Just hauled home a Nighthawk

[RaWarrior]

Since a new bike just wasn't in the cards, I decided to go for the other end of the spectrum....the sub-$500 craigslist special as a bit of a project to keep me entertained.

I turned up this 1985 Nighthawk 650, in Empire Blue for the princely sum of $300.

As you can see, it's all there and really not in that bad shape. The owner said it was running/driving two years ago, but the key was lost and it's been sitting since. The worst part is, obviously, there's no key, and the steering is locked to one side. Going to call the dealer tomorrow and see if they can cut a key from the VIN (which I've read depends on the year and model if that's possible), otherwise going to bring it to a locksmith.

The tires aren't in bad shape (no dry rot), and it's biggest problem is a lot of surface rust from sitting...but it is all surface with some minor pitting, nothing is rotted out. Go after that with a wire wheel and some nevr-dull, think it'll clean up nice.

Yep...it's a shaft drive, on a 650! Cool. Guess what else it has.....a gas gauge, gear indicator, and full size tach in the proper location! Holy shit!

The weird thing about this motor is it uses a semi-external alternator, like in a car. You can see it in the picture, the round thing that sits behind the jugs. It's driven off an enclosed chain from the crank, and the starter piggybacks the alternator. It has three chains on the crank...one for the DOHC, one for the alt, and a third for the oil pump, all with automatic tensioners. Strange. It also has self adjusting hydraulic lifters, and a 6th gear overdrive. It's also air/oil cooled, with a small oil radiator up front.

I'm hoping to clean it up, get it running good, maybe ride joyride it a bit, then turn around and re-sell it for a small profit, but I got it more for something to fiddle with than to get rich off of.

Anyone ever own one of these?

 

[CaptainKyle]

I had an 82 model black with chrome stripes. It was a nice little bike. I really liked it.

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

My first bike ever was an 82 Nighthawk 750 chopper, then a couple years later I got this little 1985 Nighthawk 450 and made it into a street fighter/cafe bike. Still have it in my yard...

These bike are BULLET PROOF! They handle pretty well,get good mileage and are comfortable for about 3 hours easy.

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

I had an 82 (IIRC) nighthawk 450. Great bike, very dependable but a little underpowered for my taste. Looks like you got one hell of a deal for $300!

 

[Ebein_486]

I had a 750, back in the late 80's.

 

[The Beekeeper]

My neighbor has a red 85 650 night hawk, nice little bike, snappy and fun to ride.

 

[88vmx12]

rotest: Help save the forum! Help save the forum!...................

It is a campain I am starting....... Before we lose it to Honda's......:ummm:

LOL sorry it had to be done.. I admire your willingness to save a bike unk:

G

 

[Fire-medic]

I am always reading C.L. for deals, but my wife would kill me if I brought anything else home, there are 'house projects' I still need to do to keep her happy, & you know what they say about mama "not bein' happy-ain't nobody happy!'

I still like to read 'em.

Looks like a good deal for you, probably not much work to get that going. If you have the title, they should be able to cut you a key off the paperwork at the dealer. in about 1983, I had an '80 DOHC 750F, a great bike, I was v. happy with it until I got smoked riding two-up by a 911, I immediately sold it and began ownership of a string of KZ1000's.

Even then, I bought a KZ750 & a KZ 550, great low-mileage bikes to ride in the city, v. maneuverable, economical, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. (apologies to the 'other' BSA). I paid $1K total for them, spent a bit to make them safe & better-functioning, rode them awhile & sold them both for small profits.

 

[Fastatv]

Cool little bike. Elbow grease, carb cleaning and a battery and for $300.....I'd say you did good. I went thru about 5 "fixer uppers" and made enough profit to buy the Vmax I have now but I'm currently "burnt out" on cleaning and polishing :biglaugh: as the Max needs some polishing work that I just can't seem to get to LoL. Have fun with the project and keep us up-to-date.

 

[SeaTownV-Max]

Great find, awesome price. Love those little bikes!

 

[Frosty72]

Buddy o' mine had the same bike from 92'-95', great bike! Very comfortable seat and riding position.

Nice find.

