80s honda nighthawks

[jmillheiser]

I am looking for my first bike. Of the bikes I have thrown a leg so far the honda nighthawk has been the most comfortable so far. I find the standard riding position about pefect for me.

Would you recommend the bigger nighthawks as good beginners bikes. I also found the 250 nighthawk to be pretty comfy (same ergos as its bigger bros) but plan on doing a fair bit of highway riding so I dont know if the 250 would have enough power for highway riding.

I am leaning towards either the 650SC or the 700SC. Are these still manageable enough to be a decent first bike?

[Kal]

US version of the Dream/Superdream?

I've a 250 'Wetdream' waiting to be put on the road at the moment. The plus points are its cheap, insurance is cheap, spares are cheap, a lot of its parts are interchangable with others in the range and although not bomb proof its a good bus.

Downsides, they've usually been someones winter hack so they breakdown but then again not suposed to be tricky to fix, erm err... Difficult to think of anything else thats actually bad about them.

The 250 will only do 80-90mph depending on the exact bike in question - but they will do that one up, two up or two up and full camping kit for a weekend.

[jmillheiser]

The nighthawk is the name honda pegged on the CB series bikes in the 80s so basically yes its the dream/superdream. They still sell the 250 and 750 versions.

Ive sat on a 99 250 and an 85 650. Other than weight (the 250 was a tad lighter but the 650 was still lighter than I expected it to be) the bikes felt practically identical. Both fit me very well though the 650 was more comfortable (the 250 sank down a bit when I sat on it, the 650s firmer suspension didn't)

I have always preferred standards to cruisers and sportbikes. Its like getting the best of both worlds, they are more comfortable than a sportbike but are faster and better handling than the majority of cruisers.

I am a fan of the new naked bikes out there but most are decidely on the high powered side (I do like the SV650 but have heard that even that is a bit too much power for a beginner )

[Kal]

The suspension might have been changed by Honda for 'rider comfort'. An older 250 will probably have the same suspension as its bigger brothers - the only differences between the 400 and 250 over here was that the 400's engine wasnt 'sleeved' and they gave it better brakes.

I was about to say that the suspension on my 250N is pretty stiff, until I went out there to sit on it* and realised that its on aftermarket shocks. So I will be claiming a blonde moment there. Doh!

*Is it worse that I went out to the yard to sit on a bike at 4am, or that my neighbours now ignore me doing stuff like that?

[ZooTech]

I had an '84 NightHawk 700SC (pic below) and would consider it an excellent beginner bike. It had a great upright seating position, perfect ergos (once the seat was replaced with a Corbin), and it was ahead of its time (6-speed, shaft drive, 16-valve, digital gear indicator, fuel gauge). If you can find one in as good a shape as mine was in, I'd say go for it!

[jmillheiser]

Im definately going to start shopping around for a 650SC or 700SC then. The 650 I sat on had the digital gear indicator. Its really kinda neat.

How is the parts availability on these? If something breaks will it be easy to get a replacement part. How is the aftermarket parts selection? I was thinking about at least putting on a better exhaust (something that sounds nice but not too loud), and maybe a jet kit (though im not too sure how well a jet kit will work at high altitude - I live at 6000ft).

looks like most of the 250 hawks are set pretty soft from the factory. I have sat on several 250 nighthawks and all of them were pretty soft in the suspension deptartment. I like the suspension on the bigger nighthawks, it has the firm feel of a sportbike suspension (none of the squishiness you get on a cruiser), but the riding position is vastly more comfortable.

[The549]

Can't you adjust the shocks to be more firm?

[Kal]

Depends on the Bike in question, some yes, some no.

Usually found on Sportsbikes, although lots of aftermarket shocks are sdjustable and swapping them over is one of the easier jobs to do..

[jmillheiser]

I would almost call the nighthawk SC the original sport touring bike.

[bikeguy joe]

I had a 700SC for several years and considered it to be a mild sport/touring bike. Not as good a beginners bike as some of the other NightHawk series, as it is a bit more sporting.
The shaft drive, hydraulic lifters, ect make it nice from a maintenance standpoint though...