Wow - great detail and I'm going to play with my choke just to see how it works.
Like everyone else I recommend changing the Oil and Oil Filter. Take a good look at the Air Filter and at a minimum make sure it's clean and if you can blow compressed air through it. If you don't have access to a compressor the cans will work fine. You'll also find a plastic tube coming out of the bottom of the air box, it will have a cap on the end sticking down just below the frame on the right side further back than the clutch. Pull the plug off and let it drain - caution nasty stuff will come out so have something you can throw away under it. Let all this drip out and then replace the plug. This tube is to drain liquid out of the air box. cleaning it out once every 10,000 miles is a good idea. Your millage should be in the low 40's. I have a 12 mile commute in traffic and get 42 to 44 miles to the gallon. Only 2 miles on the highway, the rest are 35MPH surface streets. When on the "highway" for extended periods (I live in Hawaii on Oahu, an extended period is about 30 miles) I get 50mpg if not more. Best of luck and enjoy your bike. Sean On Monday, December 10, 2012 1:02:45 AM UTC-10, surfswab wrote: > > First suggestion, buy a service manual. Clymer's a good one. > > Second, fewer than 40 mpg in constant stop/go traffic is fairly > normal, but almost half that is not. > > Sounds like the engine is running rich. Are you mindful of turning > choke off after warmup? If so, problem may be deeper. Try pulling > the spark plugs and inspecting them. If they are sooty black or wet > with gas that would confirm a rich mixture and might indicate a need > for air/fuel mixture adjustment. > > Also check the choke cable for proper adjustment. Follow the cable > visually from the handlebars to the connection at the left side of the > motor. A two-finger fork style fitting at the end of the cable > operates brass pins built into the tops of the carbs. > > With the engine off, move your choke lever from full on to full off > and observe the operation of those pins (you'll probly be able to see > only one of them. The rest are connected by a rod across all four > carbs). If the choke is operating correctly, the brass pins should > almost disappear into the carb bodies when you turn the choke off. > With the choke full on, you should see about a quarter-inch of brass. > Use your new service manual for adjustment procedures if needed. > > I'd suggest new plugs in addition to a new air filter and oil change > as already mentioned. Sniff the oil to make sure there's no gas smell > coming from it. And empty blowby gases/water from the clear plastic > tube hanging down from the frame, under your right foot peg (it has a > plastic plug in the end) > > Balancing the carbs wouldn't hurt either (service manual, again, for a > description of the procedure). > > The motor was designed to run on regular gas, so switching to higher > octane would have no affect unless it's pinging or dieseling. > > Before you put a wrench to it, though, try a weekend 100-150 mile, > open road (non-stop/go) run to see if you're mileage figures improve. > Should be in the low-mid 40s -- more, if you ride sedately, less if > you don't. > > > > On Dec 9, 6:07 pm, Sanna <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello > > > > Bought a 2000 NightHawk 750 3 months back. Been using to commute to > work > > about 15 Miles both ways, stop and go City traffic. Noticied I am > getting > > about 22-26 Miles a gallon. Switched to 93 Premium grade gas, almost > same > > thing. Please advise. I was hoping to get about 40 miles per gallon in > the > > City. I want to go for long rides / cross country during Summer. > > > > Your suggestions and advise is very much appreciated. Thank you. > -- 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]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en-US.
