I've since also learned the the "X" in CBX designates a model that was orginally intended for non-U.S. markets.
In the early 80s the Harley Davidson company was ailing and successfully lobbied our Congress for a ban on imports of bikes of 750 cc and larger to stifle foreign competition. Honda circumvented the ban by designing Nighthawks of 700 cc displacement, which is why our '84-'86 Nighthawks are of that engine size. That worked for a few years, but Honda apparently lost interest in offering Nighthawks of any size, including your 650, in the U.S. after that, even though they continued to make and market them for the rest of the world. It wasn't until '91 that Honda resurrected the name and attached it to the second generation Nighthawk 750, which was a more spartan version of the original. What that means for your bike, I think, is that yours found its way into the U.S. somehow, and instead of being sold here, since there was no market for it, was imported to Poland. Perhaps via the "gray" market or the aforementioned "smuggIing" method or maybe even legitimately. So I think you can safely assume it's a CBX and order parts accordingly. If the VIN number starts with a "J" that indicates it was assembled in Japan, therefore compatible with original equipment parts. Hope this helps. On May 18, 6:06 pm, surfswab <[email protected]> wrote: > Welcome Rafal. > > I did a little research and confirmed that Nighthawks were not > marketed in the U.S. that year. So your bike may have been imported > from the U.S. to Poland, but it was probably brought here, sans > documentation, from another country originally. > > I would first speculate that it might be Canadian, since that's > nearest our borders and they use metric measure (kilometers). But I > know American servicemen who have bought bikes unavailable in the > states and "smuggled" them here by various means (crated/stored in the > foodstuffs hold of an aircraft carrier, for instance !!). > > When I was in the Navy I once bought a 500cc Meguro (BSA clone made by > the Kawasaki Aircraft Co. in Yokosuka, Japan, before they started > producing their own name brand, and transported it to Hawaii aboard > ship). I then had it shipped to the mainland as part of my personal > household goods when I was transferred. > > So it's possible that your bike may have originated in a Pacific Rim > country as well. > > Don't know if that helps with the parts problem, but it gives you a > helluva story to tell (!) > > -- > 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 > athttp://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. -- 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.
