bombayblack
New Member
What's up? I'm extremely excited on many levels, and for many different reasons. Two in specific.
One, This will be my first post ever to this forum. And two, this is my first motorcycle, which will also be my first build. (because is there any other way?)
Just to give you some background information on the bike...
As the thread title says, it is a 1982 Honda Nighthawk 50. The bike has 28,000 original miles. I am the third owner, and I picked it up at a very good price. Clean title, and at first glance, not modifications to the bike can be seen.
As soon as I got it home, I took it out for a spin. It does not have any formal exhaust on it (beyond the headers), which led to a funny start-up and low rpm at idle since there isn't proper back-pressure. The bike runs smooth! Got it up into fourth gear with no hiccups. Rode it 3 miles down to my buddy's house where I'm laying it up for all maintenance and modifications.
I'll post pictures of the bike in one piece once my phone stops being a pile of shit, but here's where I got to as of today.
Got it up on the lift.
Pulled the entire tail section off.
Pulled the tank off.
Inspected the wiring.
Got rid of that stupid airbox (cut it out instead of removing the rear tire. What a pain.)
Stared at it a bunch.
So, after looking at it some more, we realized that the bike has some frame damage around the headstock. There are some questionable welds on the headtube, which could lead to handling issues down the road after the front end gets replaced.
The wiring is intact! Factory tie-downs and all. Hell yeah
The bike looks a lot better without the airbox.....
When I say "we" in this thread, i'm talking about these dudes....
That's Bill (left) and Brandon (right).
The bike is in their garage, which I am fortunate enough to be able to make use of.
Brandon is in the same position as me (first bike, first build, '82 ft500 ascot)and his dad is a wealth of knowledge, having many years of experience as a Honda Motorcycle Technician.
Rusting on the exhaust, Where the mufflers should be, where it apparently got laid down pretty good.
So, Now that you guys are up to speed, I'm gonna hit you with some newbie stuff.
I would like to find an exhaust that goes 2-to-1, or 2-and-2, but runs down the same side. Any other bike that I can source a compatible exhaust from?
Finding aftermarket parts are a pain already. I'm looking for a tank at the moment, but it's hazy if the ones I've seen are compatible. Any ideas?
Can you guide me to any threads of quality, completed cb450 sc builds so I can build some steam from them?
Are the wheels from the '83 cb450sc compatible for this bike? I couldn't find an answer anywhere online.
THANKS FOR CHECKING THIS OUT! PLEASE HELP ME MAKE THIS THING SWEET AS HELL!
One, This will be my first post ever to this forum. And two, this is my first motorcycle, which will also be my first build. (because is there any other way?)
Just to give you some background information on the bike...
As the thread title says, it is a 1982 Honda Nighthawk 50. The bike has 28,000 original miles. I am the third owner, and I picked it up at a very good price. Clean title, and at first glance, not modifications to the bike can be seen.
As soon as I got it home, I took it out for a spin. It does not have any formal exhaust on it (beyond the headers), which led to a funny start-up and low rpm at idle since there isn't proper back-pressure. The bike runs smooth! Got it up into fourth gear with no hiccups. Rode it 3 miles down to my buddy's house where I'm laying it up for all maintenance and modifications.
I'll post pictures of the bike in one piece once my phone stops being a pile of shit, but here's where I got to as of today.
Got it up on the lift.
Pulled the entire tail section off.
Pulled the tank off.
Inspected the wiring.
Got rid of that stupid airbox (cut it out instead of removing the rear tire. What a pain.)
Stared at it a bunch.
So, after looking at it some more, we realized that the bike has some frame damage around the headstock. There are some questionable welds on the headtube, which could lead to handling issues down the road after the front end gets replaced.
The wiring is intact! Factory tie-downs and all. Hell yeah
The bike looks a lot better without the airbox.....
When I say "we" in this thread, i'm talking about these dudes....
That's Bill (left) and Brandon (right).
The bike is in their garage, which I am fortunate enough to be able to make use of.
Brandon is in the same position as me (first bike, first build, '82 ft500 ascot)and his dad is a wealth of knowledge, having many years of experience as a Honda Motorcycle Technician.
Rusting on the exhaust, Where the mufflers should be, where it apparently got laid down pretty good.
So, Now that you guys are up to speed, I'm gonna hit you with some newbie stuff.
I would like to find an exhaust that goes 2-to-1, or 2-and-2, but runs down the same side. Any other bike that I can source a compatible exhaust from?
Finding aftermarket parts are a pain already. I'm looking for a tank at the moment, but it's hazy if the ones I've seen are compatible. Any ideas?
Can you guide me to any threads of quality, completed cb450 sc builds so I can build some steam from them?
Are the wheels from the '83 cb450sc compatible for this bike? I couldn't find an answer anywhere online.
THANKS FOR CHECKING THIS OUT! PLEASE HELP ME MAKE THIS THING SWEET AS HELL!