So I've had my fair share of problems pop up since I got my bike a little over a month ago. Honestly, I couldn't be happier as a recovering addict with something positive to throw my money at. I also love pulling things apart and being able to answer, "I did it" when asked about my toys. Onward!
-So I've noticed my front left caliper leaking a very small amount of brake fluid. I bought a small fuel hose and plan on bleeding my front brake master cylinder. Thankfully I scrounged up a copy of the Clymer manual. Aside from bleeding the lines, is it possible this could be related to something other than air in the line?
-I have reason to believe my petcock is the root of my carb leakage. When set to the off position, I can run the bike solid for 10 or so miles before I notice any issues with the bike dying. I can start the bike on an 80F day with no choke just fine. Take a bit of slight revs to keep the old engine going only until warm, though. It's not leaking much fuel at all. Maybe an ounce over 3-4 days. The weird thing is when the tanks full it doesn't leak at all. I bought one of those K&L petcock rebuild kits off amazon and hopefully will be able to pull it apart this weekend. Do I need to drain the tank to remove the petcock? Does anyone have experience with the ~15$ repair kits? Any way to test my petcock for a leak and rule out carbs? I feel like my carbs are leaking because the petcock doesn't shut off all the way and gas just trickles in without being burned up.
-My tank seems fairly rust free. I can see someone used red kote in there at some point. I think it might be dying my gas red. Some of the drips from the carbs have a reddish tint to them. Is this a cause for concern? I've been using seafoam in the tank since I bought her. At about 1-2 oz per gallon. Does seafoam leech the red tint from red kote?
-I performed an oil change about a week ago. Since then the bike has been much easier to cold start. Since I've changed the oil I haven't had to use the choke to start the old hawk up. I've had zero clutch or transmission issues since the change. I may just be imagining things but I feel like there's been some engine noise since the change as well. Almost sounds like a mountain bike chain click when I'm in gear and gassing it. It's very very faint. I didn't notice it before. Although, it could have been there but I just wasn't paying enough attention. I used synthetic 10w-40 Mobil 1 4 stroke motorcycle oil. I've done some google searches and it seems I'm not the only one with new engine noises after using this brand.
-I've tracked my speedometer issues down to the cable being stripped on the connector into the cluster. It's been rounded over the years instead of squared and unless it's in there just right, I can't get a read on the speedo. But dammit if I can't figure out how the tach on these bikes work. It hasnt worked since i bought the bike, although its not a huge deal, it would be nice to fix. Is it a cable into the engine somewhere I'm not seeing? Or one of those vibrating ring deals inside the assembly?
-some PO massacred my final drive bolt. I'm unable to check the level of the gear oil. I have a new one ordeed but does anyone know any tricks to get it off? I'm guessing PO used some kind of bond to keep the bolt from spinning off as it seems very tight. Would a hair dryer work on removing the bond? My dad seems to think one of those fit to bolt ratchet drives would probably work.
-For some general prettiness factor I've bought some 200-2000 grit sand paper and plan on, hopefully, removing 30+ years of tarnish on the aluminum, circular, gear cases. Also grabbed some mothers polish. The aluminum has these black varnishes embedded in it. So. I'm guessing it'll take removing the top layer of metal in order to remove the stain. It's seriously all over the bikes once shiny aluminum. Any tips on cleaning methods? My fins look like the oem painted them black, I bought some mother back to black for them and plan on giving the beast her first warm, soapy bath after this rain passes through. How bad is it to rinse the bike with a running hose? Obviously stay away from the wiring, fuse boxes, etc. but anything else I absolutely should not trickle/run water over to rinse? How would you suggest doing so? there's very little rust on the bike but there are a couple spots on the mufflers near the oil cooler, would I sand those down as well? I don't want to scuff and scratch the prettiest part (IMO) of the bike!
Sorry for the wall of text. I can't really tl;dr this as I feel everything but the final
Paragraph needs to be addressed in detail. She runs very well, I think. Good power, good acceleration, tranny shifts smooth, etc. I haven't mustered up the cojones to get on the freeway yet as I started riding the same time I purchased the bike. All cylinders fire and I plan on changing the plugs here soon. Also, any suggestions for lower mirrors that'd work with the oem handlebars? I've looked at bar ends but not sure what size I'd need. I feel the oem mirrors are just too dang high!
Thanks for reading the in-depth guide to wtf is wrong with my hawk!
Cheers,
Karben
