Honda V65 Sabre

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jack

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Considering one as an addition to the FJR. I'm aware of the early bikes oiling/cam wear problems. Really looking for any owner experiences re: did you enjoy the bike and things to watch out for. Is this a good idea or something to stay away from?

Thanks.

Jack.

 
I had a couple of V-65 Magnas back in the late 80's and 90's. Fast and fun as far as it goes for a bike that old. My first one had some camshaft pitting and one valve was getting a bit sketchy but that bike was destroyed by a crazy woman who apparently didn't realize that red lights mean stop. <_< There used to be an upper engine oiling kit (google might be your friend) and I added that onto my second one (it only had 6k when I bought it) which I used as my "tourer" and it gave me over 40k of problem free service. I still see the bike and it's owner and he has added quite a few miles without incident and at his last valve check was told the cams and valves looked fine. I'd own another one just for the fun I had in first and second gear with it. It would pull real hard all the way up to about 90 in second and it was always fun to surprise other bikes with just how fast it was in a straight line.

 
Never owned one but I am related to a guy who did (my uncle).

He had a beautfiful pristine 1984(?) version with 9000 miles on it. He never rode it so he sold it two years ago.

I got to ride it once .. what a wonderful motor! Strong low end, but lost oomph as the RPM's rose. Not much for cornering prowess, with the flexy frame, bias ply tires, and "road holding" weight. Reasonably comfortable but felt pretty wide and I was surprised how high up the footpegs were. Gobs of power though, which hustled the weight pretty good.

 
I sold my last Sabre with only 65k miles on it because it was getting hard to find parts. As a general rule, the bike dealers in my area won't work on bikes that are this old.

The Sabre is a pretty decent motorcycle for its era. A 49 state model is better than the CA hose monster. It is much stronger than the FJR at low RPMs, has an EPA related power dip 4k-5k rpm and then another good power hit beginning at 6k rpm. My various 49 state Sabres ran 11.2 seconds @ 118 mph, my CA Sabre ran 11.8 @ 112 and my Gen I FJR runs 11.2 @ 121 mph.

The ride is pretty good but the seat needs help. I found the seating position to be good. Brakes are good. If the suspension is set up properly it handles as good as what you would need for almost all normal street riding. The rear mono-shock can get tired but the intrepid people at the Sab/Mag web site have found a way to replace the fluid. I ran my rear shock with approximately 45 pounds of air pressure. The front forks will accept air up to 6 pounds; don't add air from anything but a bicycle pump or basketball pump or you will instantly blow the fork seals. Every time I added more than 2-3 pounds of air the fork seals blew so I just forwent the air and it handled just fine. A quality aftermarket fork brace really helps. The OEM brace is a combination brace and air director for the radiator. Inspect the four screw holes for cracking, this a very common issue. I've broken several OEM for braces and you will know immediately when it breaks because the handling gets noticeably worse.

After mid '84 the cam oiling wasn't a problem. The V65 engine is noisy and the valves tick even when they are properly adjusted, if it ain't a tickin' it needs an adjustment ASAP. For a while Honda made a tool to help with the valve adjustments but later discovered that it contributed to making the valve adjustments too tight when the tool was removed from under the cams. Even though the rear valve cover is split in two pieces it is a real pain in the ass to get out, and then going back in there are twice as many seams to leak oil. You will need two feeler gauge sets to check the valve adjustments, you must have a gauge inserted in each of the valve gaps because they use a single follower with two valve actuators.

Check the side covers that have the V65 logo, each cover has three plastic pins that go into three rubber grommeted holes. The pins regularly snap off and the grommets go -- someplace into the unknown, causing the side covers to blow off.

The fuse panel is under the headlight and can be a source of great anguish as the fuse clips break from fatigue. The main fuse is down by the battery and is a silly foil thingy, almost everyone will replace this fuse with a modern bladed fuse holder. This fuse can physically beak but the break is not visible, and has caused many an owner a lot of troubleshooting time. While down by the battery, note that every Sabre made has absolutely burned up the stator connector. If the stator still has the stock connector please replace it as soon as possible.

Putting on quality modern radial tires transforms the Sabre from pretty good to very good for both handling and ride.

Check the rubber boots that connect the carbs to the intakes. This will best be done with WD40 being sprayed on the boots while the engine is running. This is a VERY common problem as the boots get very hot and tend to crack and split.

I know that this all sounds very negative, but what I wrote is just about the problem areas you may find on an older motorcycle. When the Sabre is cared for, it is a very good motorcycle. I hated to see my last one go but it just wasn't getting enough use once I got my FJR. I sold my Sabre to a neighbor, he loves it and rides it as much as we used to.

 
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In 2003 my 93 Harley Heritage was stolen from my carport. My insurance company gave me $12,500 for replacement, but since a new bike would have to reside in the carport I opted to go with a $1500 84 V65 Sabre. It had twenty thousand miles when I bought it and I kept it until I bought my 07 FJR. It was a blast to ride I took numerous long trips on it with never a single problem. I wish I had kept it but didn't realize how much I would miss it after the FJR purchase. With its six gears it really liked high speeds.

