I hope this goes to a new page... too many pictures on the old one messes with the loading.
I'm still waiting on the forks I bought on ebay. It's going to be an interesting complication. The forks were off of a 1982 Nighthawk 650, which was an SOHC. The front wheel and rotors are a completely different design than the '83 NH 650. What I'm hoping is that the tabs for the calipers will be in the same location and that I'll be able to use the calipers I have from the '82. So the front end will be thus: '82 NH 650 forks and calipers, '84 NH 650 front wheel with CBR600F2 rotors (same parts number as the front wheel). The forks should be in soon... the seller really dragged his feet in shipping them...
In other news. I got the Clutch MC up and running. Bled the system. The clutch lever feels good, but I can't get the clutch to fully engage yet... I'm guessing it's a little stuck from sitting. I think the Slave Cylinder might be slightly leaking as during bleeding I setup a gravity feed for the brake lines and it would pull air bubbles, but the air wouldn't be in the line on a subsequent bleed cycle. I took the slave apart (it was filled with crystallized brake fluid) and cleaned the crap out of it. I wet sanded the surfaces with 1500 and then buffed em up a bit. They felt smooth to the fingernail, and not pitted. The local stealership didn't have the parts (when I called them they said they had them.... hmmmm).
I abandoned the previous fender idea. I didn't like the shape with the seat. I instead mocked up a frame that matches the lines of the seat and looks a little more sporty. I glassed up a mold of that, now I'll make a finish mold from this one and then the final pieces. I'm looking at integrating a new tail light as well. Probably an LED from a sport bike as the old one won't give me enough clearance to the tire. I'm looking at a clear alternatives light on ebay.
I re-bonded the gas tank a little, and repainted. I've left the black theme on the curb and opted for a silver paint scheme. Not sure how I feel about the overall look with the black, chrome, and silver. But the paint came out really well, despite the tank not being in great shape. I did a full wet sand spectrum up to 1500, and then used some rubbing compound and the paint really feels smooth!
The drag bars I originally went with (as pointed out by you guys) didn't work at all... there just wasn't enough clearance with the tank. I've put on a raised bar (Dirt Bike style). I sourced a new front brake MC from a GSXR 600, and its a sick looking piece! It has a shorty race lever on it, which I love.
I've met a bunch of the neighbors as I'm out there everyday before and after work. I already love this bike more than any other I've ever owned, and I haven't ridden it for more than 50 yards, hahahaha.
I'll get some pics up soon!
