Here's the thing: The 450 and 550 were totally different bikes, even though produced under the Nighthawk marque. The 450 was a chain-driven twin in a stamped steel frame. The 550 is a shaft-driven inline four in a cradle frame.
It's entirely possible some clever shade-tree R & D-type managed to cobble together salvaged parts of both bikes into one unit. We see that sort of thing here all the time. The story goes south for me with the claim that Honda produced such a machine and that it was banned from production for safety reasons. That's such an epic fail it would not escape notice by the motorcycle press or historians and fans and remain unknown for 30 years. The tale seems more likely concocted by some silver-tongued salesmen, anxious to explain away discrepancies in a vehicle for sale, then passed on from owner to owner. On Jul 2, 3:44 pm, Joey Kelley <[email protected]> wrote: > Drew, > Please do send pictures - we all like bikes after all :-) > You must excuse the skepticism - in the 30 years since > Nighthawks started production a lot of memories have faded, records > been lost, etc - and I think we've all had someone pass off a bike as > being 'an original' or a 'limited run' because they built it out of > parts. > -Joey > > On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 3:40 PM, Drew <[email protected]> wrote: > > There seems to be some doubt as to the validity and origins to my > > bike. I would be happy to take pics of it, specific parts, stamps, > > etc., for anyone's questions. I have been riding and working on these > > 2 wheelers for over 40 years, and I feel a bit snubbed, but would be > > more than happy to offer proof. Anyone up to the challenge? :) > > Drew > > > -- > > 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. > > -- > -Joey Kelley > JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online > JoeyFixesComputers.com - Its What I Do! > JoeyKelleyPhoto.com - Photographing Today, For Tomorrow -- 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.
