What makes a Nighthawk a Nighthawk?

[Floridamtbiker99]

Just wonder what makes a Nighthawk a nighthawk.

The name Nighthawk on the bike??

of CB makes it a nighthawk?

or somthing else.

I just wonder?

[Option13]

Whenever this question comes up I answer pretty much the same. There are two kinds of (full size) Nighthawks:

The 80's models that were fairly high performance and feature laden for their time and could almost keep pace with sportbikes...

and the 90's 750's that were simply all around good transportation.


I'm not trying to insult the late model 750's, but they just aren't for me.

[Bumblebee]

Marketing, black engine and more plastic?

Look at the 82 CB650 standard vs the CB650SC:
There was no nighthawk before 1982 for the CB650.

Visually obvious:
Standard: spoke wheel, single front brake, silver engine, smooth shape tank, plastic side cover only not integrated with the fuel tank, 4-2 exhaust.

Nighthawk: cast star wheel, dual front brakes, black engine, elevated top section of the tank, tank contoured to integrate with the side panels and continue to the rear of the motorcycle as the fender at the tail light, 4-4 exhaust.

More subtle differences: The nighthawk is slightly longer, has a little different air/fuel flow rate on the carburetor, a slightly different suspension setup, slightly different 5th gear ratio, and a minor variation in the instrument panel, different and more obvious tank stickers. There are a few other things however you have to look mechanically to spot them.

The most obvious difference is the tank, side and rear plastics. The star tires and double disk front brakes are not restricted to the nighthawk - those were standard on the 1981 CB650C which is not a nighthawk.

[mikefootusa]

Get those carbs clean Smokey?  Or u still stuck on a rear fender?

[detdrbuzzard]

its the look. nighthawks don't look like a cb_ _ _ custom, cb_ _ _F, or a cb _ _ _ K

[Bumblebee]

A sequential photo history of the last 2 years of the SOHC CB650 from the manual:

Note: The 1980 CB650/ CB650C is very similar to the 81 images below (both had a single front disk brake and the older carburetor design)

1. 1981 CB650
2. 1981 CB650C
3. 1982 CB650
4. 1982 CB650SC (first nighthawk in the series)

IOW, take a 3 year old design with a couple years of improvement changes, black out the engine, add plastics, reshape the tank a bit, more obvious decals, star cast wheels, 4-4 exhaust, market it as something new in the world and jack the price up.

[cb650]

The 82 nitehawk replaced the custom from 81.  Many items are the same but mostly a styling change.  Both years had a standard model also.

[Laminar]

The 82 nitehawk replaced the custom from 81.  Many items are the same but mostly a styling change.  Both years had a standard model also.

There was a CB650C in 1982. I think.

[Bumblebee]

There was a CB650C in 1982.

It doesn't look like it. That top chart shows a strange reference for A B C models which is not to be confused with the custom model. I'm not sure what the source of that chart or it's designations are. None of the chart references on that page indicates an 82 custom.

The only two references I've found so far is the CB650 (standard) and CB650SC (nighthawk). The 4 pictures I posted earlier are straight from the OEM shop manual which doesn't give a reference to an 82 custom that I recall seeing anywhere.

Curiously my CB650 (standard) does have some odd variations such as a 4-4 exhaust and a few other things that are for the CB650SC. When I bought it from the original owner it had very low mileage and there was no indication that any hardware had been replaced with SC hardware at least as far back as when it was at the dealer or honda itself. Maybe I have a mutt or several things were changed before it left the dealer. It's a mystery.

[Laminar]

Looks like you're right - the parts fiches only reference an '82 CB650 and a CB650SC, only the earlier years mention a CB650C.

[muttstang]

honda named it a nighthawk.......

[cb650]

Looks like you're right - the parts fiches only reference an '82 CB650 and a CB650SC, only the earlier years mention a CB650C.

Maybe the c is for the 3rd year of the design. The 79 was a Z model.

[mattrowe19]

If I'm not mistaken, the "C" designates Custom. For the Nighthawks the "SC" designates Sport Custom and "S" designates Sport. The bars on the C appear more swept back. The Customs of the early 80's were the precursor to cruisers.

[Floridamtbiker99]

If CB was part of the Nighthawk, then the first cb 750 in 1969 would be consider a Nighthawk????

[cb650]

If I'm not mistaken, the "C" designates Custom. For the Nighthawks the "SC" designates Sport Custom and "S" designates Sport. The bars on the C appear more swept back. The Customs of the early 80's were the precursor to cruisers.

No C dont mean custom.  Have known members on the 650 site that had 82 standards that are 650c.   a standard originally had 4-2 pipes and wire wheels. Plus other smaller diffs.
Then add that in some countries they had a "luxury custom" in 82.  But it is a nitehawk with diff badges.

[mattrowe19]

By today's standards the C models is a standard. There really weren't cruisers as we know them today. Like I said, the Customs of the early '80's were a precursor to today's cruisers. All of the Japanese manufacturers were making either Customs or Specials. Take a look at the links below. Clearly the C stands for Custom as far as I can tell. The last article directly references the Custom. It's an old review of the NH 750.


http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_cb_650_c_1981.php
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CB650
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/honda/honda_cb750sc_82.htm

[cb650]

OK but the where not named today.  Back then anything with pullback bars and a teardrop shaped tank was a crusier.  One of the old ads even calls them a cruiser.  Custom was just hondas version of something different than the norm or standard.  Like yamahas "special" and kawis "LTD" dont know what sukis was.   
 

[Poligrafovich]

honda named it a nighthawk.......

I think this is pretty much it. There are several non-NH bikes that are closer to similar NHs than NHs as a group are to each other. For example, compare the 700 with the 550. Do they really have more in common than the various 650s being discussed? It's a marketing thing.

[mikefootusa]

Some more history here:
http://www.pipeline.com/~randyo/NH_hstry.htm

[Floridamtbiker99]

Thank you very much.  Only question left?  Is there a 1000 Nighthawk or is it a CB1000F, different?

[Laminar]

Different.

[Hondo]

The closest thing to a Nighthawk liter bike is a 1983 CB1000 Custom.

[Laminar]

Waiting for Ari...

[Hondo]

Waiting for Ari...

I stand corrected....

[mikefootusa]

When Honda came out with the 750 Nighthawk in 1982...I fell in love with the "look"...having been a Triumph guy...I loved the clean lines and the flow of the decals from the tank through the side covers and reflected in the grab bars.  You can only begin to imagine my surprise when I went to look at a Craigs List bike that was listed as a 1985 Honda Nighthawk Shadow...and this is what I found:

As far as I'm concerned...this is the original Nighthawk!