suspension & etc.

[Eddie]

Nighthawk "S" 700 is the bike I remembered. {I thought the 699cc was a giveaway. LOL} Heavy and with a weird 16 in. front wheel, it was still a hoot to ride. When Honda polled their American dealerships prior to the reintroduction of the Nighthawk 750 in 1991, the responses were pretty strong, "Bring back the "S"!" With a lighter frame and better suspension, they could easily run a 750cc version of the S motor. It differed from the 91' and later 750 in that the 699 had bigger ports, double wound valve springs and a higher rev limit. It also had the shaft drive and a 6 speed trans., hyd. clutch & double disc brakes up front. The 91' was built to a price point of $3999. They left off everything except the hyd. valve lash. The dumbest thing(to me) they omitted and could have left in was a sight glass for checking the oil. Nooooo. "Americans like using a dipstick." They redesigned the clutch cover for a stick and, because they left off the centerstand, you had to balance the bike upright with one hand while checking the oil with the other hand from the right side of the bike. There was this dummy plug on the left side of the engine where the original bike's dipstick went. It was a black cap with DON'T OPEN on the top. If you did with the bike on the kickstand, oil would run out. Geez. I bought centerstands for the 91' and 93' Nighthawks I owned and dreamed of swapping out the heads and CDI for those from an S. I don't think it would've worked. But........ eddie [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Fred Hink]

OH, I thought we were looking for a "bike from the mid 80's with hydraulic automatic valve lash adjustment that would just plain RUN". LOL2 From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of eddie Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 9:14 AM To: KLR650 list Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR - Nighthawk "S" 700 is the bike I remembered. {I thought the 699cc was a giveaway. LOL} Heavy and with a weird 16 in. front wheel, it was still a hoot to ride. When Honda polled their American dealerships prior to the reintroduction of the Nighthawk 750 in 1991, the responses were pretty strong, "Bring back the "S"!" With a lighter frame and better suspension, they could easily run a 750cc version of the S motor. It differed from the 91' and later 750 in that the 699 had bigger ports, double wound valve springs and a higher rev limit. It also had the shaft drive and a 6 speed trans., hyd. clutch & double disc brakes up front. The 91' was built to a price point of $3999. They left off everything except the hyd. valve lash. The dumbest thing(to me) they omitted and could have left in was a sight glass for checking the oil. Nooooo. "Americans like using a dipstick." They redesigned the clutch cover for a stick and, because they left off the centerstand, you had to balance the bike upright with one hand while checking the oil with the other hand from the right side of the bike. There was this dummy plug on the left side of the engine where the original bike's dipstick went. It was a black cap with DON'T OPEN on the top. If you did with the bike on the kickstand, oil would run out. Geez. I bought centerstands for the 91' and 93' Nighthawks I owned and dreamed of swapping out the heads and CDI for those from an S. I don't think it would've worked. But........ eddie [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jeffrey]

Since the pre08s have more suspension travel, once you upgrade the front and rear suspensions, pre-8s blow away post07s in the dirt. The post07 shocks work great on the pre08s. You need to change the spring and add a washer. The pre08s require at least progressive springs. Though if you are altitudally challenged, a post07 is probably better for you.

[Eddie]

Food for thought from an Aerostich catalog I got today. "If the government said they wanted to put a tracking device in your car that allowed them to lock the doors and turn off the engine at will, and track your every movement, speed, and corner there would be protests in the street. Instead, they call it OnStar and charge folks $14/month for the "service". - Lee Burns =O [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]