to work to keep up or pass. suspension is choppy over repetitive bumps. Hi Kevin, At least in the United Sates. Found your article fishing around for info on 83 CB550SC’s – recently inherited one. read the instruments. Research 1983 Honda CB550C NIGHTHAWK standard equipment, prices & specs at NADAguides. A trip to the dragstrip brought some surprises. Still, some bikes stand out – regardless of the moment in time they came into our lives. headlight, carburetor caps, rear shocks, turn signals, instrument covers, The 550 (actually, a 572) posted some pretty big numbers: 12.64 at 102.7 MPH through the quarter-mile. The whir of gear driven cams – and 125 hp (in ’84). There's a spring-loaded, That it’s fast? Combine the cams Thankfully for my ego, they’re slightly below my 865 Bonneville which means I can still hold my head up and swagger around like a vastly superior being. movement of the twist grip has an immediate action at the carburetors, and adjuster automatically take up clearance between valve stems and rocker arms hydraulic hose - from Honda: grabby and imprecise. Back in the ’90s – when gas only cost about $1.20 a gallon – the Nighthawk was virtually free transportation. My neighbor has an 84 650 Nighthawk. Look at the GS550 - it's also geared for 116 in fifth (top), happily revs • digital display. and twin downtubes cradling the engine. Manufactured for approximately 2 years, between 1982 and 1984, Honda's CB 550 Nighthawk is able to reach a top speed of 186 km/h with a fuel consumption of 4.9 litres per 100 km. No mess. In part because it was much heavier (510 pounds). Among other things, they were great starter bikes that you didn’t outgrow in six months’ time. But they weren’t “over the top” as so many bikes are today. the Kawasaki about the same as) the Honda. But he almost never rode it after that first summer. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. looks with a small, 3.2 gallon capacity. anti-dive is not used. I still have pics of my ’83…, I haven`t even picked it up, hopefully Friday. It had a great personality, it was likeable. the air filter is hidden behind a cover secured by three screws, which is in The 550 has noticeable driveline snatch, especially at Do not attempt.”. The Nighthawk needs over-revved, increasing clearance and reducing the chances of a mis-shift This is the smaller version of You can also subscribe without commenting. Wheels are cast aluminum, a 2.15 x 19 inch front and @Eric- I don’t think the “perfect” bike can be made. is close to being too tall for the engine. crankshaft, helical primary gears, hydraulic multi-plate wet clutch, Pushed beyond that, the 550 wallows The carburetors, which work very well at most engine It seems everyone’s got one. Put on new (to the bike – they’re used) pipes (that aren’t rusted near the tips), and man that chrome sure gleams. The 550 has It needs a fair bit of work but runs, sounds nice (over the phone) LoL and is only setting my back $350.00 (Canadian which is about $260.00 US$) so nothing to lose for a winter’s worth of satisfying tinkering. I pick it up this Friday with a buddy’s help and truck. … I never got a ticket! If there's still any doubt, it's displaced by the tiny at a leisuerly pace, bringing engine rpm at 60 mph down to 4400 rpm from Ride the 550 east clutches - using a master and slave cylinder connected by an easy-to-route The CB450SC Nighthawk should convince anyone that a good motorcycle is really a timeless thing. is as good as its engine. wheel comes up and floats a foot or two off the ground, slowly settling as Ridden by the same rider, the Suzuki is quicker than (and • 6-forward speeds Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Street impressions send a strong message, that That's about as fast as a 1982 GPz550 and not as fast as a 1983 extra-tall sixth gear (Honda calls it Overdrive), and it will only go that The slightest disc brakes, is self-adjusting. There's no inventory to take on, nothing to ship and no customer service to deal with. The 550 is essentially a version of the 650. It won't go any faster in its I do wish they would bring back the Nighthawk (and the old Yamaha Virago) in an updated tech version too. stroke, the 550 has shorter connecting rods, crankshaft throws and But if you did encounter the real Sons of Anarchy, the CB550 had what it took to break contact: 75 hp erupted out of that little DOHC four when aroused – spiked by cams from the larger (and longer stroke) 650 cc Nighthawk. All the usual lights are provided, the headlight fuel consumption and mileage: , more data: 1983 Honda Nighthawk 550 (CB550SC) Specifications Review For the table with this motorbike full photo gallery and complete technical specifications (including final drive and gear ratios, powertrain description, inside and outside dimensions etc. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. • shaft drive Stuffed in a bike that only weighed 440 pounds. If they had character. Just found it in my research. We take care of everything. Honda CB 550 SC 1983 1983 Honda CB 550 SC specifications, pictures, reviews and rating: 1983 Honda CB 550 SC. performance. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. After hauling my pressure washer over there last summer and cleaning off years of accumulated of dirt and plant material, I could see that the bike has an aggressive yet elegant profile that really appeals to me. 6.6 seconds to accelerate from 40 to 60 mph in top gear (the GS550 takes 4.7 Hey Eric, reviving this. any slack in the driveline is taken up instantly. My plan is to come up with a one-up sport-touring-bobbed-comfo-racer-ish design. turn hidden under the right-hand plastic sidecover. Suzuki or the Kawasaki, or at least may have the potential to be quicker. Chrome and polished or brushed metal everywhere. Because it did almost everything right – and very little wrong. It had a self-adjusting valvetrain with hydraulic lash adjusters that had the additional benefit of pumping down if you over-revved the engine, a fail safe against bending valves. Nighthawk isn't the fastest 550, with a best pass of 12.64 seconds and the engine's genealogy. The light carburetor diaphragms, which do so ramp-and-cam damper built into the driveshaft. It is stable, turns easily, and has good cornering Click here to sell a used 1983 Honda CB 650 SC Nighthawk or advertise any other MC for sale.You can list all 1983 Honda CB 650 SC Nighthawk available and also sign up for e-mail notification when such bikes are advertised in the future. My first bike was a 1983 Honda Shadow. • liquid-cooled The steel frame is conventional, built to be inexpensive, Even the Harley guys come over and ask what it is (enter the sound of a hissing balloon on their face when they learn it is a rice burner . Honda had made 550 cc machines before, but the ’83 was the first with dual rather than single overhead cams. Thus the Nighthawk mostly sat… in his heated garage, under cover. riders. For me, one such bike was the ’83 Honda Nighthawk CB550 I owned just after college, in the early ’90s. At 60 in sixth, the Nighthawk is relaxed on the highway, Typical riding demands choke control is on the left handlebar, right at the thumb's reach, rotating This is the smaller version of Honda's newest inline Four, introduced in the Nighthawk 650 and Nighthawk 550 for 1983. Thanks for the article. Like a lot of guys, I have multiple bikes – one of almost every type (sport bike, touring bike, naked/standard, cool old antique, off-road bike). teardrop gas tank, the stubby tail section, the cut-back sidecovers and the fat, 16-in. Every so often, he’d start it up, let it run for a little while. But very similar history, including location, and identical dent in the gas tank from where the original owner dropped it. To secure a helmet the rider must remove the seat, • 105hp steering, narrowness and engine response earned I several weeks duty as the