 
" Honda V65 Sabre, opinions info. etc."

Generally speaking, you'll be buying a great V-Four motorcycle engine and a fair-to-poor motorcycle chassis to go along with it.

To clear-up some of the Forum converstion: Sabres and Magnas, while using (essentially) the same engines, are two different beasts. The Magnas, IMO, are alot easier to be around (more comfortable, easier, ?) -- and, I'm not usually a cruiser fan.

The Sabres were bigger all-around (especially, the V-65s) and more top-heavy, and had the diabolical air/oil Pro-Link rear suspension.

Remember, too -- '80s-vintage bikes (most of them) have '80s-vintage handling that beg whether the the term, handling, even applies (compared with current models)? :unsure:

Think: 'passable' in a straight line -- there was a reason why '80s superbike racers had those big 'cow-horn' handlebars... :eek: :)

Good luck, Jack.

 
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loved my 84 sabre! It's a straight line monster! My father-in-law bought it new, and put about 65k miles on it in the first ten years. Then gave it to me and I rode it for another ten years, before giving it to my brother-in-law.

It loved to cruise around 90, and at 20 years old, would still do 120 down the interstate for hours. You had to lean it over to turn it though. It was like arm wrestling the thing around corners, then you forgave it on the straights!

I'm told it was the first production bike to do 150mph, but they only made it for a few years(too expensive). At the end, I also found it near impossible to find parts.

As much as I'll always remember the interstate trips I took.... when I got my '05 FJR, I was amazed at how far bikes had improved. As well as, how well the FJR does everything!

All that being said, if you can find one in good shape (most people didn't keep up the maintenance) you can really have a lot of fun on it!

 
I'm told it was the first production bike to do 150mph
Someone told you wrong....

September, 1948, Rollie Free hits 150.313mph at Bonneville on a production Vincent Black Lightning

220px-Rollie_Free,_record_run.jpg


Many, MANY bikes were capable of 150mph before 1984. Not really a big deal.

 
I'm told it was the first production bike to do 150mph
Someone told you wrong....

September, 1948, Rollie Free hits 150.313mph at Bonneville on a production Vincent Black Lightning

220px-Rollie_Free,_record_run.jpg


Many, MANY bikes were capable of 150mph before 1984. Not really a big deal.

Not the first time I've been wrong, and don't mind being shown-up by a guy who races flat out!!!

 
Many, MANY bikes were capable of 150mph before 1984. Not really a big deal..........True 'nuff but in 1983 when the V-65 came out, not many I had riden up to that point got there as excitingly. When I test rode the Magna in 83 (and yes, I'm aware it's a different creature from the Sabre) I just knew I would own one at some point as the low end pull of that motor was so intoxicating to me. The 4k price tag just wasn't in the cards right at that time however.

 
Thanks for all the fedback. Couple of downsides I see: small gas tank, pretty heavy bike,(580 lbs. dry?) and the oiling/camwear problems on the first couple of years. Still, a very appealing 80's bike. Not to highjack my own thread, but the other bike in the runnung here is the '83 CB1100F.

 
Thanks for all the fedback. Couple of downsides I see: small gas tank, pretty heavy bike,(580 lbs. dry?) and the oiling/camwear problems on the first couple of years. Still, a very appealing 80's bike. Not to highjack my own thread, but the other bike in the runnung here is the '83 CB1100F.
The gas tank of the SABRE offers 200 miles, I've gone 230 with some anxiety. The weight is roughly equal to the FJR and I think it is less top heavy than the FJR. It was the '83 and early '84 V65s that had oiling problems at the cams and the 'Oil Mod' pretty well fixed it. One thing that I did forget to mention was the cam chain slippers would get weak on some high mileage bikes, Honda did step up and make upgraded slippers.

 
if you wanted to stock up spare parts, I just found 2 complete bikes for $2200...
Ouch, ouch, ouch! If Jack is serious about owning a Sabre he should really consider signing up for the sabmag email digest, they are very much like this Forum, offering informed, helpful, well connected and sometimes barbed assistance. In this case though, I think Jack's interest in a V65 is just because he found one that was interesting to him.

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I had an 85 V65 Sabre and it was one of my favorite bike I ever had. It looked like a sleeper and I dusted many sport bikes with it. I added a top-end oiling kit that took care of the problem. Basically it is a machined device that connects to the oil filter and has two stainless steel hoses that go to the top end of the motor. The original plumbing is scrapped. I really loved this bike but a collector made me an offer I could not refuse. The top end oiling kit is still available at Holeshot Performance.

sabre.jpg


Also had SS braided lines throughout, progressive springs and a rifle windshield

 
I had one as a 17 year old coming up from a Nighthawk 250. Had A LOT of fun on it. I once gave 2 girls a ride at the same time on it. Really embarassed quite a few sport bikes... even newer ones back in '99-00 when I had it. I seem to remember that it would float the front wheel for much of 2nd gear a couple inches off the ground.

End of story though, and predictable, I crashed that thing bad in a high speed corner and luckily only got road rash.

 
Alan, re: the small tank,I got that from an online spec sheet that showed it had a 4.2 gal. tank? I think the source was Bikez.

 
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