Ghosts from the Past

1984 Honda CB450SC Nighthawk

...tiny...

Acquisition:

This one isn't actually mine. Dad bought it during his mid-life crises. We were looking around at convertables at the various car dealers around and at the Ford dealer, there was this little Honda motorcycle sitting on the showroom floor. The thing was in absolutely perfect condition.

My entirely uneducated opinion was that the bike was probably worth $1500 or so. I looked it over pretty hard core (I'd worked quite a bit on an old CB360) and told dad what I thought it was worth. The slick salesman on the floor asked dad if he would pay $2000 for it. Dad laughed and walked out without a second look.

Dad and I debated it that night and came up with a ceiling of $1000. The next day, dad confidantly strode onto the showroom floor, grabbed the slick sales guy and said simply 'I'll give you $800 for it.' He took it.

It turned out they got the bike in a trade from some lady who bought an SUV. They really didn't want the bike, but she wouldn't buy the truck unless they took the bike. Basically they got the bike for free, detailed it, and called anything at all that they got for it profit.

History:

First let me say that the bike in the picture isn't actually dad's bike. It's pretty close though. I'll snap some shots next time I'm in town. I lifted the picture from http://www.lifesavers.ca/~rcp/motorcycle/

The bike was a fun starter scoot for me. I put a couple thousand miles on it riding to and from SWIC and going to see Heather. It was small, but did the job. There's not much to say about it. I put gas in it and changed the oil. Other than that, it just worked.

Where is it Now?:

In 2008, dad was ready for something bigger, so I traded him a very nice Nighthawk 650 for this one and some cash. This one was sold a week later to a young pastor to the tune of $1100