Rat-farts

[betoney]

8 minutes ago, peteinpa said:

I'm watching this. He's asking about $1K more than it sold for.  I've got a soft spot for this and the 650 Nighthawk.  Must resist...

If it's old enough it can be an investment.

1985 Honda CB 700 Nighthawk S - motorcycles/scooters - by owner -...

---

Selling my CB 700 Nighthawk S this bike needs nothing but a new owner...

 

I lusted after that bike when I was in high school, classic styling!!  😎

[Wintersdark]

13 minutes ago, peteinpa said:

I'm watching this. He's asking about $1K more than it sold for.  I've got a soft spot for this and the 650 Nighthawk.  Must resist...

If it's old enough it can be an investment.

I've got a real soft spot for those, but... An investment?  Eeeeh.  

That one is super clean and pretty, but I'd be honestly shocked if he could get >3k CAD for it even though it's basically as-new (as least looking).  And it's not going to go up from there for a good time, then once it's finally worth more (and it will appreciate some over time, of course, if kept super clean) it's still going to need a bunch of money to get to being worth that (new rubber, likely brake components, carb refresh, etc) and that'll eat away almost all the profit.

Not that they're always bad, but it's really hard to make money on old bikes.  They're like boats; if you want to have them hold value, you have to keep pushing money into them.  Otherwise, you end up with that Old Garage Find; "She ran well when I parked her, 5 years ago".  And if you do ride it regularly, it won't stay looking like that.  

I dunno.  I tried a lot over the years, and I sold every one of my old bikes for more than I paid for them - often 2-3x more.  But that's because I paid very little for them, and inevitably invested a fair amount of money and a huge amount of time into them.  The XJ mentioned above cost me $500, sold for $1500... But it needed new swingarm bearings, wheel bearings, neck bearings, brake pads and shoes, tires, a new cam cap(which had to be a used one - not ideal, but the alternative was a whole top end replacement), speedometer pickup, lights, exhaust, 4xcarb kits, fuel lines, brake fluid, paint, and so much time... And even then was just $1500 because it was clearly not stock.  

 

I mean, there's a bunch of old bikes like that I'd love to have as collectibles, and I may justify it to others as an investment, but logically... They're not(well, not good investments), unless they're very particular models. 

 

That Nighthawk is beautiful though.  Beautiful.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Wintersdark

[CRFan250]

Man I owned a Blue Nighthawk S and It was one of my favorite bikes of all time.  Smooth, maintenance free practically.  A full exhaust and jet kit really wakes that bike up too!  I sometimes look for a nice one but they are almost impossible to find in good shape.  I would pick this bike uop if I didn't just by my Tracer 900 GT, heheh.

[peteinpa]

Parts availability is the thing that stops me every time. I was also looking at an 82 Kawasaki but they stop at 83 right now on the parts look-up. At least Hondas go back to 1977.

I loved my first bike a 1983 650 Nighthawk  I bought new. Put 30K miles on it in 3 yrs. Buddy had the Nighthawk S at the same time. We traded a lot.  Thanks to Reagan it was a 699cc instead of the 750 it was supposed to be so it was peaky, had to rev it to get the power.

[texscottyd]

59 minutes ago, peteinpa said:

I'm watching this.

Looking through the photos, this guy seems to have a secret stash of nice Nighthawk S models.  And I’m pretty sure I see a CB1100F in the background...  😳

The Nighthawk S was one of those great all around motorcycles.   I would also like to own one again someday! 

[Lone Wolf]

1 hour ago, peteinpa said:

I'm watching this. He's asking about $1K more than it sold for.  I've got a soft spot for this and the 650 Nighthawk. 

...my CB 700 Nighthawk S this bike needs nothing but a new owner... 

The thing about the 1984-1986 Honda Nighthawks is the starter chain failure that requires split the cases to repair. It happens often enough that it was a frequent topic on the Nighthawk forum. The newer 1991-2003 Nighthawk 750 starter chain was larger, stronger, and is used to replace the broken ones on earlier model.

I really like the looks of the 84-86, shaft drive, tune of the engine, hydraulic valves that don't need adjustment - but the thought of waiting for that starter chain to fail keeps me away from them. That specimen looks perfect today, but I have seen several for sale that "run great - need push to start". I think that chain also runs the alternator so it has to get fixed.

