1984 Honda reviews

Bought this from a friend with 59,000 km on it. Didn't even want it really, just needed a bike in a hurry. Had the wrong bars on it and ran like garbage. Changed out the bars for correct ones and did a few things to improve rideability. Fell in love with it! A rocket on 2 wheels that sounds like nothing else. Have 109,000 km now and runs like Jack the bear. Very nimble bike, took it on many long trips with no issue even though it's 40 years old. Comfortable to a point, souple hours and 200 km and it's time to get off and gas up anyways. Silky smooth engine! Show less

1985 Honda 650 Nighthawk - Great bike but only good for 1 rider. Mine was cherry in San Diego and sold it for $2400 with 6,300 miles. Always garaged but used the corvette mostly. The rubber wears out. Felt like a LOT smaller than my 1980 CB750K. It is reliable but when you get over 30,000 miles, good luck. Moved up to a Goldwing. Show less

VF1000F: For its time it was a top performer and could go head to head with the 900 Ninja (Top Gun) bike. I was in the USAF stationed @ Hahn AB at the time of ownership and spent many miles on the AutoBahn and seeing the tach needle buried in the red and the bike never hickuped . Spend numerous laps on both tracks at the Nürburgring with the VF1000 and able to post 8:45 min, on Nordschleife with Metzler ME-33 /99. And a whole lot of history before racking up 35K km, before selling and returning to the states. It is an amazing machine and a V4. What configuration powerplant is in the HRC MotoGP since the series began? Yup a V4. Flyin Hahn, Show less

I owned one of these for 10 years and put 63,000 miles on it. Sold it for $200 less than I paid for it brand new at the end of those 63k miles. Can you say sellers regret? This bike is what one moto mag back in the day called a “star cruiser”: too big, too heavy, and (yes!) too fast. I’ve two upped at an indicated 145mph. Had my butt in the saddle thru pouring rain for 12 continuous hours. V-4 engine, shaft drive, anti-dive front end, easily adjustable handle bars over a wide range. Fun to hustle down a backroad? Well……hell yeah!! I weighed ~140lb at 5’8” and could get my feet flat with a little stretch…..no problem and would do it all again. This bike is a beast, comfortable, handsome, long wheel base stable, and Honda reliable. Ah, the one that got away… Show less

Highly recommended motorcycle. Great first bike or for the nostalgia. Shaft drive is bullet proof. Turns on a dime compared to my CBR1100XX. Light weight makes it easy to back up into parking slots. Didn't mind not having a fairing either. If you find one that is running solid, you won't regret it. Show less

Bought it new in 1984, and I still have it in 2021. That says it all. It does not have a power band, it just has power, period. The kind you can use in the real world, not at 11,00 rpm like some bikes. Have the factory fairing with lowers and just put on some Conti Road Attack 3 radials. Anyone who owns this bike needs to put those tires on. It absolutely transforms the bike and your confidence. Just the perfect tire for this bike. Sticky enough for the power even in the corners. Now I can let lose of the handle bars at any speed without a wobble, something I have never been able to do with any other tire. As others have said this bike can get you in trouble in pretty much any gear. Replaced the rear shock with a Blackbird 1100, reshaped the seat with some Pudgee foam and you can go for hours without a sore ass. I will never sell it, it means that much to me. Others may be faster, or be more nimble, but of all the bikes I have owned(7) none were more fun. And that's what it's all about. A great bike! Show less

My first vehicle purchase was a new black '82 450 Nighthawk. I put almost 40,000km on it, and found it to be a very good starter bike, but found it a bit small for the multi-lane highways that I was often travelling on. I bought a new black '84 650 Nighthawk from a dealer in March of 1985. The extra weight and superior suspension of the 650 made it a much nicer platform for highway cruising, and I loved the no maintenance aspects of the bike: shaft drive, hydraulic lifters, etc. My only real complaint about the design and engineering of the bike is that the alternator was not strong enough -- the battery is discharging whenever the engine drops below about 2500rpm. I put just over 70,000km on it when it suffered a catastrophic engine failure. The exhaust valve guides had worn oval, and the exhaust valves had worn through the valve seats, and into the head, so there was zero compression in the middle two cylinders, and the lobes were almost gone on both cam shafts. In the 10 years of ownership, I had only had to replace the sender for the gear-position indicator (over-and-above the usual maintenance items such as oil/filter changes, tire replacements, etc.) It was speculated that one of the small feeds that sends oil to the top of the engine had become blocked, and starved the top end of oil -- no engine would survive that for very long. This bike "died" during the summer of '95, and I sold it to somebody who was going to do a full engine rebuild. (I did not have the funds or the time to take on this project, which in hind sight was too bad, as the rest of the bike was in beautiful condition). I did not have a motorcycle again until the summer of 2020, when I came across a used '84 650 Nighthawk with 73,000km for sale not far from me. The owner had completed a complete engine over-haul at 70k, and was asking a reasonable price, so I decided to take a chance, and get back on two wheels. I was not sure how I would do, as a 58 year old who hadn't been on a motorcycle for 25 years! After a few tentative launches, I started to feel like I had been reunited with an old friend. This bike has the typical Nighthawk whine, and feels very similar to what I remember of my previous bike. The paint was not in very good shape, but the previous owner had included a full set of replacement decals with the bike, so I took it to be professionally painted. I chose the '83 color Siren Blue, as I was not a fan of either the red or black colors from '84. I will be VERY careful to use only top-quality motorcycle oil in this one, and hope to get many more riding seasons out of my new/old friend. Show less

The bike is good if you like straight line performance, but it lacks agility through the twisties. The real power begins in second gear above 3,000 rpms. Then the fun begins with its 10,000 rpm. redline. This is not a beginner's bike and makes a great collectable. Show less

I'v owned many other motorcycles. This is a great classic D/S. don't believe the hard to start reports. Keep the carbs in stock spec and adjustments and it starts first kick, cold or hot. I ride with a KLR650 group and do fine keeping up. The only limit is 200 mile fuel range. Show less

I sold my '84 Sabre due to knee surgery. It was the only time I was truly sad to sell a motorcycle. All the rest were just machines to enjoy and use. But the Big Sabre did everything. It was an excellent commuting machine with power and maneuverability in traffic. It made long high-speed rides effortless, and was a joy in the twisties. Sure there are other bikes that do each of these things better. But none that do them ALL so well. The V-4 engine has it's quirks, but once you know them, maintenance is pretty easy and inexpensive. The engine puts out less vibration than other engine motorcycle engine I know. It is rigidly mounted to the frame, but the bike has very little vibration, and the grips don't shake. When my knee recovers, I'll be looking for another one. Show less