 

[RaWarrior]

I noticed that. Amazingly, the seat is in 100% perfect condition and feels like a la-z-boy compared to the Vmax seat. Cushy, you sink into it a bit.

Currently I'm trying to get the carbs off. Removed the seat and tank. Apparently Honda thought it would be a good idea to make the airbox captive in the frame. As in, you have to remove the rear lights, fender, and tire to get the airbox out. :ummm: Already stripped a couple of the diaphragm cover screws, but I have a dremel and a cutting wheel so I'll just turn them into flatheads. The slides do move freely and smoothly though.

Fortunately, they did leave a bit(and by bit, I mean like 3/4") of space that it can be slid back, apparently it's just enough to be able to pop the carbs off. Getting the airbox boots off was easy....it's getting them out of the intake boots that's proving to be a real bitch. From poking around some honda forums, this is apparently extremely common and that the boots are very very tight(everyplace suggests using a dremel with sanding wheel to slightly enlarge the boots once you finally do get them off to ease reinstallation). I'm going to try warming them up with a hairdryer and see if that helps get the boots to let go of the carb rack.

I called the Honda dealer and asked about a key. No dice, they need the code from the ignition switch. Which is not a huge deal, except not only is the key missing, but the handlebars are locked to one side, completely obscuring the bolts to remove the switch. Went to a locksmith(bike still in the back of the truck). Wouldn't touch it because the title wasn't officially in my name yet. So I pulled the helmet lock and brought that to a different locksmith, told them it was for a luggage bag, and they said they'd make a set of keys of $40. If they open the helmet lock, should open the tank and ignition...never seen a bike yet that wasn't all keyed alike. Problem was, they're in Troy and I took the afternoon off work to go down there. The key will be ready tomorrow(and my Vmax wheel that I also left at home since no dealer would do it on-the-spot), but I won't get down there again until Friday, so I have no Vmax and no keys. Stuck in the cage all week.

Good news....drained the varnish tank(it was dark, dark tan and immediately stunk up the whole garage), but there wasn't any water in it. It was almost totally full so no room for condensation, that's a plus at least. The little petcock/pumper thing is also in good shape, rubber diaphragm is fine. For shits and grins, I filled my Briggs minibike up with the super old gas and took it for a ride. It was empty anyway. It ran perfectly on it.....go figure. Since it passed the "does it burn" test in a 300cc thumper, I took the other 2.5 gallons and put it in my truck. I'm not about to waste almost $10 worth of flammable liquid. Can you tell I'm cheap?

 

[acammer]

It's a fine line, between cheap and resourceful...

 

[KJShover]

Can you tell I'm cheap?

I call it thrifty.

I empty the remaining gas from the mower's gas can and the mower and pour it in my truck at the end of the season. $4.20/gal Thats getting close to $20 I don't have to spend in gas :biglaugh: and I have a fresh gas jug and such ready for next summer.

 

[4gasem]

Awesome! I had a 1984 Super Chicken... Not a bad bike, but parts are a bizatch to find and I am over the old bike thing. I spend more on them then they're worth, but that's MY issue. I like things just right. lol

I have a whole 700CC engine minus the bottom half. Basically I bought an engine that was in a wrecked bike. The bottom of it had a hole in it. I ended up taking it all apart to rebuild and then sold the bike. Now it sits with a ton of fogging oil all over it. I need to just toss it out. Unless you know someone that wants it... If I remember right, it had 10,000 miles on it.
Chris

 

[RaWarrior]

I ended up pulling the key switch and getting the code off the back. Sportline cut me a key from that code for $4.50. It works, you have to jiggle it a bit though. Being a Honda, all electronics work 100%.

Good news...it lives! And not only does it live but it runs like a dream. I pulled the carbs(the boots were a real bitch), took them apart, and gave them a bath in the sonic tank at work. The water got very dirty very quickly but the carb rack looks shiny and new. Reassembled, got back on (another bitch because of that captive airbox, and it fired up. Like, instantly. In 30 seconds it was idling on it's own no choke. So I grabbed my V4SYCO plate, slapped it on and took it for a ride.

