Since I don't exactly know the nature of the coil on Hawks, I can only tell you that, if you remove both plugs, ground them with the wires connecterd, and see a strong, steady spark with no misfires while cranking it over, it's good. I have to hear it to actually draw some conclusions as to what it is, but I would advise running it on straight seafoam for a few, and see if that helps. I say this because I think you said it's been sitting up. After it has been running on straight seafoam it may clear up some. This would indicate carb problems. I had the same trouble with my 450 when I first bought it, because it had been sitting up all winter with gas in the tank. It wasn't as bad as yours, it at least ran and was only "excessively" cold natured, which these engines are anyway. After running it with Seafoam mixed with about a gallon of gasoline, it cleared up. I used a little over half a can. If there's no improvement with the Seafoam, it will probably be erratic fire. We can still get pure gasoline here (no ethanol), but the plant that makes it will soon be upgrading and that will be the last of pure gasoline. Even Amsoil claims that its gas preservative is only short - term, because of ethanol. BTW I finally did the test: my F150 gets between 50 and 55 more miles on pure gas than it does on the ethanol - laced stuff; and my lawn mower does more lawn on pure gas; and, starts more easily. Can't tell you about my wife's Rebel, though, because she never remembers to reset the tripmeter. I do have an estimate that it achieved around 70 miles on a gallon, but it was a mixture with some ethanol fuel left in the tank. The Nighthawk 250 ? Well, it sat up and the carb's guts are ruined (corrosion) and I will be looking for something better, like a Weber, to replace it. I tried to rebuild it. It will run, but not very well and it's very hard starting. I have to put my hand over the throat to get the gas flowing for it to run.
________________________________ From: Fred Zeller <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 9:24 AM Subject: Re: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: 1986 Nighthawk 450 Thank you Dan for the information. I will try checking all connections. I may just say a little prayer that the problem is in a connection. ( because I just checked the price of a coil ) Yikes !!! I would very much like to know how to check a coil when you come upon that information also. thanks again Fred ________________________________ From: LBOCEAN <[email protected]> To: Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers! <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 9:36 AM Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: 1986 Nighthawk 450 Not sure what Grahms awnser is to his solution, but I would check a couple of things... 1) Reseat all plug wires to insure good connection. You may want to also check the connection at the coil itself. 2) I would also check the coils themselves for good output. There are seeral ways to do this, which can be found on the net. (I'm just digging my Nighthawk out from storage, manuals, notes, when I locate can offer more on this). Ques., When were the carbs last cleaned/adjusted? Dan On Jan 7, 2:30 pm, Fred Zeller <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, I just bought a Nighthawk. Well, it runs just fine when it is warm. But > when I try to start it when it is cold and it fires but it won't run. It > will only fire with no throttle and no choke. It fires but won't start. If I > play with it long enough and usually let it set for a while it might start or > it might fire without starting again. > If I pull one spark plug wire it will not fire. It does not matter which > one I pull off it will not fire. > When I do get it to run it runs great. Any ideas will be very much > appreciated. Fred -- 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. -- 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.
