For gasoline, the brand is more important than the octane. Chevron or Shell are the most reliable and my little 250 likes Shell regular better than the cheap stuff, like Racetrack or Pilot or BP or whatever cheap brand is in your area including WalMart-Murphy. She has more power and goes more miles on a gallon. Since you mentioned Beetle, I will deigress momentaarily: I am a Beetle mechanic and I have always used regular in my Beetles. The compression ratio can be set to whatever you wish on a Beetle engine, by calculating the displacement at TDC, computing the volume, and then adding the proper thhickness of shim at the bottom of the cylinders, or shaving some meat off ot the top of the cylinder barrel to make more compression. The next engine I build will have about 10.5:1 and be water injected with stock valve sizing. This should bring my fuel consumption down from 31 MPG to about 58 mpg, and that on regular 87 octane fuel. I would not use 87 without the water injection, however, because I would soon have burned exhaust valves ahd wharped cylinders, because of heat buildup beyond the designed specification limitations. As it is, only Porsche has built a reliable air - cooled automotive engine for mass production; and, they dominated racing where they chose to enter, on both sides of the Pond, with their creations. Had it not been for the Big Iron in Detroit, we would have been driving Tuckers instead of Beetles, and the man (Tucker) was way ahead of anything Detroit made back in the '40s. The Tucker used an air cooled engine and was powerful enough to keep up with many autos built today. Back then, car speed was limited because of poor lubrication and hence low RPMs. Much like Honda compared to Harleys. Hogs will never churn out the smooth quiet power like Honda, because by its very nature it cannot rev fast because it would shake itself apart. Honda's optimum displacement cylinders and close ratio bore/stroke make it able to rev and burn the air/fuel charge efficiently. As far as bikes go, Honda's Nighthawk made successful inroads into Harley's domination of the U.S. market with their small to medium bikes, and then began to take on the big bikes directly with the big fancy touring toys they now make. I have heard from some local Harley fans that they are closing a lot of dealerships. Here in Lafayette, a town of about 150,000 there are two Honda bike dealerships and both are thriving. Because I don't know if the mass marketed oil brandss manufacture oil specifically for motorcycles, I can't make any claims for or against, but I use Amsoil made specifically for motorcycles. The ones Graham mentioned are good; however, synthetics seem to not be tailored specifically for bikes, and may cause some clutch problems. Other than Amsoil, that I know of. I did some wild riding in my younger days, but I grew up on bicycles and motorbikes. One time, this friend I knew coaxed me into racing his Honda 90 with my humble little Honda step-thru 50 when he finally gave me all these sweet concessions (like about a 40 yard head start) - we were on a dirt and gravel road along a creek bed - I finally agreed. Someone dropped the flag and we were off. He had a difficult time catching me, even with off road tires, which was a point of contention that caused him to cave on the concessions, since his was a 90. The finish was just around a curve, and scared though I was, I went into it on the inside and did not slow down enough for him to finish overtaking me. We were neck and neck over the finish, even though he did pass me afterward. I was shaking like a leaf when we stopped and yet felt amped. WHAT A RUSH!!! He looked at me with this puzzled expression and the only thing he could conclude was, You've done this before! He expected me to cave in on the turn and figured that's how he would beat me. I held on and that shook him up. I finally asked, would I look like this if I had, and raised my shaking hand. He told me I oughtta race, because I have nerves of steel and handled that turn like a pro. That little Honda 50 may not have been a dirt bike, but I was used to riding it on that coulee road, so while I was scared, I was familiar enough with riding in the gravel and dirt to push the envelope of my skills to an even greater high (because the trip to my destination was a rather long one and mostly on that road as a shortcut, I would push it, but not that much!). Unlike my dad, who, despite the fact that he owned 3 Harleys and a Lambretta, sold everything after taking a fall and only got on a bike twice after that and both times because of emergencies, and both times on my bikes... I hit the pavement at 55MPH one night on a Honda 90 when the front end began to oscillate and I couldn't control it. That's another story. I had ground knuckles on one hand, scrapes and sore spots on the corresponding arm and on my leg and back, but I could only feel like I owed bikers an apology because the naysayers would hold me up as an example of how dangerous they are and we should keep our youth off of them, etc etc., and especially my dad, who cussed me up one side and down the other when I purchased my own with my money so that I could get around; and, because he never gave me the '57 Chevvy like he promised, but traded it in... Ride intelligently, my brothers and sisters. Not emotionally. Wrong passion at the wrong time on a bike can get one injured seriously or even killed. Easily. Stanley
________________________________ From: Graham Rogers <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 9:20:48 PM Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Gasoline, octane and oil Hi Javier - good questions from a man who intends to care for his bike. The last generation of Nighthawks (1992 - 2003 750's) don't have gas gauges. Just peek inside the tank now and then and pretty soon you'll know how often to fill up or, use your trip meter. Others would remember better than I how many miles you get out of a full tank. I just automatically check before I go out on any kind of ride longer than around the block. 87 octane is okay to use (regular) The dipstick is on the right side of the motor just above the brake pedal. You have to hold the bike level with one hand while you check the dipstick with the other - unless you have a main center stand as I do and then you don't have to balance the bike at the same time. Oil. I use any of the 4 Japanese brand name (Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki) motorcycle oils depending on which is the cheapest. In our area of late it's been Kawasaki oil. It's 10 - 40 w. synthetic for motorcycles. Some use Purple Royal or Amsoil, Shell Rotella T as Paul uses. There is a lot of discussion as to what is best. I read one article that said motorcycle oils were no different than any good synthetic oil like Castrol full synthetic. Regularly changing your oil and filter is more important. As Dennis has said, our Nighthawks need good oil care maintenance. Did you say that Dennis? I know you meant it, Graham On Mar 16, 2009, at 9:21 PM, Javier Garcia wrote: > Hi, > these are probably stupid questions, but since I'm new in this > business, I prefer to ask first. As many of you already know, I > just bought a 1996 NH 750. The odometer shows 1688 miles on it. My > questions are: > > (1) I don't see gasoline indicator. How do I know when I'm running > out of gas? Is there any accessory that will do the job? > (2) What octane gasoline should I use? > (3) This is the embarrassing one: how do I check the oil? is there > any kind of system like in the cars to check level, color, etc.? > (4) What kind of oil should I use? > > Thanks, > Javier. > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