Bad news...I lost the plate. It fell off somewhere along my highly illegal 50 mile test drive. So now I have a butt ugly yellow NY plate with random letters on it. Waaaah...

The Hawk runs beautifully. Trans is perfect, the gear indicator works, even the digital gas gauge works. The clutch slips up past 8k in first or second and it needs new throttle cables, you have to close the throttle. It also wiggles and shakes like a cheap hooker faking it. Cornering at any speed is downright scary. I attribute that to the old, cheap tires. I took it up to 75-80 on the highway but did not feel confident enough to push it faster. Just felt generally "unsettled".

Power is about on par with what I expected. It's adequate but not really exciting, I'd rate it pretty equal to my V30 Magna there. Like all Honda motors I've driven, there's no snap or rush of power as RPMs build. It's very linear and consistent. Compared to the Max it feels pokey, but it did 75 in sixth spinning 4000rpm without any strain. It's OD gear is strictly for highway cruising...it'll roll up grades OK, but if you want any sort of acceleration or to pass, proceed directly to fourth.

It's light and very narrow compared to my Max. If it didn't scare the hell out of me in corners I bet it would handle quite well.

 

[Fastatv]

I ended up pulling the key switch and getting the code off the back. Sportline cut me a key from that code for $4.50. It works, you have to jiggle it a bit though. Being a Honda, all electronics work 100%.

Good news...it lives! And not only does it live but it runs like a dream. I pulled the carbs(the boots were a real bitch), took them apart, and gave them a bath in the sonic tank at work. The water got very dirty very quickly but the carb rack looks shiny and new. Reassembled, got back on (another bitch because of that captive airbox, and it fired up. Like, instantly. In 30 seconds it was idling on it's own no choke. So I grabbed my V4SYCO plate, slapped it on and took it for a ride.

Bad news...I lost the plate. It fell off somewhere along my highly illegal 50 mile test drive. So now I have a butt ugly yellow NY plate with random letters on it. Waaaah...

The Hawk runs beautifully. Trans is perfect, the gear indicator works, even the digital gas gauge works. The clutch slips up past 8k in first or second and it needs new throttle cables, you have to close the throttle. It also wiggles and shakes like a cheap hooker faking it. Cornering at any speed is downright scary. I attribute that to the old, cheap tires. I took it up to 75-80 on the highway but did not feel confident enough to push it faster. Just felt generally "unsettled".

Power is about on par with what I expected. It's adequate but not really exciting, I'd rate it pretty equal to my V30 Magna there. Like all Honda motors I've driven, there's no snap or rush of power as RPMs build. It's very linear and consistent. Compared to the Max it feels pokey, but it did 75 in sixth spinning 4000rpm without any strain. It's OD gear is strictly for highway cruising...it'll roll up grades OK, but if you want any sort of acceleration or to pass, proceed directly to fourth.

It's light and very narrow compared to my Max. If it didn't scare the hell out of me in corners I bet it would handle quite well.

Glad to hear you got her running. Going to clean/polish and sell? I went thru about five bikes, buying tires, chains/sprockets, batterys and a sick amount of cleaning and polishing but....my profits alowed me to pay cash for the Max I have. Once you get it finished, you might post a pic. Later

 

[Ultraworld]

Nice buy. It's all there, not hacked up. Should make for a nice ride.

 

[RaWarrior]

Yeah, the idea was to just get it running, clean it up a bit, then re-sell it. The tank has a few dents and the paint around the gas cap is really faded and cracked, which are tough issues to fix cheaply. To make any money off it, I have to just do the most "cost effective" fixes....the cheapest improvements that will add the most to it's value. The tires hold air, but man do they suck....the handling is downright scary. A new set of tires mounted would be $200, which would put me at around $600 into it.



Be a good starter bike for someone. Or I might keep it for a bike to ride on rainy days, who knows.

 

[Maxnos1198]

If you can mount the tires yourself and do a static balance on them The Motorcycle SuperStore has the Bridgestone S 11 Spitfire tires front and back free delivery for a $135.00 total , takes 3 days but what the heck . Plus you always check on Cheng Shin tires which are really cheap . Just a thought. Later Kurt