…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.