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Last fall I picked up a titled basket case 250 Nighthawk with 14K miles on it, it had been stored poorly by its first owner and the second owner tore it apart except the engine which he spray bombed flat black. Compression was good and the title was clean so I plunked down my 200 bucks and loaded it up. He had Bratstyle delusions and hacked off the frame behind the rear shocks, thankfully he kept the back half.
I figured with the rusty spokes and rims that this would be a good place to learn to lace wheels, experiment with rust removal techniques and experiment with diy zinc electroplating techniques. I did plenty of research and sourced the parts I'd need, but then life popped up and the build budget went away. So I came up with the same old plan to build what I can around the parts I have on hand.
SO, the 90's 750 Nighthawk rear wheel, 41mm fork- single disk brake front end, 88 CBR600 front wheel and set of 17" Michelin Pilot Activ tires I had originally planned for my 750K a few years ago were in. 5 minutes of measuring and note taking and it was settled, it could be done.
I've poked around the web but it seems nobody ever bothered to try this one before, so here goes.
I'm drawing inspiration from some scramblers and small bore hooligan bikes like the ducati scramblers of the late 60's
and more modern bikes like the 390 KTM Duke
and some of the custom bikes being built and ridden in southeast asia, I'll upload a few photos of those below.
I'm hoping it turns out more hooligan and less like
I'm gearing it low for more (maybe some) useable torque, I have a set of CB700SC rear shocks (2" taller than stock 250) with 4 way adjustable rebound damping and chromed Progressive springs (rated coincidentally for my weight) from craigslist, I picked up an All Balls brand fork rebuild kit, and the other day I picked up a 525 120 link Tsubaki roller chain on clearance.
I'll post some photos of my progress soon, photobucket work around in progress...
I figured with the rusty spokes and rims that this would be a good place to learn to lace wheels, experiment with rust removal techniques and experiment with diy zinc electroplating techniques. I did plenty of research and sourced the parts I'd need, but then life popped up and the build budget went away. So I came up with the same old plan to build what I can around the parts I have on hand.
SO, the 90's 750 Nighthawk rear wheel, 41mm fork- single disk brake front end, 88 CBR600 front wheel and set of 17" Michelin Pilot Activ tires I had originally planned for my 750K a few years ago were in. 5 minutes of measuring and note taking and it was settled, it could be done.
I've poked around the web but it seems nobody ever bothered to try this one before, so here goes.
I'm drawing inspiration from some scramblers and small bore hooligan bikes like the ducati scramblers of the late 60's

and more modern bikes like the 390 KTM Duke

and some of the custom bikes being built and ridden in southeast asia, I'll upload a few photos of those below.
I'm hoping it turns out more hooligan and less like

I'm gearing it low for more (maybe some) useable torque, I have a set of CB700SC rear shocks (2" taller than stock 250) with 4 way adjustable rebound damping and chromed Progressive springs (rated coincidentally for my weight) from craigslist, I picked up an All Balls brand fork rebuild kit, and the other day I picked up a 525 120 link Tsubaki roller chain on clearance.
I'll post some photos of my progress soon, photobucket work around in progress...
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