Hi Zack, welcome to the group. I'm a Nighthawk owner from Ohio myself. I changed the valve cover gasket on my bike (1996 NH750) last year as it was weeping a little. I learned a thing or two in doing it.
At least on my bike, the price was in the $40 range, not the $150 range, so I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. See the picture I'm attaching. First of all, you could just continue to ride the bike like this, as it probably doesn't really leak that much, but I know how you feel. You could try just tightening the valve cover a little in a criss-cross pattern. Just snug them if they're loose. They say 7- foot pounds, but I know, I don't have a torque wrench that sensitive, either. Anyway, that could do it. If it doesn't and you do take off the valve cover, which is no big deal, four bolts on mine, check for dry rot. if there is none, you can probably just reseal and reuse the original. I just used some red Permatex, available anywhere. Don't use much, as you do not want any oozing into the inside.Tighten her snug, and you may be good again. There are YouTube videos of this job. Take a look. If you do buy a gasket, they're available all over. I think I bought mine here: http://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/honda/HP-12391-MJ1-761.html?gclid=CjwKEAiA8qG1BRDz0tmK0pufw3QSJACfn6olNTB5qhNDffCzRoAEU2nmZuQqEZl80giQatAmXeJzXRoCcaTw_wcB I talked to a bike mechanic about it and he told me "Just put a little oil on it and put it in. It's like an oil filter and that's all you do." A lot of people seem to use sealant, though, and I used a tad bit of red Permatex. Retighten cautiously in a criss-cross pattern till snug, and you should be done. Mine hasn't leaked since. BTW, these will only weep while the bike is running due to gravity and lack of pressure. It is the top of your engine, after all, not the bottom. Regarding tires, google your size. As far as suppliers, it seems I find the best price on the same tire from different companies each time. No consistent winner. My airbox always smells like gasoline, and last time I checked, it had a little more oil in it than I preferred. 53K miles. I don't think it's avoidable. People have different ideas on air filters; mine is stock. Not cheap. Some people like Uni filters. I've only changed mine once, though it's due again, so it's not something I do a lot of price performance calculating on. Good luck. -- 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.
