Thanks to everybody for the helpful responses. I think I'll bide my time--see if any Nighthawks of the 83-85 vintage show up on the market down here (Raleigh-Durham area of NC). I might check back in a month or so to see if that '82 650 is still on the market; if so, maybe the owner would be willing to come down to a more reasonable price. Even then, I think I'd be more inclined to wait for an 83-85--but, if the '82 feels irresistible, it sounds as if adding Seafoam to the gas (as per Kyle138's comment) and keeping a well-maintained battery in it could keep it riding smooth and out of the repair shop. Whatever bike I end up buying, I feel fairly certain it will be a Nighthawk.
On Aug 3, 10:25 pm, sfox618 <[email protected]> wrote: > Rusty, > > Because someone always has a differnet angle. I have a 1996 750 > Nighthawk and 1982 650 Nighthawk. I ride the 750 every day - I don't > own a car - and it is by far the most reliable vehicle I have ever > owned. I purchase a 1892 650 in extremely good condition last April > for $1,500, it's in Portland / Bend Oregon depending on my travels. I > think I paid too much for itat the time, however, I have taken 3 road > trips on it this summer, the shortest being 750 miles and the longest > being 1,500. The last trip is scheduled for the end of this month and > will be around 1,800 miles. The guys that I'm riding with have 1 - > 2008 KTM 650 2 - 2000 Harley softtail springer 3 2008 V-Strom 600. > The KTM and Harley have broken down. The V-Strom is by far the most > reliable. However, my old 650 just chugs right along. I bought the > bike from the original owner with 19,000 miles on it. It runs great > and I have had zero problems. It did cost me arount $400 to get it > tuned up, oil change, fork seals, etc when I bought it just because > I'm paranoid and am putting around 5,000 mile on is in 4 months. > > I also purchased my 750 from the original owner hand have put 15,000 > miles on it. I had to replace the value cover gasket and am changing > the oil every 3,000 miles. Other than that now with 30,000 miles on > it it's running great. > > The point of this email is that when you're dealing with older bikes > its as much about the bike as it is how it was taken care of in the > past. Also, take your time, if you lick the right one you will be > riding this bike for a long time and don't want to feel like you're on > the wrong bike and in todays market you will have lots of choices. > > A few weeks ago someone posted an article about the top 10 bikes > according to Motorcycle Magazine - I think - take a look at that. It > will give you a good list of bikes to take a look at. > > Keep it rubber side down. > > On Aug 2, 8:13 am, Rusty <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I'm looking for a used bike and found a 1982 Honda Nighthawk 650 with > > 12K on it. It looks well maintained--it felt great when I took it for > > a ride. The owner (who has had it for about three years) is asking > > $1,700. To figure out a reasonable offering price, I have looked on > > the web, checked out NADA (which says the value for an '82 650 in good > > condition is around $600 and one in very good condition is around > > $1,100), Kelley Blue Book (somewhere between $800 and $1,200 for trade- > > in and retail value). I also spoke to a highly recommended mechanic > > who said I should stay away from Nighthawks of that vintage (the early > > to mid-80s) because of frequent and costly carburetor and charging > > system problems. I do not know a lot about maintenance and repair. I > > did like this bike a lot and would love something like it to use as a > > commuter bike to and from campus. Anybody have any advice about > > whether this mechanic's warnings are sound or whether this bike is too > > good a deal to pass up, and at what price? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
