2003 CB750 Nighthawk - My new ride.

[Flyin900]

The 1984 CB450SC Nighthawk just isn't working for me as a regular ride. It is too small for my use when doing day rides and logging hours in the saddle. So I have been looking for the right sized bike at the right sized cost for me at this stage of my life. I looked at a 1985 CB750 Nighthawk a few weeks ago and it unfortunately had some issues with Kreem used 20 years ago as a tank liner. It was failing from the ethanol mixture presently in our gasoline. I liked that it used a shaft drive rather than a chain drive on the modern one I just bought. There were some other smaller issues with the 1984 bike too, so I moved on to this bike.
This one came up on Marketplace recently and was for sale at a higher price for 2 months and still available. I spoke with the owner and it needed tires and maybe a battery based on the info he supplied. I made a much lower but fair offer and he accepted.
I picked it up today and it runs very well and is in great shape. It was originally an American bike, as he was gifted it in 2014 from his brother in Chi Town and they both looked after it based on the condition. The motor uses hydraulic valves and auto cam chain adjustment, so not much maintenance required beyond the drive chain. I received a bunch of OEM Honda spare parts such as rear brake shoes and some cables and a small windshield. It has a Motobatt battery so it should be good for awhile as it tested well with good voltage.

 

[Alan F.]

That's a great score, congratulations!

I thoroughly enjoyed mine, one great mod is swapping the front rim out for an early CBR600 17" 3-spoke that bolts right on using all of the NH axle, speedo drive and brakes. The improved handling is well worth the speedometer error.

 

[Flyin900]

Thanks Alan for the comment and insight. I’m getting it some new tires and a safety inspection this week. Hopefully the weather will improve and warm up around here. Looking forward to riding the bike as a few go rounds in the driveway on it has been enticing. It is a very smooth running motor and a nice upright riding position, which works best for my back.
At around 78 HP as spec‘d from the factory it will be a much needed improvement over the 42 HP of the CB450 Nighthawk.

 

[Alan F.]

I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Mine had arrived with plugged jets, so I had ordered new jets 2 sizes larger than stock which negated the lean burn these all suffer from and I still got 55mpg, 210 miles before reserve highway. I was about to raise the needles with one 2-56 washer each (as found on an old NH forum) before I finally sold it in 2011. In fact I still have the stock jets somewhere in a jar of Gumout carb cleaner sitting since 2008, they're probably clean by now if you need them.

 

[Flyin900]

Yes I noticed the two inner pipes are a slight golden colour on this CB750 Hawk. The one year only Canadian 1984 CB450SC Nighthawk had the same lean issue which I fixed with a needle shim on both carbs. I runs decent now, yet it could still benefit from a upsize on the two jets in those carbs too. When on choke from dead cold it is happy with full choke and runs fine which isn't normal. It's still on the lean side it appears.

 

[ericfreeman]

Motorcycle Classics just did a feature on a bike identical to yours. A real hidden gem.

 

[Flyin900]

Motorcycle Classics just did a feature on a bike identical to yours. A real hidden gem.

I subscribe to that magazine both in paper and online. I will look for the article when it is available, as it takes longer to get to Canada in a paper copy. I was just out on the 1984 CB450 Nighthawk and frankly if that was my only choice to ride this year I wouldn't ride. I am getting pretty long in the tooth now age wise. I have owned and ridden a lot of vintage Honda bikes over the past 20 years. I know what I like and what still works for me, which isn't the smaller Honda twins.

Ok I just found the Motorcycle Classics article and the scary part is I read it about a week ago and forgot I had until I started to read it again. LOL! The bike is now at the local Honda dealership for a safety inspection and a new set of Bridgestone BT46 Battlax tires F/R to replace the 10 year old Dunlop's.