Author Topic: My accidental 1982 Nighthawk 650 (Read 13272 times)

cheddarGoblin · « **on:** November 08, 2020, 03:10:04 PM »

I needed something to do during the Rona, so I found a 1975 CB200T to restore. I live in a small town and I swung into a local body shop to see about getting the tank painted. When I mentioned I was restoring a bike, the guy said, "I would have sold you this one I have back here." Naturally, my response was, "what do you have back there?"

And that is how I got this basket case 1982 CB650SC...for $100. Like many cheap or free things, it sure is costing me money

I am still working on the 200 but that is a topic for a different forum.

It was in a body shop when I got it. So it was covered in primer dust and overspray. Under that, was a TON of dirt. After looking at it more, I decided that before it was in the body shop, it must have been sitting outside for about a decade as some of the plastic parts have been severely degraded.

I purchased it in August so have made quite a bit of progress on it so far and have taken it for a few rides. It took quite a bit to even get it there but it is really starting to shape up now.

Will add more soon.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #1 on:** November 08, 2020, 07:08:00 PM »

What kind of monster would drill an extra hole in a gas tank?

PeWe · « **Reply #2 on:** November 09, 2020, 12:17:35 AM »

Planned an extra petcock?

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #3 on:** November 09, 2020, 05:40:34 AM »

The petcock was missing when I got it. And I did have some trouble locating a replacement, so I am thinking the intent was to place a fuel valve of some sort there.
I found a petcock from a BMW that fits and have since sealed up the extra hole.

DaveBarbier · « **Reply #4 on:** November 10, 2020, 06:33:08 AM »

Nice! Keep posting photos. I got my ‘82 650 from an impound lot for $300 and it was/is still owned by the bank. Only thing good on it was the motor so all the other evidence is now long gone. The 650 motor is a nice one! What are your plans with it? I kind of like the state it’s in now, it’s like it survived a long battle and came out victorious.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #5 on:** November 10, 2020, 09:15:46 AM »

I am keeping it original and trying to restore as much as possible but add a few modern conveniences like an LED headlight. There were many parts missing and some broken. I am trying to track them down slowly. The dude I bought it from said he had stuff like the headlight bucket and fender somewhere and that I could have them. But he has not since found them and I am not really holding my breath that I am going to get them. But you never know.

DaveBarbier · « **Reply #6 on:** November 10, 2020, 10:19:59 AM »

Quote from: cheddarGoblin on November 10, 2020, 09:15:46 AM

I am keeping it original and trying to restore as much as possible but add a few modern conveniences like an LED headlight. There were many parts missing and some broken. I am trying to track them down slowly. The dude I bought it from said he had stuff like the headlight bucket and fender somewhere and that I could have them. But he has not since found them and I am not really holding my breath that I am going to get them. But you never know.

You never know. The guy I got my ‘79 650 from a month later mailed me a luggage net for the back of the seat. Super nice guy, not a typical PO move to say the least.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #7 on:** November 10, 2020, 10:41:55 AM »

Since I had just purchased a bike without any real consideration for anything, because, you know, how do you pass up a bike for 100 bucks, I had to find out what I was dealing with. Was it even worth working on or should I just part it out. So I guess I will see if it will even start.

Well, I guess I will see what it will do with just what is in the carb bowls.

Well that is encouraging.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #8 on:** November 10, 2020, 12:17:04 PM »

So I guess the next step is to see if I could get it to run halfway well. So it seems like some carb work is in order.

I've never rebuilt a carburetor before. So might as well start with 4 right? A rebuild kit off ebay was cheap, like 20 bucks. So might as well give it a shot.

I just figured I would take my time and learn something along the way. I only took a few pictures of that process. A lot of it was just cleaning the years of filth on the carbs. Only about half of the rebuild kit fit these carbs. But all the seals and O-rings seemed to fit OK and that was my biggest concern. The idle jet needles were a different thread and the main needles were different length so no way was I opening that can of worms so I didn't use either of those. It also came with 3 different sizes of main jets. Neither seemed to match stock exactly, so I chose what seemed closest and went with that.

