Service
SERVICE
Soft seat solution
Last year, I bought a Honda Nighthawk 700S. The more I ride the bike, the more I love it. But my butt doesn't care much for the seat. The seating position is perfect but the seat foam is too soft. What can 1 do?
Markus Kolb
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Mike Corbin specializes in making custom motorcycle seats. He has done several for us over the years and they are usually a great improvement. Give him a call at (800) 538-7035.
Bad noise rising
I am the proud owner of a 1984 Yamaha Virago that runs beautifully and looks great. But every so often the starter will not fully en gage and emits a horrible grinding noise. My local shop's head me chanic said the starter, friction clips and possibly the flywheel would have to be replaced. Not being in dependently wealthy, I decided to live with it for a while, but the noise is getting worse. I try to keep the bike in perfect shape and change oil,> fluids and plugs at regular intervals, but it doesn’t do any good. Any advice?
Jason Jones Murrieta, California
Yes. Replace the starter, clips and possibly the flywheel. And maybe a lot of other parts too. Riding the bike with metal chips floating around in the engine as you have done has probably caused a lot of additional, expensive damage. Changing oil and fluids won V fix a broken mechanical part.
The loose-chain blues
I have a terrible problem with chain stretch on my 1985 Kawasaki Ninja 600R. I bought the bike used and replaced the chain and sprockets. It’s now 10 months later and the chain keeps stretching and requires constant adjustment. I really like the bike and I want to keep it, but the chain problem keeps haunting me.
Joe Barbo ne
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
All chain manufacturers produce chain in several quality levels. A higher-priced chain may look almost identical to a less-expensive version of the same brand. Normally, the higherpriced model will have larger pins, thicker side plates and solid rollers.
You may have purchased a low-end chain that 's just not up to the task of handling your Ninja's power out put. If the chain you bought was, indeed, a top-of-the-line model, then the stretching you 're encountering may be caused by over-tightening it. The chain should have a certain amount of "slack" in it—measured mid-way between the sprockets—after being adjusted correctly. Your owner's manual calls for between 1.4 and 1.8 inches of slack. If you want to further check chain adjustment, compress the rear of the bike until the rear axle, swingarmpivot bolt and front-sprocket shaft are in line. In this position, the chain shouldn V be overly taught; it should still have a quarter-ofan-inch or so of slack.
