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1996 Honda CB750 Nighthawk

The only bike I ever made money on…

I bought this bike from a guy for $1,300 who really didn’t know what he had. It was in very good shape for its age, with the exception of the exhaust. Seems the previous owner hacksawed the old mufflers off and replaced them with straight pipes.

Riding it home was an adventure. This thing made my Harley sound whisper quiet. I set off at least three car alarms in my 9 mile trip home!

My original intention was to fix this bike up and ride it for a year or two, and sell the Sportster. I was tired of having a bike payment, and wanted to ride something I owned outright for a change. I did the work on the bike, adding a new chain and sprockets, new tires, a centerstand, and of course, new mufflers.

But it was a 12 year old bike with several owners. It’s maintenance schedule was unknown, and based on some local 100 mile rides I did on the bike, I really didn’t trust it for longer trips.

For me, the whole point of having a bike is for longer distance travel, so it slowly became obvious that this particular bike wasn’t the answer for me.

Too bad, because I really liked it. It was very comfortable. There isn’t much of an aftermarket for the bike however, and this further cut into any plans I had for making it a long distance tourer.

I sold it a month prior to selling the Sportster. The sale of the two left me bikeless for the first time in three years. I was pretty sure I could live without a bike for a year or two without any problems….

…I lasted three months.

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