OT,,,Firing up my old bike

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

With gas prices the way they are, I decided to get my old Motorcycle out and put some miles on it to help save gas, and have a little fun too,,,, I have a 78 Honda Hawk, (CB400) it has the 5 speed tranny, not the hondamatic,, anybody have one of these bikes? I love these old bikes, and no its no fatboy by anymeans,,, LOL!!! But it did run real good and It was a real comfortable bike to drive. So far, the mice have been nice to it,, 2 wires chewed, but nothing to worry about. I have a CX500, and I borrowed the carbs off it,, which are bigger than the stock 400 carbs,, (they were in better condition) I found the operators manual,,, and some advertizements for the Hawk,, its got 10K miles on it,, I think Hawk was a great bike! What do you guys have sitting in the garage, or in my case, it was out in the barn for about 15 years in storage,,, My wife and I cleaned it up, and it looks really good still!!

Hotflashjr · Jun 3, 2008

I just got rid of two bikes and bought a Harley myself. My first bike was a CX500 actually and that was not a bad learner bike at all. Those older Honda's are easy to ride and great to learn on. My next bike was a Honda NX250 dual purpose bike. I wish I had never sold it. 80 MPG as long as you didn't ride the trails. But you could ride the trails with it no problem. Nothing is quite like the sound of a Harley though!

JackE · Jun 3, 2008

I just got my '74 Superglide running this past weekend. She's been sitting out in the garage patiently waiting for the last 10 yrs. I had an incident with a deer,(not the green kind) in Dec. '97. I broke both legs, 4 ribs, and cracked my sternum. Over the years, I've kicked the the bike through, shot some oil in the cylinders, Fixed up my old truck, '53 F-100, Started working on my old car, '69 Mustang. Now, with the gas prices the way they are. The old bike starting calling to me. I bought a used set of wideglide forks, dug out my old set of fatbob tanks, new handlebars and controls, rear fender, and a new battery. Did some rewiring, mice got to mine too. I had to free up a stuck carb float. She started right up on the 4th kick. she puked a bit oil out the breather for a bit, but she was running. I had that bike since '83, when I was a young Sub sailor in Chas. S.C. I been all up and down the east coast with her. plus 3 of the Hawaiian islands. Hearing that bike run again is special. I've had some of the best times of my life with her. Had a few bad ones too. I'm going to get her on the road shortly, got a couple of minor things to get straightened out. Got to rebuild the rear brake caliber, I'm going to weld up one of those trick axel mounted taillights I've seen around. Going to be great to be riding again. Jack

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

I have a couple old Indians siting in my garage. One is a 37 Chief, the other is a 47 Chief. The 37 Chief is the one I keep licensed, but don't ride it much. I have a 68 Yamaha Enduro 250 I was actually thinking of getting it running to save some gas. Stan

Mike (WA) · Jun 3, 2008

I've got a '71 CB350 Honda that has 4,500 miles, and hasn't run in 30 years. Bought it to commute to college by ferry boat, because boat tickets for motorcycles were cheap. It was damp in storage area (here in weepy western Washington) over the years, so the chrome rusted early on, and I have just always had too many other projects. Have been thinking about getting it going again, as are many with old bikes in storage.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

Had bikes all my life owned them all ecp. BSA and BMW. Just have a XS 850 now.

Janicholson · Jun 3, 2008

I have a CM450E six speed similar to yours. Nice clean 83. Still fresh looking. Stage 4 road racing internals, LA sleeves, and super polished internals. Nice bike. JimN

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

The old Honda's were pretty good, popular too, I've got a pair of Yamaha Maxims, 650's and the thought has crossed my mind about putting one on the road, been in the dry and heated basement, though I'd not trust the tires and a few other age related things, they were dependable for the most part and easy to work on.

The one thing that hinders my decision is safety while riding, boy theres a lot to consider there in today's driving environment, no matter what you have old rice burner or HD and similar. Years back you would here an HD go by every so often, now it's 24/7 in good weather, people are really enjoying them now, heck my friend has an '03 100th anniversary forget which model, in his living room ! No miles, just a dust collector !

Just be safe no matter what.

Goose · Jun 3, 2008

I had a CB-350 once, among others. It was a good all around bike.

There came a time, however, when I decided it might just be time to quit while I was ahead where motorcycles were involved.

DoubleR · Jun 3, 2008

Got a 83 Honda 450 Night Hawk and a 96 1500cc Honda Goldwing. Just did a 1500 mile road trip to go to a wedding with my wife on the back of the wing. Got a 07 pickup and a 08 mini van sitting in the garage but at 42 miles to the gallon it wasn't a hard decession what to drive. I've owned 38 motorcycles and have been to every corner of the US more times than I can remember on them. Its the only way to go!!!

GordoSD · Jun 3, 2008

Have one of the rarest Hondas in my shop. 1982 CX500 Turbo. 20k on the odometer. Nice Minty bike. Might sell to qualified rider. It's EXTREMELY quick.

Gordo

JDemaris · Jun 3, 2008

I still ride my Honda 305 Hawk - a bit older than your bike. I bought it for $50 in the late 60s and hardly ever had to do any repairs to it.
Also have a CL175 - ca. 1973 -and it's been just as good. That being said, I miss my Triumph 650 Tiger. Never should of sold it.

