EGrider, everything you said makes sense. I really wish I was more mechanically inclined. I can do very basic stuff, but that's about it. I'm probably not someone who should own an old bike that needs constant maintenance :) I do love the Nighthawk, but if I had an extra $10,000 lying around not doing anything, I'd buy a brand spanking new CB1100, with warranty and built in peace of mind!
That being said though, I guess I got lucky. I live in Pittsburgh. I went to two different dealerships, who like you said, weren't interested in touching it beyond basic things like oil changes. But, the third dealership was a charm. First of all, they were the friendliest by far, second they have a mechanic close to my age (lol) who likes working on old bikes. It is there right now, having the ignition switch changed and getting a good "once over" to see if there is anything else that should be taken care of now before I'm out on the road any more. I paid $900 for the bike. I know it's an old bike, so I'm assuming I'm going to have to put out some money (a couple hundred here and there) once in a while. I'm just hoping that the "once in a while" is really "once in a while" and not "once every couple months"! On Monday, December 14, 2015 at 3:26:30 PM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote: > My son just bought his first bike a few weeks ago. I haven't ridden in a > few years, but I didn't want him out there alone as a 17 year old, so I > went searching on craigslist for a cheap bike. Well, when I saw a 1983 > Nighthawk 550 that was local I just had to have it. I have a sentimental > attachment. I bought a new 550 as a leftover 83 in 1984 ($1800). I wish I > could buy a new one now for that price!! This one cost me $900. > > My old bike was black. I had never seen one that wasn't black or maroon. > This one is blue. Has anyone seen one this color before? > > I've only had it a week. It runs strong and is in great condition for > it's age. I've put 300 miles on it so far. The man who I bought it from > knew what he was doing and took care of it. One disappointment was that > the ignition switch just went on me. It was apparently the second switch > this bike has had. From what I'm able to read on the web, this is a common > problem?? I've seen toggle switch replacements on youtube. Any thoughts > there? > > There is also a cam chain rattle between 2500 and 3000 rpms. It isn't > awful, but you can hear it. The guy I bought it from told me not to worry > about it that it is a big and expensive fix and that if I can put up with > the noise it won't amount to much. Hope that's true! I'm no mechanic. > The only thing I know how to do is ride it:) > > Any advice is appreciated. Anyone know of the "blue" color? Any thoughts > on the cam chain? Any spare parts in particular that you think I should > acquire ahead of time as a precaution? > > Thanks! > Vince > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
