Honda Nighthawk CB450SC for a new rider? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Honda Nighthawk CB450SC for a new rider?

BrownBrady

BrownBrady

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What's up people, has anyone had any experience with a Honda Nighthawk CB450SC and would you recommend it for a new rider? I already own a 250cc "sport" bike and plan on keeping it. I'm looking for an affordable, light, standard bike as I'm concerned about riding in a forward-leaning position this season due to an injury which resulted from an accident last fall (I got rear-ended in my car). Would you know which problems are most common with this bike? I don't mind getting my hands dirty but the most I've done was replacing an alternator in a car and a fan clutch in a truck. The rest are just fluid replacements and electrical work. These bikes are selling between $800 to $1,500 on Kijiji, however, I have budgeted an additional $500 for additional maintenance like carb cleaning. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I got the bike last week and made this mini documentary. Thank you for all of your posts that helped me make my decision.

[video=youtube;KOxJ-OY-bmQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOxJ-OY-bmQ[/video]
 
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I can comment on any pitfalls with the bike itself as I don't have any experience with that particular model But I own a few Japanese bikes from the 80's and as far as general maintenance and repairs go they are very straightforward. What is great about these older bikes is that they can be very cheap to maintain provided you do the maintenance yourself. Since you are looking at a Honda parts should still be plentiful.

Main problem with these older bikes in general is that they can have problems with the wiring harness as connections become more corroded over time.

Also expect to check the valve clearances, clean the carbs, change the fluids etc.
 
Nighthawk CB450 was my first bike. Perfect for a new rider. Bought it new and sold it a year later, so can't comment on long term maintenance. Regular stuff is easy enough. A few new riders I knew got it as well.
Also bought a Hawk 450 for my brother as a starter. It too was a fun bike to me even with a decade+ riding at the time....and that was even with old hard tires on it.
 
I had a 1982 Nighthawk 450 as my first bike too. They are awesome bikes and easy to work on. Very reliable engines and very easy to ride with good ergonomics. If you end up getting one, PM me because I have a manual for the bike that you can have which will assist you with any repair work you may do yourself. I used to take mine on long rides on the highway and used it as a daily rider for commuting. The bike had 18 owners before me with only 30k on the odo. I put on about 20k on that bike and it was very trouble free. No constant problems and Honda was pretty good for parts availability and salvage yards too.
 
I started on a CB450SC. I did up to 1000km a day on that bike. I had some small problems (which are to be expected with almost as old as I was) like a failing ignition switch, but nothing major. I bought the bike ~20 yo with about 15,000 km on it. I put 40,000 km on it in 2 years and then sold it to buy something that was more suitable to distance riding.

When I got the bike I was getting 300+km/tank (ridden gently) and max speed was 125 km/h, when I sold it, I was getting 100-150 km/tank (ridden hard) and max speed was 175 km/h indicated. No major upgrades, just carb rebuild and playing with valve lash. It's a great bike to learn to ride and wrench, repairs aren't buried under plastic, there is no computer to cause trouble with diagnosing problems and you only have 2 carbs/cylinders to deal with.
 
Well, I got my wife's blessing and finally bought my first cruiser! It is still at the seller's garage though. I'm just waiting for good weather to get her certified then into my garage! :D

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shanekingsley said:
Very nice bike.
If you still want that manual - the one I have is for Honda 400-450cc twins 1978-1987 and you just need to go for a ride on your new bike out to Mississauga to get it:)
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The seller had a manual for 400-450cc twins just like the one you have and he gave it to me. Thank you for your offer though.

abkdt41 said:
Congrats man.... Hope to see a video on your new bike
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Video is up.

I brought the bike home last week. Thank you for your replies that helped me make my decision.
 
Nice video. Did the bike run any better on your way home? I was wondering if perhaps it had stale or contaminated fuel in it from the previous owner.

That tach jumping looks like a dry tachometer cable. You might be able to disconnect it at both ends, pull the inner cable out and lube it, then put it back together. If you can't pull it out, try to find a cable luber to force lube down inside the sheathing.
 
Blackfin said:
Nice video. Did the bike run any better on your way home? I was wondering if perhaps it had stale or contaminated fuel in it from the previous owner.

That tach jumping looks like a dry tachometer cable. You might be able to disconnect it at both ends, pull the inner cable out and lube it, then put it back together. If you can't pull it out, try to find a cable luber to force lube down inside the sheathing.
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The bike ran a little better on the way home, but I think it was because I was twisting the throttle more. I noticed that the hesitation was only present in the first 1/4 twist. Beyond that to wide open, the bike pulls hard especially in third gear. But when I let go, it backfires. I rode it harder again today with the same results. I will try your advice about the bouncing speedometer and tachometer. Thanks.

TorontoBoy said:
Nice video. I think you will really like the good nature of an '80s Japanese standard. Easy to buy, maintain and ride. Honda Nighthawk 450
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Thank you for the link!
 
I believe the bouncing speedometer and tach are the result of age of the instruments and not the cable. You could try getting the speedometer serviced by specialty shops, but I find it is not worthwhile. For me the bouncing is reduced when it gets warmer, but never really goes away completely. When you get old some of your parts will also not work as when they were new. If you find anything that cures the bouncy speedometer please post for us.

BTW, if you have not noticed, there are LOTS of committed riders that have early '80s Japanese bikes. Post tech questions in the tech section and you'll meet a lot of new friends.
 
BrownBrady said:
The bike ran a little better on the way home, but I think it was because I was twisting the throttle more. I noticed that the hesitation was only present in the first 1/4 twist. Beyond that to wide open, the bike pulls hard especially in third gear. But when I let go, it backfires. I rode it harder again today with the same results. I will try your advice about the bouncing speedometer and tachometer. Thanks.



Thank you for the link!
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I have an 80 Honda.. below 3k rpm, it's a pig. Twist the throttle a bit more. I do get the backfire when coming down from high-rev's.

Let me know if you figure out about the bouncing speedo as I have similar issues once I get over 120 km/h.
 
Dresden said:
I have an 80 Honda.. below 3k rpm, it's a pig. Twist the throttle a bit more. I do get the backfire when coming down from high-rev's.

Let me know if you figure out about the bouncing speedo as I have similar issues once I get over 120 km/h.
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Had the same issues with my CB750 when I brought it home last fall.The acceleration hiccups and backfire was cured by having the carbs cleaned,tuned and synced. The speedo jumped around like crazy then finally quit. When I pulled it off the bike to replace, I noticed the ends of the cable where rounded like a screwdriver bit that has been spun in the screws too many times, the new on had ends that where nice and square. Installed it and have had steady speedometer since.

Don't know if this holds true for the Honda twins, but the 4's steady power band is in the higher revs, like 5k+rpm. Good steady strong pull up there, just breaking too many laws unless on the highway:banghead:
 
Thanks for sharing.
 
I had one of those as my first bike ... in 1988!

Can't believe how well these have held up. I believe I bought mine (used) for $1600 and sold it a year later for $1300.
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