…but you’ll quickly remember why you left.
In the early 1990’s I had a 1985 Honda CB450SC as my first motorcycle, detailed in this article. Over the years I’d moved on to other bikes, but always had a soft spot for my first. Two years ago I started looking for another Nighthawk; something fun and simple to work on, something for my motorcycle-curious daughter to try out, and possibly something to remind me of what it’s like to be 25 years old.
I kept a casual eye on the classifieds for a reasonably priced example in good condition, and last fall one popped up only 5km away from my house. It didn’t run, but the young owner said it had sat unattended for some time and now wouldn’t start.
The price was $900, it was filthy dirty but under the dirt, it seemed complete and the engine did turn over so I borrowed a trailer and brought it home.
Now, Mrs. DougD has been married to me long enough to have developed a distaste for project vehicles that do not run. So I addressed this issue by not telling her about my purchase, parking the Nighthawk beside the garage and throwing my motorcycle cover over it. I then worked on the Nighthawk in secret, and my unsuspecting wife would walk past the covered motorcycle outside the garage and then past the uncovered Versys 650 inside the garage without putting one and one together. I would not recommend this sort of deception unless you know your spouse very well and the amount of money involved is small. In time the Nighthawk was revealed as somewhat running and somewhat clean, and was accepted into the fold.
Having easily attained my first goal of getting it running, my second goal of getting it road worthy took quite a bit more time. I bought a service manual, did all the maintenance on the engine, which was very clean inside. The rear brakes dragged badly, but needed nothing more than disassembly, cleaning and lubrication. Most items were like that, it’s really impressive the high level of quality that Honda built into these “beginner” bikes.
The front brakes were a bit more involved. I needed to scrape the corrosion out of the seal grooves, install new seals and repaint the caliper. The enamel paint I used looked fantastic, but took over a month to dry before it could be reassembled. I didn’t much mind, as all this work was done an hour at a time whenever I had a little. For me working on this sort of project is a stress relief even if I make very slow progress. My new brake pads didn’t fit, and after some internet sleuthing, I figured out that my bike had a 1983 front brake.
The Keihin constant velocity carburetors did give me some grief. They are rather difficult to remove for full cleaning, but both the top and bottom are accessible in situ. Up top, I added a couple of small washers under the main jet needle for a slightly richer mixture, a trick I’ve used on several of these bikes.
Down below I cleaned the jets and passages several times for it to run right. A new float and needle did not stop the right carb from flooding and dumping gas all over the driveway. I had to set the bike aside for a few weeks and think. Finally I cleaned the inlet seat with a Q-tip and abrasive polish, and that did the trick. I took the above photo with a mirror, you can see the ding in the seat at 7 o clock position.
A year later I now have a running driving 450 Nighthawk. I’ve put a few km on it puttering around the neighborhood. It brings back happy memories of a carefree time in my life, memories of that first year of riding when I spent every spare moment on the bike. It also brings back memories of why I sold my first one, the cramped riding position, and so-so driving dynamics immediately came back to me as well.
So I consider my itch scratched, returning a non-running machine to service has proven most satisfying. Mrs. DougD has reaffirmed her retirement from motorcycle riding, and Miss Erin D, the motorcycle-curious daughter has extended her work term in British Columbia. We may well not see her back in Ontario until September 2025, so there’s not much point in keeping the Nighthawk around. I put the classified ad up this week, although it’s a bit of a long shot to try and sell at this time of year. If it doesn’t work I’ll try again in the spring.
The 1985 450 Nighthawk remains a good first bike. I would no longer take one on a major trip, but it’s still good for short trips and errands. A 40 year old machine still successful at it’s intended mission, well done Honda.
These bikes and the v45 and v65 Sabre were awesome wheelie bikes…just the right stance and set up…my father getting calls from a couple of streets away.
I have sometimes wondered how it would feel to replicate one of my early cars. I would probably experience similar dissatisfactions. But good on you for putting one more of these oldsters right.
JP ;
If it won’t break you financially, I highly recommend it .
A few years back I bought a dilapidated 1959 VW and am still loving every minute behind the wheel, I take it on road trips and so on .
If you’re careful you can find, fix and enjoy that “first vehicle” all over again and then sell it on of you wish .
-Nate
Great story. I totally get the part about stress-releasing by working on it a little when you’re able. Further, I’d suspect that eventually you’re going to get more than you paid for it — so relaxation that generates a profit? Excellent.
Uh huh. 🙂
It looks nice and you’re oh so right about that first bike .
I expect if it doesn’t sell it’ll go in a flash next April when the tax return is burning a hole in someone’s pocket and things have a better out look in general .
Where did all that time go, anyway ? .
-Nate
(foolishly still riding and resurrecting old machines 60 years later)
Actually Nate, it just got picked up last night by a father and son. The Dad had owned a 450 Nighthawk as his first bike too, and they were looking for an inexpensive first bike for son.
I was happy to sell it to such a family, and I broke even on the material costs. As usual my labor was free, but I prefer to think that I got many hours of enjoyment without cost.
So you hid it under a cover in plain sight. I almost do the same with the AMC wagon I got this year. I hide it under a cover, a block away stored, and so no one knows. Work on the car on Wednesdays when no one is home until 4:00 pm.
It can be hard to go home again with vehicles experienced at a completely different stage of life. In my case it’s been 55 years since my first bike, a Suzuki B100P, a 120cc single affectionately known as “The Bloop”. With all of 12 hp, I actually bought it before I ever bought a car with my own money, and it was a perfect bike to learn how to ride and my sole transportation for my last year of college, quite crazy in Maryland’s varied climate…ah the cluelessness of youth!