They were 700cc in USA, the Canadian models were 750cc like in the following video:

If you read the comments on that video, lots of people with same issue on their 84-86 NH

Edited April 29, 2021 by Lone Wolf

[peteinpa]

8 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Looking through the photos, this guy seems to have a secret stash of nice Nighthawk S models.  And I’m pretty sure I see a CB1100F in the background...  😳

The Nighthawk S was one of those great all around motorcycles.   I would also like to own one again someday! 

I see 3 Nighthawk S bikes, a 650 Nighthawk, and a couple more. Nice garage!

[peteinpa]

3 minutes ago, Lone Wolf said:

The thing about the 1984-1986 Honda Nighthawks is the starter chain failure that requires split the cases to repair. It happens often enough that it was a frequent topic on the Nighthawk forum. The newer 1991-2003 Nighthawk 750 starter chain was larger, stronger, and is used to replace the broken ones on earlier model.

I really like the looks of the 84-86, shaft drive, tune of the engine, hydraulic valves that don't need adjustment - but the thought of waiting for that starter chain to fail keeps me away from them. That specimen looks perfect today, but I have seen several for sale that "run great - need push to start". I think that chain also runs the alternator so it has to get fixed.

They were 700cc in USA, the Canadian models were 750cc like in the following video:

 

Yep, that and #2 rod bearing go out. Glad mine remained maint. free.

[texscottyd]

1 hour ago, Wintersdark said:

you'd literally be better off just not buying one in the first place.

Blasphemy!  

[andz]

Well, seeing that the thread has gone completely off topic, my June 2017 Tracer has 9,969km on the clock.

I ride it when I want to and that's that.

[texscottyd]

1 hour ago, andz said:

Well, seeing that the thread has gone completely off topic

It's what we do best.  

Observation:  That Nighthawk S doesn't have a mysteriously dented exhaust header...  

[koth442]

32 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

It's what we do best.  

Observation:  That Nighthawk S doesn't have a mysteriously dented exhaust header...  

Scott's right! No dented exhaust. 

[Wintersdark]

53 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

It's what we do best.  

Observation:  That Nighthawk S doesn't have a mysteriously dented exhaust header...  

Yet!

[1moreroad]

5 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

7 hours ago, fddriver2 said:

 

I honestly don't understand buying a motorcycle then never riding it.  I mean, I get the whole "buying stuff because you think it'll be fun then not using it" thing, but... It's a motorcycle.  How is your life so awesome that it wouldn't be improved by riding the motorcycle you already own?

2 bikes ago I put 75,000 miles on a Ninja in 7 years.  

But the bike before the FJ was a WR250R. I put 12,000 miles on it in EIGHT years. The friend I rode with moved. The go cart tracks and motocross tracks and trails I could ride shut down (Great Recession). I went to 24 and 48 hour shifts so I had to carry too much stuff to commute. And solo long distance traveling on it just sucked. The bike was completely mismatched to my needs. 

I was ready to stop riding entirely until the FZ and then the FJ came out. This year I will have ridden more miles on the FJ than I did a few years on the Ninja. It's better suited to local roads and can haul me to good riding areas. I can carry enough stuff for regular 3 day stints away from home for work. And I have 2 friends to ride miles with when I don't want to ride alone. 

Overall the FJ and circumstances are a better fit right now. 

[Wintersdark]

19 minutes ago, 1moreroad said:

2 bikes ago I put 75,000 miles on a Ninja in 7 years.  

But the bike before the FJ was a WR250R. I put 12,000 miles on it in EIGHT years. The friend I rode with moved. The go cart tracks and motocross tracks and trails I could ride shut down (Great Recession). I went to 24 and 48 hour shifts so I had to carry too much stuff to commute. And solo long distance traveling on it just sucked. The bike was completely mismatched to my needs. 

I was ready to stop riding entirely until the FZ and then the FJ came out. This year I will have ridden more miles on the FJ than I did a few years on the Ninja. It's better suited to local roads and can haul me to good riding areas. I can carry enough stuff for regular 3 day stints away from home for work. And I have 2 friends to ride miles with when I don't want to ride alone. 

Overall the FJ and circumstances are a better fit right now. 

For sure, there's finding the right bike for you and not just the bike that looks prettiest.  I firmly believe that's what's really behind the Harley Garage Queen epidemic.  

But to be fair, 12000 miles over 8 years is still 2400kms per year; not a lot, but it's at least a reasonable amount of riding - particularly for a small dualsport.  I know lots of people who don't top 1000kms per year, but own $25000+ motorcycles.  That's just crazy.