Cavero

So at what point to you look at a old motorcycle and say "Ok, that's enough you're not worth it anymore"?

I've got a 1982 Honda V45 Sabre (750) -- I'm conflicted about ditching it vs. putting the money into it. It's sort of the precursor to the modern crotch rocket -- Honda's first production V4 bike (along with its sister, the Magna) and a technical showcase for its day. Everything from transistorized ignition, to a digital instrument panel with diagnostics, right down to a fiber optic anti-theft alarm. The Magna (cruiser) sold pretty well here and the Sabre (standard) too to a lesser extent.

To ride, they're great. Not explosively fast by today's standards, but still holds its own and plenty torquey with a fat powerband and revs steady to 10K. Cruiser at low RPM and sportbike at high. Riding on the highways around DC, I've never felt too small or slow to get out of the way of traffic, and on the backroads its a great balance between sporty in the curves and laid back in the straights. Great general purpose bike and overall pretty reliable as long as they're looked after. Generally pretty cheap to run too and and even though 80's bikes aren't much in the looks department, its got that vintage look now so all the thumbs up I get for it don't hurt either .

This is the best picture I can find of it right now





---- blah blah blah sounds pretty attached to the bike blah blah blah what's wrong with it?----

Ok...ok...I've gotta sink lotsa $$$ into an engine rebuild if I want to keep it going

Mine's had issues in the past. Got it as a hand-me-down from my dad who bought it from an Air Force buddy when I was a little kid. Between the two it was pretty well beaten on. But over the last 8 years I've gone through it little by little catching up on neglected maintenance and fixing things as they come up. I've got most of the bike sorted out (carbs, forks, bearings, brakes, electrics, to name a few)


Well, here's the kicker. By the end of last season it was stalling on me in traffic and running unevenly. Making nasty noises when cold and some nasty smells when you open the throttle wide. After doing some home diagnostics it was down on compression, especially on 1 cyclinder, oil leaking from everywhere and a few other things. So I took it to one of the more reputable motorcycle shops I can find in my area and got it looked at. Cylinders are scored and it needs a full valve job, along a few other things, but the other major stuff like bearings are still in great shape. All told, the damage will be $3000, although after that the engine will be like brand new and should last another 35 years (or more if I take better care of it than its last owners)

These bikes sell for between $500 in poor but riding shape and I've seen as high as $2000 in low-mileage pristine condition to the right buyer. They're not worth a lot of money. But parts are getting rarer, so they're going to get more expensive to maintain. As it is, half of that $3k is from parts few new old stock parts still available from the UK and Germany.

Prices climbing means I should just fix it right, right now. If I half-*** it then parts are going to be too hard to find or expensive to make it even remotely worth it, maybe as soon as in just another 5 years from now.

--------- Alright, so there it is. ---------


One one hand, I've got a classic bike that's mostly sorted. On the other, $3k is a lot more than the bike's worth monetarily. Maybe one day it'll be worth more, but for right now its just kind of a cult bike for people who know about it. Otherwise people look at like For $3k I could get a much newer bike, maybe even fuel injected. But for $3k...I could be in the same boat I started with this one -- getting somebody else's beater.

This one pretty much ticks all the boxes for me except maybe in the looks department. I've been reading reviews for newer bikes that give you that great balance of comfort and performance and I'm just not seeing much for the sub-$5k price range I'd be looking at.

What do you think?

houtex

I dunno. Owning a little bit stubborn in the parts department bike myself (PC800) I get your dilemma.

The question is desire. Do you *really* want that bike or not? Can you get another one? Would you part this one out for those who need the parts, selling on ebay or such?

For me... if the PC blew up and needed a new engine rebuild... Sad to say she'd be taken apart and the pieces sold on Ebay. Maximize the equity in the thing. Broken but whole she's about 500-1000 if I'm lucky. Pieces? More to be had. Which would go to a new machine.

Finding said new machine is my problem. Similar to your situation... she fits, and I like her plenty. Old or not, she does just fine, what with people on their new machines complaining to me that I'm flyin' around the roads too fast for them. Heh. I'm not doing anything that machine doesn't tell me it can do. Upgrade yer bikes, yo.

So I don't know. On the one hand, you know what you like and have. On the other, you're weighing cost, and cost vs desire isn't usually solvable without hurtin' somewhere.

Pretty bike. Be a shame to take it off the streets, ya ask me, but it is what it is.

Dunno if I helped. Good luck with your decision!

ZGrand

I have three older Hondas ranging in age from 27 to 38 years old, and in value from around $3K to $8.5K. To me, it just depends on your connection with the bike and it's overall condition. Would I spend $3000 on the $3000 bike ('90 Hawk GT)? Probably not. Would I spend $3000 on the $8500 bike ('79 CBX)? Absolutely. And not just because it is more valuable, but mainly because I have more affinity with the bike. If you love the Sabre, go for it. You may have more in it than what it's worth financially, but not more than its sentimental value to you.

Cavero

Yeah thats the thing, if I did decide not to rebuild it, I could get another one, but it wouldn't be the same. Plus it'd kill me to part it out, in a way. I've put a ton of work into it -- just last year I spend over $400 in rebuilding the forks with the idea I was going to be keeping the bike for a long time. And having had this bike in the family for the last 25 years or so (think my dad bought it when I was around 5 or 6), hate the idea of it being torn down. But no one's going to buy one with a gutted motor and keep it going for the next 10 years or more. They're going to buy it for parts. When I was at the Petersen auto museum around xmas I asked them if they'd take it as a donation. They kind of politely laughed it off saying "Well, it would be tax deductible, but we have a list of stuff we want"



Thanks, aside from the square headlight I think the bike's design has aged pretty well





Suppose if I ever got sick of the headlight I could put the aftermarket fairing back on, but I prefer the naked bike feel more


So I could swap it over to a round headlight like this:







The temptation to try something new is definitely there. This has been my one and only bike I've ever owned (yeah I've ridden a few others, but not much). I did get another bike, one of the ones I've really been looking at is the SV650 (nekked). From what I've been reading they're a great little bike for the same reasons I like the Sabre.

But one of the things that was getting me though was what I was reading about their powerband. Puchy in the midrange but not much on the high end. Great thing about Honda's V4 is it has power everywhere. And I know I'd just keep comparing it to the Honda.

Yeah in an ideal world I'd have the room and funds for more than one bike at a time. The real world sucks that way.

I think it did help though. I'm leaning towards fixing the Sabre and maybe figuring out how to do a second bike someday.

Cavero

Thanks. I've been thinking too if I put the money into this, I'm probably going to look at doing a full restoration to pretty the bike up some. Make it feel worth it, like I just spent a lot of money on a classic motorcycle, instead of just an old bike.

Cavero

I hope I'm not in over my head...