The bowl vent hose Ts were cracked and I could not find replacements. So I just rigged something with some new fuel line and RTV that isn't pretty but maybe will hold up for now.

I got it back together without any issues. So I slapped the carbs back on and tried it again.

I am digging the progress

DaveBarbier · « **Reply #9 on:** November 10, 2020, 02:45:05 PM »

Not bad for 100 bucks indeed! Regarding the jets and stuff, don’t throw out your old ones. It’s recommended to reuse all the old brass if you get an aftermarket kit because those generally are crap. They are precision machined parts and 3rd party manufacturers are usually not up to snuff and have bad QC. It’s advised just to clean the old OEM stuff and put it back in service. They don’t wear out, just get clogged so there’s no issue there. Since you have it all back together I probably wouldn’t worry about it but if you experience some running issues you might want to pop the old ones back in. You can remove the bowls and get to the jets fairly easily on these...as long as the motor is cold

.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #10 on:** November 11, 2020, 05:47:51 AM »

I kept all the old stuff from the carbs just in case. I am keeping a box of everything that I take off this bike, even the really broken stuff. Not sure why, just for giggles I guess. Maybe I will post that at completion. The old jets were pretty corroded so I figured I would try the new ones but could clean the originals up if necessary.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #11 on:** November 16, 2020, 06:10:24 AM »

Now that I had it running with a fuel tank, I could keep it running a bit longer and let it come up to operating temperature and better see what I was dealing with. My first check of this, I thought that I had exhaust from each cylinder, 4 into 4 is pretty nice. But the next time I fired it up, I wasn't getting much out of cylinder 3. I knew it was firing because I noticed the motor change when I pulled the boot off of the plug, but there was nothing coming out of the pipe. I shut it off and looked for an obstruction, I saw something in the pipe and broke it loose with a chunk of wire and then started her back up and revved it and got this out of it.

Now I have exhaust from cylinder 3. This must have broken loose at some point and caused the obstruction because it didn't happen in my garage and I was sure I had exhaust from cylinder 3.

rb550four · « **Reply #12 on:** November 16, 2020, 09:33:01 AM »

That doesn't look substantial enough to stop the exhaust. I would pop off the entire exhaust and see what else falls out . then run a length of wire or cable through them, check it with some compressed air from both ends and see what blows out. Maybe that's the reason this bike was $100.
When you are bringing up to temp, are you using a fan to keep it from overheating?

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #13 on:** November 16, 2020, 04:16:36 PM »

There may have been some that I missed when I revved it and it shot across the garage. But I saw it shoot out and things seemed normal then. There might still be something else in there though not enough that I am noticing anything at the moment. Man I wish that was the only thing wrong. There was so much wrong with it I had a bit of paralysis trying to figure out where to start. I am still getting this thread up to date with the progress that I have made. I am attempting to get it up to date soon.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #14 on:** November 16, 2020, 04:31:06 PM »

Now that it would run, I really wanted to take it for a ride and find what other issues I am going to have to deal with. However, there are a few things that need done first.

It had been laid down on the left side and the clutch perch was broken. I got one ordered from ebay.

The brake lever also had the ball broken off. not absolutely necessary for a quick test drive but might as well take care of that too. Ebay again

The flippin headlight bucket was missing when I got the thing too. I ordered an original bucket, new production mounting bracket and decided to add the modern convenience of an LED headlight. I really dislike not being able to see and be seen. Got them all from ebay.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #15 on:** November 16, 2020, 06:16:55 PM »

Got the replacement clutch perch installed. Had to use a handy trick of blowing compressed air into the grip to get that puppy off. That and a little bit of prying with a screwdriver made the removal easier than I thought it would be. Glad that the lever was black too. Once I removed the original, I found that the underside of the lever actually was black, so I guess it had just been sitting outside long enough to fade completely.

Got the new brake lever installed too.

I did this while I was working on getting her some fuel. I guess the petcock threads on these is an uncommon size (20mm x 1.0) and I had a tough time locating the proper part. I found one from a BMW that appeared to fit and was reasonably priced, surprisingly, at $25. I received it and it did fit. I don't love the way the fuel line sits though.

