You want the bike story? Well, okay...
A friend knew a guy where he worked who was looking for a Honda restorer. The bike was using oil really fast and you couldn't ride it without personally wearing what you just topped it up with. He had taken it to a couple of Honda shops who told him it needed a top end job ($750 please). One of them agreed to do the work and when he showed up with the bike, the service manager blocked the job saying they didn't want to work on a bike that old. (It's an 85). So, go away or buy a new bike from us, we'll take yours in trade, though.
The guy didn't own a car. In fact, refuses to own one, and was using the bike as his sole transportation. Had been for years. Somehow he acquired or was given a new BMW motorcycle, (not sure which) and the 700SC gets parked in the garage waiting for a time when he felt he could fix it or have it fixed. A year passes, and the house he is renting gets sold to new owners who want the house for themselves. He has to move. And, the new place he finds has no place for the bike indoors. The bike still has some sentimental value.
About a month before his move out date, I get an email about this guy looking for someone who wants or will work on old Honda's. The fact that I have several old Honda's has apparently been leaked to the press.
I get a phone number, call, discussion ensues, and we arrange for me to come over and see what needs work and can I pick it up and fix it, etc. I bring my truck and loading ramps as the bike hasn't run in a year now, there is no kick starter, and it is unknown when the battery last had a charge. But, he'll put it on the charger before I get there. ...okay...
I find the place, he takes me out back to where the bike has been dragged out of the garage. It's a forlorn sight. It has a Riffle Fairing on it, painted the ever popular satin black. But has reacted with a previous metallic blue underbase and is blistered, bubbled, and flaking off in bits here and there. The valve cover seal hasn't worked for many many years, and has blown oil back and down covering every part of the bike. Cleaning was futile and the layers of oily grime built up over the years. Okay, rust shouldn't be a problem! The battery appears to be taking a charge. I open the drains on the carbs and flush each one with carb cleaner to avoid sediment blockage of the jets. The battery cranks the motor over (I find out later the starter motor has problems.) but not very well. While waiting for the battery to recharge, we chat, put air in the tires, and discuss bike history (72K miles) and interesting features regarding lack of routine maintenance demands. Originally only air in the tires, oil changes, and new spark plugs as an occasional treat. It's got electronic ignition, hydraulic valves, and shaft drive! So, I figure out how to defeat the vacuum fuel shut off and the engine starts. Bilowing smoke out the mufflers, which I note are stock and still quite intact. The engine warms, the brakes work, it starts to behave like it will idle! Less smoking but still there. Except for being smudged anywhere you touch the bike, it seems like a nice machine. I even drive it up and down the block.
I think the guy is impressed that I got it running in under two hours and that I genuinely like the bike. I tell him that its likely going to take $500-$700 in parts and labor you get the bike back to its former running glory. But, I'll have to do a compression check to evaluate those rings, which appear to need renewing, judging from the blue smoke out the pipes that persists. He asks if I want the bike? And, can I take to my shop while he completes his move? I say yes. He says, he'll find the tittle and sign it over later in the week.
I actually could have ridden the bike home. But, opted to drive it up the ramp into the truck bed and lash it down. It finds room in my garage.
I do a compression check and it is not good. I price pistons, rings gaskets, etc. But, decide to stem the oil leak before committing to pull the engine. A valve cover bolt is broken off and glued to the cover. I extract the bolt remnants, replace the bolt and the cover gasket. Then spent an entire day cleaning oil and baked on muck off the engine and bike. Charged battery thoroughly. New foam air filter to replace the one disintegrating. Light bulbs for the instruments. Took off lowered Corbin seat and put on the original he had stored and gave with the bike. Refurbished the electrical connections to the tail light. Decided to take it out for a short trip to verify oil leaking abated. The bike kicks ass! The engine gains RPM so fast I cannot speed shift the machine! There's no time. It makes 80 HP at 10000 RPM. It's 470 lbs. Yes, I know there are faster bikes out there. And, I've got my eye on a V65 Sabre I could bring home anytime. But, I can't see why I'd need anything faster than this Nighthawk.
So, I stop 40 miles from home to make a call and the bike won't re-start, leaving me stranded. Acts like a dead battery, but I find out later its the starter. (I rebuild it later with new brushes and true the commutator. No more start up issues.) But, for today, yanking the headlight fuse gets the bike going again. It strands me two more times before the starter rebuild, where I learn to easily bump start the bike. Don't really need a starter as it turns out.
Anyway, later that week, he calls, we meet where he works and presents me with the signed over tittle and a gift bill of sale. He's happy someone will look after the bike and give it the attention it deserves. He doesn't want it back.
I continue to do restorative maintenance on the bike, piecemeal, new turn signals from Honda to replace the broken dangling ones. Remove fairing and put a taller windscreen on the stock fairing. Lube cables and make adjustments here and there. Each test drive I notice less and less oil smoke from the pipe, and now I notice none. So, with the leaking stopped and smoking gone, I decide to do the oil change so I can monitor the actual oil consumption rate. The danged thing runs so good, I'm now having a hard time convincing myself to do a top end job to the bike. I think it may have just been neglected a bit or lacked a bit of TLC. It's the last of the in-line air cooled fours I think. And, now, I wonder how long it will continue to go?
I still need to do fork seals on it. And it will need tires soon. But, I think the bike is worth that investment.
It's funny that the "velocity stack" got noticed. It's all show. An aluminum cover on the air plenum on each side of the bike. Looks good in pictures.
It also sounds like there are a lot of bikes with oil in the frame. Oh well, I never owned or worked on any of them until this one fell into my life. I can get used to it, I think.
Cheers,
