My Absence

[jonathan180iq]

I know over the years there have been times when I seemingly disappeared for long stretches of time. I assure you guys, this is not one of those time. I've just been slammed with some changes at work...mostly all good... and just haven't had time between that and my quickly growing children to spend as much time on here as I did before.

Things are starting to settle down and I should be making myself more available soon.

Glad to see this place is still kicking - and I'm sorry for whoever has had to cover my mod duties.

[Admin]

No worries at all, life tends to get in the way at time for everyone. Glad to see you back! :)

[Water Warrior 2]

And here I thought you were spirited away to an alternate universe where all GZs have a 400cc V-twin. :hehe:

[jonathan180iq]

And here I thought you were spirited away to an alternate universe where all GZs have a 400cc V-twin. :hehe:

Oh please, WW... You know only the 350cc is available in my Alternate Universe world - not even in fantasy is there a 400cc GZ.

[jonathan180iq]

Hey... Remember when I wrote this in 2015 and then never logged in again?

Life is crazy. And yet here I am.

[Vegas Street Rider]

Welcome back. Hope all is well in your world.

[jonathan180iq]

Welcome back. Hope all is well in your world.

It is! I'm a bike owner again, for the first time in 7 years.

[Vegas Street Rider]

What are you riding these days?

[jonathan180iq]

Just picked up a 1995 Nighthawk 250, in red.

[Vegas Street Rider]

Nice. Honda bikes are real solid. Ride safe. Post some pics when you have time.

[jonathan180iq]

https://i.ibb.co/0jfvP1R/220453481-538754163838216-3636236550381138592-n.jpg
This is right after I got it home. I had about 45 minutes so I cleaned her up with a little hand towel and some lucas spot wash.

https://i.ibb.co/ZBS2bG6/220369402-513768529736536-7399140196995829617-n.jpg
Changed the oil and replaced the air filter

https://i.ibb.co/6XhSNXv/221811468-523088602245151-1367442882137059583-n.jpg
And did my first tiny "restoration" project - refinishing the chain guard.

[Vegas Street Rider]

Nice. Should give you lots of pleasure being on two wheels again.

[jonathan180iq]

Since the forum has been so utterly quiet lately, I thought I would give a few updates on the Nighthawk!

I solved my non-flashing turn signal issues with a $4 Amazon relay...
https://i.ibb.co/Bc8Ph9F/230197943-808584123179476-7542091249021087903-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/zQK53zD)

I found a really awesome bike stand at Harbor Freight for $30...
https://i.ibb.co/r22nh2K/241568997-558251608716154-8256463320699199156-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/JjjXTjW)

I installed a 15T front sprocket...
https://i.ibb.co/6JgzrBZ/241405484-363827455224560-3303630019428061085-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/M5MrZ6h)

Lowered the handlebars and installed a rear luggage rack...
https://i.ibb.co/9wnHW0V/241471211-1046662076161610-4914675880432042579-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/rbk2Hhc)

And went on lots of rides
https://i.ibb.co/TwWLxsw/241489986-393508639000995-4141499340799674129-n-1.jpg (https://ibb.co/rQdsRVQ)

https://i.ibb.co/hKSGqWn/241663205-547404303188399-5511797205237445150-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/7Gq39WT)

https://i.ibb.co/H4vYFRD/241655248-276908510663478-8539351283047715974-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/KhZ70Bj)

[Vegas Street Rider]

Nice pics. I have that same bike stand for my GZ, but I had to put some small wooden blocks inside the frame cradles because it wouldn't clear the muffler on the right side.

I haven't spent too much time on my bike lately due to the extreme heat here in Vegas. It is no fun when it is around 110 degrees out. It is just starting to cool down a little here and there so I am planning on taking a ride on my favorite twisty road in the Lake Mead Recreation Area in the near future. Stay safe.

[jonathan180iq]

Yeah, at first I didn't understand why my rear tire wouldn't fully spin around. Turned out that the rubber grommets and coating of the swivel brackets were contacting the axle bolts and stopping them in place.

I had to force a few spins to wear the rubber coating off and every since then it's been just great! Very handy. I love it.

I wished these has been around, and not $100, when I had my GZ. I always just used the wooden stands that Bad Bob had made.

[EddieSC]

Y'know, I've been thinking about grabbing one of those stands from the HF up the road from me. Pretty sure ya just sold me on it.

Your Nighthawk looks great, glad you're enjoying it!

[jonathan180iq]

Totally worth it. I think even without the discount they're only like $45

[jonathan180iq]

Added an old stock factory engine guard to the Nighthawk yesterday. Took more work than I ad anticipated, but happy to have it - not just for protection, but also for another place to mount accessories.

https://i.ibb.co/mqtDwfz/244995434-3113155232261982-7506059050871181153-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/4TMmGhN)

https://i.ibb.co/TKvZbhw/244764344-408704263958856-962334682224803257-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/5YMdnc1)

[jonathan180iq]

We recently purchased a new house, and for the first time in 10 years, I have a paved driveway!