The last thing to do before she could go under her own power was to fix the extra hole in the fuel tank. It was a 1/2" hole so I was concerned about whether a patch kit would hold, pic is earlier in the thread. I figured I might as well try the JB Weld fuel take repair kit. At least it was in a spot where I could prep it well. I sanded it down to metal a good inch around the hole and put a bead of JB weld around the whole and put a piece of flashing first. Then applied the remainder of the JB Weld over the top of that and over the included fiber mesh. That stuff does setup quick! I'm not sure I even had 5 minutes of working time. I did have everything fitted already so I was able to get it together with no issues. Instructions said to let it cure for 24 hours but I gave it several days before filling it up. That was maybe 2 months ago and she has been holding fuel since. I forgot to get a pic during the repair so here it is back on the bike and with fuel in it. It's gonna be awhile before I am ready to repaint the tank, so if it hold until then, I'll smooth it out and paint over it and hopefully forget all about what kind of monster would do that to a perfectly good tank.

Still waiting on the headlight but I couldn't take it anymore and had to jump on it and see if she would ride ok.

Verdict:
She drives just fine. I only went around the block a few times but she was shifting and nothing major was noticed, so progress could continue.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #16 on:** November 16, 2020, 06:34:35 PM »

I gotta get a headlight on this thing. The eBay bucket arrived and though it looks great on the outside, there was still rust on the inside. I removed the connector holders from the bucket and hit the inside with a wire wheel and sprayed some rust treatment on it. I forget to get a pic of it after spraying and letting it cure but here is the after I removed most of the rust

The fork ears that hold the bucket were terribly rusted as well. So those got the same treatment. Again, forgot to get a pic of them just with the rust treatment, I am new a this.

I am stoked for the new headlight though. It is really starting to look like something that is ridable.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #17 on:** November 16, 2020, 07:16:21 PM »

The front tire was unquestionably unsafe to ride on, so that is getting replaced stat.
I repurposed one of my steel target stands with an appropriately cut 2x4 to brace it up.

When I removed the tire, I pulled several decent sized pebbles and even some shotgun pellets out of it. The tire has still held air so it wasn't punctured, I assume it had gotten in through the side when the tire had been sitting flat but I dunno. What had this thing been through?

While I have it off, I am gonna get this wheel cleaned too. I thought that paint had faded as it was a dull gray/white filth color and would need painted to look good again. But a little elbow grease and some windex brought it back to black. So I will just see what it look like with some cleaning.

It took awhile to get it cleaned but the wheel got back to a nice shiny black. So I then got out the dremel and polished the aluminum. It was tedious but still way easier than doing spoked wheels.
It turned out great.

I put in a new valve and put the new tire on and balanced it and got it back on the bike.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #18 on:** November 16, 2020, 07:45:19 PM »

While I am in the neighborhood, I was gonna get the front brake calipers cleaned up, drain out the old fluid, clean out the reservoir, put in fresh fluid and bleed the brakes.
The brakes seemed to be working fine but the calipers were encrusted with sludge just like everything else on this bike. I didn't feel the need to rebuild anything at this point but I am gonna clean all the crap off of them, press the pistons out a bit and get them cleaned up as well.

Calipers cleaned, reinstalled, some fresh disc brake quiet on the pads fresh fluid and bled. I cleaned up all the bolts and hoses as well.

I wonder how long this bike had sat out in the elements for the plastic of the reservoir to look like this

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #19 on:** November 16, 2020, 08:05:33 PM »

Alrighty, let's take care of a few less laborious items now.

What the deuce

Who would do such a thing? Especially with the spare fuse right there. Probably the dude that drilled the hole in the tank.

That's better.

The spare fuse basically crumbled when I pulled it out.

Since one of the things coming up is the valve lash adjustment, let's clean up these covers. They both looked like the one on the right when I started. So it's kind of a before and after. A polishing wheel on a bench grinder made quick work of most of the nasty. Then finished it off with some Mothers and a Dremel.

Back on the bike. Upon reinstallation though, I found that two of the threads that go into the rocker box are quite stripped. So two of the screws are longer and just catch enough thread to snug up. Gonna put that on the back burner for now.

