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hey gang!
saw a 1985 Honda NIghthawk 650 on sale for about $750.
Pretty cheap for what i have been seeing them.
Now most ppl know that i have been waiting for a VStar 650 classic, but this is my 1st bike and i thought maybe the nighthawk might help me get some miles under my belt as i save $$ for the VStar.

Regardless, here is where i can use your feedback.
spoke to the seller, he mentioned that the bike will need new tires ( figure about $100 each tire, plus install). He mentioned it had a ding on the tank, brakes are good and that he did some carb work and saw rust in the tank, but fixed it ( i have no idea what that means). He also mentioned the MC was repainted.
I will take a look at the bike today.
Any thoughts?
Is it worth getting an 1985 bike ( only thing i remembered from 1985 was Lucky Star by madonna and those silly little leather ties) w/ possibly some damage on it? How bout buying some tires (after installation) costing almost 50% of the purchasing price? And what was he talking about removing the rust out of the tank- any insights? Wondering if its a salvaged bike or something. He is the 2nd owner of the bike.

thanks gang- ohh, 1 more thing from 1985, i think Run DMC was doing thier thing, Reagan gets sworn into office, Lakers win the NBA workd championship,British scientists report the opening of an enormous hole in the earth's ozone layer over Antarctica and Coca-Cola attempts to change its 99-year-old formula in an effort to attract younger drinkers. "New" Coke is poorly received, and the company soon reintroduces the original, "Classic" beverage.

ohh, got all caught up in the 80's that i forgot to mention that the MC has about 15,000 miles on it ( kinda low isnt it?).

thanks again ganG!

I wouldn't hesitate to buy an 85 Night hawk, especially for 750$. My first bike was an 85 Rebel, good little bike, ran like a champ. I paid 500$ for it and sold it for a thousand. Go for it, if it runs!

Be careful with buying an older bike. Many dealerships will not work on a bike if it is older than X amount of years. I just recently learned that with my bike. Independent shops may work on it though. Since it is your first bike and relatively cheap, you could use the opportunity to learn how to work on the bike. I just learned how to do an oil/filter, air filter, spark plugs and shaft drive oil change.

Also buying replacement parts for these older bikes are getting harder to come by. Ebay will become your best friend. Luckily I think the bike your looking at has been produced longer so spare parts should be easier to find than my bike.

As long as the engine itself runs good I think you should be ok.

Definately nothing wrong with an '85 for that price. With the present market thats about the year range you have to stay in to get a really low priced bike. If you are willing to put some TLC into it any older bike can run like a champ. My '82 Maxim with 12k (when i bought it) needed some carb work, fluid change and new tires. I did the fluids and paid for the rest. Your tire estimate might be spot on, although my tires were 200 all told and I didn't get the cheapest tires around either. The price seems right now you just have to decide if you are ok working on the bike for awhile and beign very attentive to any changes in performance that could indicate problems. I use mine as a commuter now and since the carb work have put over 2k on her without any problems.