That quickly led the next year to a 1 yr old Suzuki T350R, a year later to a 1958 Harley “Panhead” bobber, then a succession of 500, 650, and 750 Triumphs and BSAs. After 8 years of almost constant riding it all came to a sudden end when our 1st child arrived, only to be revived when they all had flown the nest 20 years later.
Now an empty nester, going back to the grossly underpowered “Bloop” was not an option, but a Honda CB350, and several Yamaha XS650 big twins served to recreate the British riding experience, only with reliability, and later a ’71 Kawa A7 350 and ’73 Honda CL125 were added for more vintage fun. Lately a powerful Harley itch has resurfaced, but this time in a true vintage guise, as antiques are my warm place. That “coming home” itch for me has been scratched by a veritable legend, a 1942 Harley “Liberator” WLA that served in Germany in WWII and finally made it’s way to the US about 20 years ago “civilianized” form (no Tommy gun scabard or olive drab paint). It’s a totally different but wonderfully fun ride into the distant past, just perfect for a geezer who’s almost as old as the bike.
That Suzuki 100 is very similar to my first bike, a Bridgestone 90. But except for a brief bit of time with access to a Yamaha 305, that was it for bikes. But I love your old H-D; now that’s something I could get behind (or on) too. Beautiful machine.
Nice job on the revival of this Nighthawk. That brake caliper in particular looks like a work of art with that paint work.
My first bike was also a Nighthawk but the 250 version. It was a rather rough example with blown fork seals and a very ineffective front drum brake. I suspect it had taught many first time riders. It ran nicely however (once warmed up). I am fairly confident I would not want it back.
I wonder how many first time riders would be willing to give something with carbs a good. Fuel injection is awfully nice if you want to just ride and not tinker.
Nice job.
The last time I rode a bike was my BIL’s Honda 400, in LA in 1985? Took it for a night time spin out to Santa Monica and back. The only times I had previously ridden a bike was in bucolic Iowa. It was a fun ride and a nice bike, but the traffic rather put me off bikes. I do sometimes have a hankering to get back on one…
I was a Honda mechanic in this era. Those were a good line of bikes. The downside was the clearcoat rapidly disappeared off the tanks and the seat covers were super thin. The calif sun destroyed them in short order. You did a trick few people know of regarding carb overhauls, Use a cardboard shaft Q tip or wooden one if you have them and some toothpaste in a drill to polish up the needle seat area to stop the leaking. Definitely replace the needle as the rubber tip usually developed a step in it and wouldn’t shut the fuel off even if the float was set correctly.Toothpaste doesn’t damage engines if you leave some in the fuel tract.
Impressive restoration, Doug. That’s a nice bike.
My first (and only) bike was also what you might call a starter bike, a Honda CB400T. They were just known as a “Hawk”, not a Nighthawk like yours. Mine was an ‘81, like the one pictured below. That one looks a little different than mine, so most likely a different model year. I seem to recall my stripes being more of an orange, and not as wide. I was 21 years old that summer (1981) and rode that thing everywhere.
I’m however reluctant to ride with modern traffic here in Maryland, as everyone is either too aggressive, too inattentive, or both! 😱
My most recent ride was about two years ago when my stepson stopped by with his Triumph 900 twin (like mine but much bigger). I went for a 3 mile loop around my area and that was enough for me. I just don’t trust other drivers.
BTW, your retro-Stang is looking really good photobombing that third picture. 😉
Older bikes can be tremendous fun, and they tend to be colorful, literally, unlike the current PLAGUE of black or gray origami bug styled bikes. 🙁
My oldest licensed bike is my ’91 Honda VFR 750F. Of all my 72 bikes over the decades, the VFR is my favorite. Reasonably comfy, excellent handling and more than adequate power. A hard to beat combo.
Oh, I am the second owner of the VFR; “imported” from the Portland, OR area in 2012. A good friend found the bike for me. I had been looking for a second VFR 750F for @ 2.5 years at the time. I had a ’92 that I traded for…?? 🙂 DFO
That reminds of my first bike a 75 Kawasaki KZ-400. That also had Kehin CV carbs, which wouldn’t hold a stable idle in 1990, or 1975. We still have your Nighthawk’s little brother an 83 CM250C. That one is easier to deal with, since it has only one carb and drum brakes. After a long slumber I got it running be re-rebuilding the carb since my first attempt circa 2004 apparently swapped two jets that are the same external size and very different internally. I’m comically large on it and view it as a superior moped, especially compared to my BMW R100S which is on the tall side.
In one of those CC effect things I just, half an hour ago, saw a girl being followed by the driving license examiner car and I am pretty sure she was riding a Nighthawk. Seems like it would be an excellent bike to learn on and take the road test with.
A far better machine than say a Trail 125 for the road test. As I discovered last Monday when I took my full license riding test. Around town was super. The part on the highway was a bit less so. Getting up to 90kmh or so necessitated tucking down on the tank a bit and hoping there were no wind gusts. Fortunately, I passed so I don’t have to ever go that fast again on it.
Nice job on bringing the old bike back to life. Brings back memories of working on the wife’s 1983 Shadow
Nice little bike. I love that you brought it back to life.
I should switch from cars to bikes.
We currently have 5 cars. Fox 5.0L, 2x Dodge Cummins diesels, Acura TSX and a Honda HRV for winter use only.
Bikes are cheaper, easier and take up less room. But then I might end up with enough bikes to fill up both my garages anyway. 🙂
Then again, riding a bike around in a large city is not something I want to do again.