Hello everyone, I'm glad I found this forum. I've already gotten a lot of good information. I'm not exactly a new rider just super rusty. I owned a 600 Katana which my ex. Wife took in my divorce to give to her boyfriend, no that's not a joke. That was 14 years ago. I have wanted a Hurricane since I first saw the hiding Ninja commercial. Well my 1988 Hurricane 1000 finally came today. I thought I got a good deal but after talking to someone on here and looking at pictures of your bikes. I see it's a fixer upper. I only rode it around the block awhile today and made 2 observations pretty quick. First man I'm really rusty at riding a bike. Second Holy crap this thing has a lot of power. Nothing like the Katana or any of the other bikes I've ridden in the past.
Stay safe everyone.

 

Welcome to the forum! Also welcome to the "my ex took something of importance of mine just to be spiteful club". There are many of us on this forum that are also members of the second, myself included. Just about anything from '88 that is affordable will be a bit of a project. Don't worry about how it looks now, Just get a picture of how you want it in your mind and work towards that.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad to be here. I know how you feel about the second club. My divorce was terrible. Bad thing is I never cheated on her, never hit her. We just couldn't get along. But the way the judge done me. You'd thought I was public enemy number 1.
It doesn't look terrible but up close it is showing it's age. I've wanted one since they came out but back in those days I was working at Wendy's for a little over 3.00 an hour. So that didn't happen, then when I got that I could afford one there was none to be found. I'm trying to restore it back to it's original colors. Someone else on the forum was kind enough to do some research for me and it looks like it's completely wrong. He said the color code is under the seat. I've been trying to decode the VIN without any luck. So I'll work on that tomorrow. I'm trying to get an estimate from my local Honda dealer to look over it for me. Just to make sure the mechanical stuff is sound. It's only got a little over 22000 miles on it so I'm hoping they don't find anything.

 

Yea, the bad part of the system is that there are so many bad eggs out there that it punishes those of us who are trying to be stand up people. But a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and I'm a better man for it I suppose.
I would start out getting a service manual if you can. That will help you out a good bit. Be sure to let us know what the dealer says. I'm interested in knowing what they say about working on a bike of that vintage.
I'll say thins, there are tons of guys on here that have a wealth of info that love to help out in case you ever need it.

 

I applaud you for overcoming it and being a better man. I wish I could say the same for myself. Since this is a forum about motorcycles I won't get into a lot of details but let's just say I made some bad decisions about how to cope and I'm paying for it now. Losing my house and daughter almost killed me and 14 years later I still see a counselor every week. I wrecked my health with various chemicals. I was an RN and now I'm disabled.
Anyway let's get on a happier topic, riding the Hurricane. I was able to find a shop manual for it on eBay so I have that. I think it needs a tune-up. It was in the 30s today when I got it but it took quite a while to warm up that it would run. It does have old gas in it though. I'm hoping after I run that out and put some fresh in it that will help. I ordered it on the Internet and it took almost a month to get here and I don't know how long it set in their dealership.
I'm sure I'll be bugging you all for advice and help. I'm going to check out the color codes tomorrow and see just what has to be done to make it look stock again. But first I want to make sure it's mechanically good. With only 22000 miles I'm hoping everything is fine.

 

I'm sure you're better than you realize. Becoming better doesn't mean you don't have scrapes and bruises to show for it. I have more than my share of them. Keep pointed in the right direction and it will slowly fall back into place.

I'm guessing you will find a bunk of rubber bits that are dry rotted and will need to be replaced. I would go ahead and drain out the old gas and put in fresh. There's nothing to gain from using fuel that might have crud in it. You should count on getting a new set of tires. That is a definite.

 

Oil change, tires, chain and sprockets, fuel lines, brake and clutch fluid - You'll slowly eat away at the weak points but these bikes are very forgiving. Took me 20 years (and a locked up rear brake) before I got around to the fluids.. Watch the tire pressures, for some reason the CBR1000F behaves completely differently with low front pressure ;-)

 

I definitely have my share of scraps and bruises. I'm good with the tires. I purchased the bike from a dealership in NH and it had to pass inspection before they sold it so the tires are brand new. I'm thinking that would include the brakes, lights and stuff like that. I'm still waiting for the dealership to contact me with an estimate for a good inspection. I didn't think about all the rubber bits. I restored a 2003 Mustang Mach 1 a couple years ago and that turned into an expensive nightmare. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into something like that.

 

This is beginning to sound like it's going to be a work in progress for a while. My budget is pretty limited. My first order of business is to make sure it's safe to ride. Then I guess take it from there.

 

Lol - I forgot to install a bunch of "rubber bits" in the carb stack once - the bike still ran (though badly!) It's more "be prepared to replace rubber bits if you take anything apart" - prime culprits are the o-rings in the tees between carbs (leaking fuel), main tank fuel line (no longer available) etc.

If it works, and is not leaking, leave it alone.

You might want to check the coolant though - often a forgotten point and the last thing you need is a leaking water pump.