The bike is in good condition for almost 30 years old. Start small and move up. I hurt my back in a different situation so I need something a little different at this point. Liquid cooling, V4 engines, anti-dive brakes, turbos, electronic fuel injection and ignition — anything that gave a performance or marketing edge was on the table. Maintenance requirements were to be kept to a minimum. It is a standard bike, so not really forward controls like a cruiser, but not uncomfortable. Agree totally about starting small and stepping up, the best way to live to be an older rider.
Luckily I found this 1982 Nighthawk 450cc which appears to be well taken care of. I remember the ignition giving me fits and the tank rusting from the inside. Honda was prepared to lose money on the Nighthawk, and market the machine at an unbeatable price. So I buy it, I get it home and after driving around for a while I notice the battery isnt charging. The looks on their faces that I actually rode a 100cc motorcycle on the street is priceless.
Additional Features -Relaxed standard riding position and ergonomically designed seat offer a high level of riding comfort for both rider and passenger. Well 25 years and 20k later it is still going strong. I'll post pics tomorrow if there's any interest. I put an ad in the paper and sold the Nighthawk for a couple of hundred less than I paid for it, not bad for three years and almost 50,000 km. In my younger days, on that same chain tossing bike, I also did not replace the spockets and rode around for a month with sprockets that looked like saw blades. Every issue delivers exciting and evocative articles and photographs of the most brilliant, unusual and popular motorcycles ever made! Further making the Nighthawk S stand out was its unique mix of old- and new-school bits. I was thinking of picking up a Clymer's manual.
Still feels odd the way it torque lifts around corners shaft drive , but worth it not to have to mess with oily chain and sprockets. The sad thing about the 450's is that they were sort of the redheaded stepchild of the Nighthawk line. Also check out our at Bikez. Also there was a rattling sound when it ran turned out to be cam chain not adjusted. I road that thing everywhere and I was reliable as can be. It was great fun until you came to a stop though.
But I have heard stories of them wrapping up in rear axels and locking the rear wheel. I have such great affection for Honda twins of the 60s and 70s. It still looked and ran like new as it disappeared around the corner. Powering this visual feast was an air-cooled, inline four. When I got my first professional job in 1992 I moved to a small town three hours away. I have no clue who to take the bike to around here, I haven't been to a repair shop in over 6 years.
Overall, complaints were almost non-existent. The guy I bought it from had it for a 3 months, he bought it from the original owner and gave me his contact info too. Other than that, it was oil changes and shaft oil changes only. It was a great duel-sport bike. But if you do, you're kinda silly. But when I see beginners out there on full-size Harleys, I cringe. This bike is also being advertised locally.
Runs perfectly, not all banged up brake lines are solid and suspension is nice. The integrated, crankcase-mount oil cooler remained, but Honda upgraded the twin's suspension and brakes to current specs. My days of week long field trips on a bike are long past. I suggest you to keep the bike longer and end up knowing every single feel provided and reaction. It was rough but cheap. Loosen the rear axle nut.
Thanks for bringing back sweet memories! I maintain all the cars in our fleet and would like to learn to work on bikes too. Yet here was the 700 Nighthawk, with a decidedly old-school, air-cooled mill, yet incorporating the latest mechanical advances. Sell or buy used bikes? They are my daily reminder of my own introduction to the world of motorcycles. A six-speed gearbox introduced in 1980 lets the bike perform yeoman duty as everything from mini-tourer to novice peg scratcher. I never had the opportunity to check out a 450 to see what it would do, but I used to get beat by one all the time. As far as Universal Japanese Motorcycles go it was hardly exciting for a new Honda model, with a pressed steel backbone frame, three valve parallel twin engine and dated flat seat styling.
I took it through Canada to the north Maine woods, and across more than a dozen states in the northeast, Midwest and south. And as easy on your wallet as it is to use. From the beginning, the Hawk was a curiosity, a twin in a time of inline fours. The 450 Honda was a great bike to start riding, and more importantly to keep riding. I found an immaculate 1985 model with very low miles, and borrowed a pickup and my friend Bill to bring it home. Oh…I also changed the oil when the shifting gears started acting funny. Silly rear disc, suspension competent; handling okay.