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I'm Hooked on the Hinckley
The next morning after I got the bike home, I spent half the day cleaning it and going over the setup. Seems when I test rode the bike, the tire pressure was extremely low in the front tire, obviously this was responsible for the poor handling at low speeds. The rear tire has also worn uneven, with noticeable ridges on the sides. Filled both tires up to the normal tire pressure (just ordered new Avon 55/56 ST Sport tires).
The bike starts fine, but the carbs spit a bit from all the sitting. After reading the known issues, I completely drained the tank (got a bunch of metal flakes out), cleaned the petcock and filter, and put in clean gas along with a little Marvel Mystery Oil to help clean the jets.
Took the bike out for around 60 miles (rained the first half) and ran it around the 4 to 5 thousand rpm mark with bursts up to 7.5 (haven't changed the oil yet (that's today) so didn't want to push it too much. After a bit, the carbs are starting to clean up, with less hesitation at the low rpms, but I'm probably still going to have to take them off and clean them thoroughly.
The bike handles very well (awesome actually--have a bit of nose dive but stiffer fork oil should take care of that), considering I still have worn tires, and was a dream to ride. Pulls great after 4K rpm, very fast...and yes, it will smoke my sportster...bad. I love it!
I got a bit mixed up about the colors (racing green vs. imperial green)...thanks for the clarification. Still leaning towards the Cardinal Red, with silver around the tank pads. I like the contrast against the black motor.
I spent the entire day either cleaning, checking adjustments, riding, or just looking at the bike. Being able to see the entire bike without the tank and covers, one can see and appreciate the engineering that went into these bikes.
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