You are right the tank comes off the same. the fuel and vacuum lines are the same and there are no wires as there is no full gauge.
rodhall -----Original Message----- From: Kyle Munz <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Fri, Jan 15, 2010 11:49 am Subject: Re: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: 1983 Nighthawk 550 Gas Leak I removed my tank first. On the 650 you remove the seat and you can see one bolt holding the tail-end of the tank down, remove that and it lifts up and back. Disconnect the fuel line and vacuum line. The 650 also has a fuel gauge you have to disconnect the wires to the sending unit, I don't think the 550 has that though. Once the tank is off (and drained) the petcock just has the one nut holding it on. New seals I usually get from the dealer, rubber things don't hold up well in salvage yards. My local dealer is pretty cool about trying to match online prices, the only problem is these bikes are getting older and some parts are getting harder for dealers to obtain. You can try finding a generic replacement at an autoparts store if that fails. -Kyle -Sent from Houston, TX, United States On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 11:44 AM, Zaxeiler <[email protected]> wrote: Kyle, That's really helpful. Thanks a ton man! I guess a remaining question though, is without my Clymer manual, how would I get to the point where your photos start? What are the steps to remove the petcock itself (or is it too complicated and I need to wait for the Clymer to ship)? And finally, if indeed all the rubber in there is ruined, where's a good place to get new seals? Thanks again, Zac On Jan 15, 12:37 pm, Kyle Munz <[email protected]> wrote: > 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%2Bunsubscrib > > [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%2Bunsubscrib > > [email protected]> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://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]. For more options, visit this group at http://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]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.--
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