I gave the Nighthawk a proper wash for the first time since I've owned it. Pics never do it justice, but just the general sheen and brilliance that it brought back to the whole machine was wonderful!

https://i.ibb.co/PTDpbBd/256393578-661102535335630-7215948684869098491-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/yh4TMLr)

[jonathan180iq]

I've been toying around with removing the front headlight fairing for a couple of months now, and finally went ahead and did it. It took a minute for my eyes to see the bike for what it truly is, but I really like this aesthetic a lot more, especially while riding.

https://i.ibb.co/55FdXLf/257354667-231109465652730-2085942091599181015-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/D7pNPQS)

https://i.ibb.co/QK6mFxx/257276613-189513030035592-5719841388733153230-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/fxC0YTT)

In a corresponding move, I also picked up some of my favorite mirrors ever - those for the GZ! They'll be here Thursday and I'll update pics then.

[jonathan180iq]

For her birthday, my little girl wanted her own helmet so she could ride with me - I obliged and took her for her first real motorcycle experience. While going around a turn she said to me "Dad, this is the coolest thing I have ever done. I am smiling so hard right now"

https://i.ibb.co/LJKPgy2/257221445-317885863178544-210462949941041441-n.jpg (https://ibb.co/0F5X9Ld)

[Vegas Street Rider]

Great pictures. Thanks so much for sharing. I agree with you that the headlight cowling needed to go. So much better looking.

[jonathan180iq]

Look at these beauties! The GZ mirrors have got to be some of the best and highest quality motorcycle mirrors ever made. And, since no one rides the GZ anymore, they're super cheap and affordable. People are just hoping to get rid of them.

https://i.ibb.co/WK6b4wC/257591981-965235911079151-3078778935701150669-n.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/QbrJtFM/257662454-1252941291873210-5490035518142624274-n.jpg

[Vegas Street Rider]

I agree. The mirrors are very nice and now affordable. I thought Suzuki really nailed it with the GZ250's old school street cruiser design. Mine has been the perfect commuter bike with not a lot of bells and whistles and easy to work on. As I have mentioned before, I don't need the power, love the looks, great mileage, and it just fits me. Other than the saddle bags and 16T front sprocket, I have left it stock. I have logged over 24K on it now and hope to put at least another 24K on it before I quit riding.

[jonathan180iq]

Oh, for sure!

When it comes to ease of maintenance and simple joys of riding, my time on the GZ was exceptional. Looking back at it now, with where current trends are, things like the reliable thumper and fatter stock tires would sell well today.

I think the bike needs a bit of a modern aesthetics upgrade to compete with things like the new Rebel, but Suzuki still sells the Savage just as it was years ago, so who knows...

What happened to the TU250? The Gw250? Those were really cool bikes.

[Vegas Street Rider]

Yes. I really liked the TU250. It had kind of a trials bike feel to it. I figure that when I sell my GZ, it will go to some young guy and he will perhaps turn it into a bobber or something.

[GZ300]

Yes. I really liked the TU250. It had kind of a trials bike feel to it. I figure that when I sell my GZ, it will go to some young guy and he will perhaps turn it into a bobber or something.

At MMI in Phoenix, they obtained the very first TU250 to ever be manufactured. The vin ended in 000001. I worked on it several times for class in 2012.

Threw my GZ mirrors in the trash at 125 miles on the odometer

[Vegas Street Rider]

So what style of bike do you ride/prefer now? Got any pics?

[jonathan180iq]

https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/43539837.jpg

Where is everybody?

[Vegas Street Rider]

It is hard to generate any interest when nobody wants to play. Sad.

News from my garage is that I am replacing my drive chain and my rear axle. It will be my first time doing so in regard to the rear axle. I think the nut is stripped as I can't fully tighten it down and I can't remove the nut. Should be interesting.

Hope things perk up here for those that are still active. I have pretty much given up on getting responses from anyone. I just get crickets.

[jonathan180iq]

Oh, man! There's nothing worse than big bolts getting stripped. I hope you're able to figure that out.

The zero engagement here is interesting to me. I realize that there aren't thousands of people zipping around on GZ's anymore - but there have to be at least hundreds, right? It was a great little bike that was made for more than a decade. I still see them posted on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist all the time, seemingly with no problems at all.

Just odd that there's so little engagement. ...like, I'm not even seeing SPAMBOTS anymore! lol

The same is true for my little Nighthawk. There are still thousands of Nighthawk 250 riders and not a single forum or truly useful place for those people to gather online.

[jonathan180iq]

The period of the Nighthawk came to an end lastweek. I was also to flip that little bird on Tuesday and turn it into a 2004 Kawasaki Ninja 500 on Thursday, and I still have $300 left over!

https://i.ibb.co/hCSHqPY/271889479-512286146894042-4704283785051853818-n.jpg

She's only got 4,000 miles on the clock, and despite sitting for a couple of years in an Indiana garage, she's flawless.
I've done all the regular maintenance to put some fresh life into her, but not even the carbs seem to be giving me an issue.
Super stoked with this one.

[jonathan180iq]

Hot Diggity Damn! I found myself a Corbin saddle on Marketplace for $90!!

https://i.ibb.co/7th5xfV/272761433-346297370632053-6994684828661388023-n.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/KX7WnDT/272924819-3343481869274352-7569810061834051857-n.jpg

It has instantly made me a seat snob and there's no way I could go back to the stock setup ;)

[EddieSC]

Hell yeah that's a nice looking 500 man. Nice find on that saddle, too. It just makes the bike look better for real

[jonathan180iq]

Thanks, Eddie!

It's also super comfortable. I can't imagine going back to a stock seat at this point. lol.
That big butt space is Oh, so nice.