DaveBarbier · « **Reply #20 on:** November 17, 2020, 04:02:26 AM »

Love the long string of updates. Progress looks great so far, nice work. Are those rims tubeless?

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #21 on:** November 17, 2020, 04:58:17 AM »

Yes these rims are tubeless. I've been working on the bike for a few months and taking pictures along the way with the intent of creating this thread. Now that I finally got around to doing it, I am trying to get it caught up to where I am at now. It's just about there. Just few more posts to go I think to get it current. Plenty more work to go though, hopefully I can get the majority done this winter.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #22 on:** November 17, 2020, 05:14:01 AM »

Time to check out the front forks. Guess I will drain them first. I let them drain overnight to get as much old gunk out as I could. I am not even sure it was oil as it was so thin, seemed pretty watery to me.

This model has air assisted forks. There should be a hose that connects the caps that runs behind but not underneath of the fuse panel. But the hose is missing and the fork caps are rotated outward. There was some sort of black gummy substance covering one of the hose ports and a plastic cap of some sort jammed into the other. I ordered a hose from ebay and I will see what I can do to straighten out the fork cap.

It appears as though someone went to town on the left one with a hammer at some point.

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #23 on:** November 17, 2020, 06:12:34 AM »

I straightened out the rim of the fork cap as much as possible with a punch. It made it sort of oblong so I removed a bit of it with a Dremel to make it round again.
I got them reinstalled, oriented the right way and connected with the right air hose. I had to order a second air hose as initially I ordered one for a 900 thinking they would be the same. The 900 was in better shape than anything else I could find. Well turns out they route differently so the 650 hose is about an inch longer. So I had to order another. The 650 hose came missing an O-ring and one of the fittings was slightly rounded so had to take some parts from the 900 hose to make it one anyway. So I guess it worked out. At least they weren't expensive.

The forks weren't even in the triple tree, so I also took this opportunity to correct that as well. One handlebar was noticeably higher but they are fairly even now, not sure if it is quite right yet though. I am not even sure how the fuse cover gets this chewed up, keys rubbing on it?

Can't have that

cheddarGoblin · « **Reply #24 on:** November 17, 2020, 03:47:10 PM »

Well, I guess it runs but time to see about getting it to run better.
This was before I removed the carbs the first time. Really before I did much of anything other than hook up my van battery to and giving it some gas. Note the fuel all over the engine from it leaking, the still unpolished valve cover and how filthy the engine is. And that was after power washing it 3 times.

I didn't bother putting the air intake back on each time, I knew I would be removing the carbs a few times. This was after the carb rebuild. Here you can also see one of my other problems which is a significant leak in the exhaust.

So, the carbs would hold gas now and I could hook up a fuel tank. So it could run long enough to discover that the idle was quite erratic and find that the intake boots pretty much all were leaking vacuum.

I ordered replacement intake boots for cheap from eBay. When they arrived, they were not even close to fitting. I got a refund and ordered a different set before I noticed that they were shipping from China and would take weeks to arrive. I considered cancelling but it wasn't like I didn't have other stuff to do, so I just moved on to some other things and waited.

Once they arrived, I found that this set wasn't quite the same as stock. The IDs seemed the same as they fit on the head and carbs but the OD was smaller so the factory clamps did not fit.

Not only that they were also longer, not by much, but will the carbs still fit between the air intake and the intake boots?

Since the intake boots were a whole $9 I figured I could spring for some replacement clamps for $13 from Amazon and hope that I could squeeze that carbs back into place. But first I will see if it runs any better with the new boots.

Verdict: Holy crap is it tough to get the carbs in the brand new boots! I even warmed the boots slightly with a heat gun. I had to wrap an old rim strip around the front brake to keep the bike from moving while I pushed. I eventually got them in and got it fired up and it definitely runs better without all the vacuum leaks. I think I will do some more testing to see how well I can get it to run and see if I need to put the original jets back in before removing the carbs again and putting the air intake back on.

News:

Author Topic: My accidental 1982 Nighthawk 650 (Read 13272 times)