Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127372
~ RIDING IMPRESSION liondaNi hthawk750 ! Return to simplicity By Nate R a u ba his is the bike you asked for at least accordi ng to H onda 's research departm en t. H onda co nduc ted extens ive rider surveys, deal er interviews a nd even so ught i nput fro m the en thus iast p ub lications whe n co mi ng up for th e des ign o f the Nigh thawk 750. The resu lt is a simp le, do -ever yth in g mo tor cycle, a co nce p t tha t has gradually d isappeared over th e years as manu facturers conce ntra ted o n spe cia l.ty machines like sport bik es a nd cr uisers. T kn uck le power o f a sport bike..it works perfectly for gen tly pulling away fro m a stop a nd accellerati ng to sp eed wi thou t a ttracting a lo t of attentio n. At hi ghway speed, the mo tor gently p urrs around 4000 rpm, and th ere's sti ll plenty of p o wer on to p Io r overtaki ng ot her vehicles. On ly a slight tingl e ca n be felt through th e . bar s and pegs when th e engi ne is turnin g hi gher rpm. At a p pro xi m a te ly 52 mil es per ga llon on th e hi ghwa y as tested , th e 4.8-gallon tank will go nearly 250 The Nighthawk cruises the freeway or city streets with ease. 24 But not only is H onda returning to simp lici ty with the Nighthawk, th ey are al so returning to th e roots o r wh at helped spark a motorcycling revolution in Ame rica in the '70s - th e CB750 Four. And with a $3998 p rice tag on the Nighthawk, H onda hopes that many bu yers, either put o ff by the high -tech a nd high dollar sport bikes or other com m itm en ts, will return in droves. H yo u as ke d for a co m fo rta b le motorcycle, you got it. The wid e sea t keep s th e rid er com forta ble Ior lo ng stints in th e sadd le, and th e tubul ar steel handlebars are within easy reach to p rovide a n upright positi on . T hose bar s ca n also easily be cha nged to sui t rid er preference. The rubber-covered footpegs put th e rid er 's legs a t a com fortable bend, and there' s even a small metal loop which gua rds the exhaust pipe that provides a rest Ior the heel s. If yo u wa nted a simple, easy-tomai ntain engine, you've go t it, too . Dual-overhead ca ms operate fou r valves per cy li n de r via m a inten an ce-free hydraulic lifters, and th e ca m chain has an automatic ten sion er as well. A sp in on oi l filter mak es ch anges a snap, an d there's even an alu mi n u m oil cooler to extend engine life. T he 747cc moto r pr oduces good, smooth power th ro ugh out the ra nge. Wh ile it's not even close to th e white- Honda returns to basi cs with the Nigh th awk 750. There's nothing fancy about the 'H awk, just a clean, stan dard motorcycle for just under $4000. m iles between fill-ups. T he .8-gallon reserve usually kicks in right around 210 miles. There was o nly o ne p rob lem we encou ntered with th e five-speed transmission, and th at was second gear. Firm p ress ure m ust be applied to th e shifter when changing Irorn first to seco nd, otherw ise th e transmission ten ds to pop into neu tra l. If a slight amou nt o f pressu re is ap plied to th e lever in anticipati on o f shi fting to third , a double shift is necessary or th e tra n ny returns to second. This was mainly a n an noying p roblem th at on ly requ ires more conce ntratio n to correct. Ev er yb od y w ill be a sking wh y H o nda cou ldn' t have gi ven th e Nighth awk decent suspens io n. The 41mm Sh owa fork s a nd dual Sh owa shocks a re wa y too sti ff and provide a terribl e ยท ride over irregular pav em ent. Freeway jo in ts co ntin ua lly sha ke the handl ebars, while bumpy corn ers can test a rid er 's con fidence. The rectangularsection frame is rigid enough, though, to keep things from getting too far out o f ha nd. The rear drum brake is another wea k point, bu t the si ngle di sc at th e fro nt provides ample stopping power. In order to keep the cost below $4000,