by Paul Bissex

The 700cc displacement of this bike was a product of Harley-Davidson's success... at lobbying for protectionist trade legislation. The American manufacturer convinced the U.S. government to place a heavy tariff on all imported motorcycles over 700cc displacement, squarely targeted at the booming 750cc segment. Most of the Japanese bikes made in response to the tariff were simply sleeved-down versions of 750cc bikes. Not so the CB700SC.

The bike was all-new and featured many touches that were later dropped from the Nighthawk line, including shaft drive, self-adjusting hydraulic valves, dual disk brakes in front, a six-speed transmission with digital gear indicator, and adjustable handlebars. The motor was high-revving and relatively powerful, though the 1984 models did sometimes leak a bit of oil at high revs, onto the exhaust and rear tire. If you own a 1984, keep an eye out for that.

The 16" front wheel and lazy rake (30 degrees) combined with the not-so-stiff forks made low-speed handling a little disconcerting. On the road at speed, it handled quite well.

The CB700SC had classic '80s street rod looks, especially the 1986 red/white/blue scheme. The wildly popular Kawasaki ZRX1100 (and descendants) of recent years draws on this same aesthetic heritage.

This was my first fast bike. I bought one in 1999 for $400, put a $400 engine in it, rode it 17,000 miles. My only significant modification was adding superbike bars, for a bit more forward lean than the stock bars allowed. My starter went bad one summer; a tiny photo of me push-starting the bike while wearing my Aerostich suit was featured on the cover of the 2003 RiderWearhouse catalog. Pretty cool compensation!

(The classic website for the CB700SC and other Honda Nighthawks belonged to "RandyO," who has since gone offline. With his permission I've posted a full mirror of his old site — see the links list at right.)