Haywood · Jun 3, 2008

81 Yamaha Eleven Special.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

This week's local (n.w. Ohio) Traders' Post has an ad for their magazine. Guy said he had one of those 4 cylinder Yahama 1100's, sold it to the first caller. Had another caller wanting it so bad he offered more than the asking price, but it was gone. I have a 1100 Virago, kind of wish I still had the 650 Maxim.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

Back in the '60's I sold my Cushman Eagle and bought a used TR6 Triumph. The tappet covers kept wanting to vibrate out. It was never as reliable as the rice burners I've had since. I wish I still had the Eagle.

JDemaris · Jun 3, 2008

Read the specs somtime on the TR6 that was sold in England. The non-US version had a lot more power. I had a TR-250A -pretty much the same as a TR6. But, I liked the Sunbeams a lot better. Had several with the British four-bangers, and two reworked by Carol Shelby with the 260 and 289 Ford V-8s - rebadged as Sunbeam Tigers. Ford V-8 engine, Ford top-loader 4 speed trans, Jeep rear axle, and factory installed ladder bars. Pretty neat little cars that steered something awful but went great in a straight line. Got better than 20 MPG too with easy driving.

My Triumph Tiger (bike) 650 didn't even have chokes on the carb. Just had "ticklers." You pushed a button, flooded the carb until gas dripped all over the place, and then started. Sounds crude - and I'm sure EPA would have a fit - but it was a pretty reliable bike.

Also had a Triumph three-cylinder 750 Trident - along with a BSA Rocket III 750 - with the same engine. Both nowhere near as good as the two-cylinder 650s and 750s in regard to reliability.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

I liked the 4 cyl. Yamaha's, they were an inexpensive and nice riding bike, in '86 a friend bought a new '82 750 left over for about $2000. Both of mine served me well, when I had no other transportation at the time, lot of parts on e-bay for these too.

jose bagge · Jun 3, 2008

That CX is a shaft drive, isn't it?

My garage has my '77 BMW R100RS in it along with a project Norton Commando in about 30 milk crates. The "red shed" has a 920 Virago in it that would probably fire if the chickens would move- another jap shafty that actually was a pretty fine bike in it's day

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

Fine bikes except for their being plagued by starter/flywheel mesh problems, (all that I've seen anyway) when they get a few miles on 'em.

Glenn F.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

The CX500 is a nice bike, I have a 79 CX500 deluxe that was sitting beside the Hawk. Shaft driven, water cooled, hasnt run in a while, I borrowed the carbs from the 500 and put on the Hawk. While the Hawk carbs are soaking,, I figured I had enough parts to make one good set of carbs for either bike. It seems to like the 500 carbs,, till got some dirt in the needle. I gave up for the day on it,, figured it was good enough to hear it run. I had a small tank on it,, was running realy good,,, I swapeed the old tank back thinking I had it clean enough,,, LMAO!! NO,, so I got to take it all back apart again and triple check it all out.

Steve A W · Jun 3, 2008

My brother has an old Honda Hawk wasting
away in the barn.
I have an 1983 Yamaha 650 Heritage Special
wasting away in My garage. Same old story,
kids came along, didnt have time or money to
maintain an unnecessary vehicle.
Butt lately my 3yr old keeps asking to go for a ride. COOL!

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2008

Ah the Brittish bikes. I had an 850 Norton. They felt so nice going in to a corner campared to the Jap bikes.

jose bagge · Jun 3, 2008

BINGO! Now i remember why the Virago was stashed in the shed! You hit the nail on the head! it WAS a starter problem....

JDemaris · Jun 3, 2008

Yes - my best friend bought a brand new Norton - 850 I think. New bike, less then $1000 as I recall - early 70s. I remember it had a "Combat" engine and a rubber-mounted "iso-vibe" mounted engine. Beautiful looking and running machine.
I had a Royal Enfield "Meteor Minor" twin 500 at the time.

Bud N · Jun 3, 2008

I just sold my CX500 and bought a 1800 Goldwing.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 4, 2008

It looks like we all have a passion for Motorcycles!!!! I kinda forgot about mine,,, but quickly was reminded on how much I enjoyed taking it out for a spin on a nice day. I found the master cyl, the fluid turned to jelly!! So ive been cleaning and gonna rebuild the front caliper. the rear brakes are mechanical,, and it looks like Ill be needing a rear sprocket, the teeth are a liitle worn,,, not bad,, but over time it might give problems that I dont need!! Last time I rode, I had a potential fatal accident. in 03, I was riding a 500 silverwing,,, and I was out for a drive,,, was comming down a hill, and a bee smacked me right in the face,,, I let go of the handlebars with my left hand,, it took off towards the whiteline. I was going about 55,, and on the otherside of the white line was a 8 inch drop off and then a culvert,,, So, one eyed, and one handed, I caught the bike with about an inch from going over the edge of the road and brought it back. I pulled over,,,,, cleaned out my shorts and drove it home and parked it, said never again. A few years go by, and I think of this everyday,,, how bad this could have been,,, and it gave me the respect to not do anything stupid while riding my bike. So the next time a bumble bee hits me in the face,,,,, my helmet will feel it and not me. right???

sammy the RED · Jun 4, 2008

I have a 1969 T-100-R that I was thinking about getting going again. 8)

OT,,,Firing up my old bike

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