Rick,
Welcome aboard - thank you for your kind words on the list
and sending a picture of your bike.
Regarding your last comment - I've been trying to find a bike
for my 21 year old Girlfriend - who also has an extremely short inseam
(26 inches) - and I can tell you that the two that we've found that
she fits on are the Honda Rebel 250 and the Suzuki Boulevard S40. I
had her sit on a Suzuki GS-650L the other day and despite being a
lowrider - it was still too tall for her.
Opinions on this subject vary, but my experience has been
that if you're on a bike with lets say less than 40 HP - (the 450
Nighthawk has 33 - approximately what the new fuel injected Hyosung
250s have) it is very likely that the bike is underpowered. Simply
put, it will be fine on back roads and in traffic, but when you
attempt to ride at highway speeds, it may be unable to accelerate
sufficiently. I think it depends on the type of riding you're doing
and the speeds you maintain but - if your Daughter can find a 500 to
600 or more CC bike that she fits on and is comfortable riding, I'd
grab it. I've been told that the 750 Honda Shadows are relatively low
and fairly straight to the ground so that might be a good option as
well.
More thoughts as I find some time to hammer them out :-)
-Joey
On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 12:56 PM, Rick, Scituate, MA, 82 650 NH
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Good afternoon. I read this digest everyday but tend not to write in
> very often. I’m a C+ shade tree mechanic, ok maybe C-, so I defer to
> the better experienced.
>
> I have a 1982 650 Nighthawk with about 22,000 miles on it. I’ve had
> the bike since 06 and it’s been great fun and way more reliable than I
> deserve for a 30 year old bike.
> Other than maintenance items, tires, brakes, fork oil seals, sprockets
> and chain my only big issue was hitting a deer the October before
> last.
>
> https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Y3m6VKaRw635DLrLXZFADEacE5vr8hfSGu6ounjurXo?feat=directlink
>
> I’ve been meaning to write for a while and accumulated a few
> questions.
>
> 1. Center Stand – The bike has one but I cannot get it on the center
> stand without help. How do you do it alone? I’m always afraid the
> bike will tip away from me.
>
> 2. Speedometer/Odometer problems - As long as I’ve had the bike the
> speedometer has been pretty sketchy. Using a GPS, when I’m driving at
> 35 the speedometer reads 50. But the odometer was always dead on.
> Same cable operating both. Now the odometer and trip odometer stopped
> working at 20,947. It doesn’t appear to be at the wheel or cable so I
> looking for any insight before tearing the instrument cluster apart.
>
> 3. As you can see the bike was repainted by a PO. They did a good
> job but I’m seeing the paint bubble around the tank mouth. I think in
> part caused by gasoline. Last fill up after sitting out in the sun,
> the fuel expanded to where it leaked out and seemed to get under the
> paint softening and bubbling it. Any suggestions?
>
> 4. Traction in the rain - I started riding again back in 2006 after a
> 30 year break. I find I’m a lot more tentative riding in the rain,
> slow way down, very upright in corners, etc. How much traction do we
> lose in the rain? 30% on wet roads, maybe 50% in puddles?
>
> I know my age is showing, and I’m OK with that but I don’t like
> getting beat in the corners by bicycles either.
>
> 5. Sea Foam – Like everyone here, I love it. However at $9/pint it
> gets pretty dear. About a year ago there was discussion and recipes
> for a “home made version” that sounds like it would be about 1/5 the
> cost. Has anyone ever tied it? I’m will to give it a try, (on the
> lawn mower, gas trimmer, chain saw, etc. not the N’hawk) but wanted to
> know if anyone has experience.
>
> 6. N’hawk badges - There was discussion on N’hawk badges a while
> ago. Did they ever happen? Are there any around?
>
> 7. Any bike suggestions for a 20 yr. old woman - My daughter took the
> safety course and got her license last summer. However she finds the
> N’hawk too tall to ride safely. She took her course on a 250 Rebel
> and liked that but I’m looking for a few others we can be looking for
> as well.
>
> Thanks for any ideas, suggestions and guidance. Ride safe.
>
> Rick
>
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--
-Joey Kelley
JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online
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