Paddock <[email protected]> wrote: > > The last time that happened to me it was a pinhole leak in my gas tank. > It had rusted through. It took a little bit of looking though as the paint > was not peeled off. I finally found a spot where the paint had bubbled a > bit. That was the hole. I hope that it isn't your tank...they are expensive > and hard to find. HotrodMamma. > > > > ________________________________ > > From: Zaxeiler <[email protected]> > > To: Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers! <[email protected]> > > Sent: Wed, January 13, 2010 10:22:27 PM > > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] 1983 Nighthawk 550 Gas Leak > > > > I just purchased this bike over the weekend. It's in great condition > > and is a great ride. It was sold by a man who collected nighthawks so > > it's in good shape considering the year, and has about 24k miles on > > it. Besides the fact that it's my first bike, and I'm ecstatic and > > love riding it to death (even in the midst of winter), I have finally > > deduced tonight that it has a fuel leak. > > > > So, as back story, I bought it about 120 miles from my home. The deal > > was too good to pass up on, and I had a friend drive it back for me. > > About 2/3 of the way through the trip, after about 70 miles she died > > on the interstate and needed to be changed to reserve. Now, I had > > read that the range of the bike could vary from 80s-140s... However, > > considering that we had been doing freeway travel and he had been > > riding in 6th (overdrive) for most of the trip it seemed unlikely we > > had been driving aggressively enough to burn through the 3.2 gal tank > > that soon. > > > > So, sunday night upon return home, I filled her up at a gas station > > and began to practice riding around my area. Monday and Tuesday I did > > some more practice riding, and considering I'm a new rider, none of it > > was very aggressive, no red lining, so I shouldn't have run though gas > > too soon. Today (Wednesday) after a few great days of riding and > > 40ish miles (I reset the odometer after filling up) the bike died on > > me and I had to switch to reserve. It was only at this time that I > > had realized she was leaking gas. Each day I had been noticing a > > slight drip below the bike, but had assumed it was condensation coming > > from the bike since it was cold. I hadn't realized that the bike had > > been leaking on the ride home, just thought we had gone farther than I > > remembered. > > > > So, I understand that this isn't much information to go on. But > > here's the spread. The bike is dripping gas, I hadn't observed it too > > often, but this is a noticeable mark on the ground after it has been > > still for awhile. I rode for 40 miles, so it can be assumed that I > > actually consumed about 1 gallon, which means that (if you assume > > something is left in the reserve portion) the bike has leaked about 2 > > gallons of fuel over the course of almost exactly 3 days. > > > > I know that there's no way from this information that any of you can > > "know" what the problem is. However, knowing where to start looking, > > or a few places to start would help me as a new owner. If any of you > > with experience know something that is known to happen with a lot of > > nighthawks, or if from the information you can make a guess, or at > > least give any clues whatsoever, I would be most appreciative. > > > > From one new NH lover to the others, thank you ahead of time, > > Zac > > -- > > 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]<nighthawk_lovers%[email protected]> > . > > For more options, visit this group athttp:// > groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > -- > 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]<nighthawk_lovers%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > > >--
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